The Casad Depot, a 259-acre complex located east of New Haven, was created during World War II to store and distributed strategic materials. Craig Berndt, a retired city planner and regional railroad historian and author, says the complex once employed about 1,100 civilians, overseen by just 14 military officers.
The aerial photo at left dates from World War II when the complex was an important part of the country’s war efforts.
A crew of civilian workers posed for a photo with the several smaller locomotives that were used to moved railroad cars around the complex.
After the federal government decided it was no longer needed, it was purchased in 2018 by Hanning and Bean, a large Fort Wayne development company. It has been converted into an industrial park, with several parcels sold to other companies. The northeast corner now serves as the working headquarters, including its restoration site, for the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society.
The site also housed several hundred German POWs, whose work was limited to grounds maintenance.
The Craigville Depot was moved to this site in June 2019 for restoration and was soon joined by the World War II era “hospital car.” The two items were then moved to the new Pufferbelly Junction in June of this year. —Mark Miller
The hospital car is being prepared for its journey to downtown Fort Wayne in June of this year after about two years of restoration work at Casad. (Photos courtesy of Craig Berndt)
The Craigville Depot was essentially stripped to its skeleton in order to restore the siding, floors and interior walls while at the Casad Depot. The Hospital car can be seen in the background. It was wheeled into the warehouse for its restoration. With its more than 250,000 square feet of warehouse space, all with railway access, “the Casad Depot is really uniquely suited for these types of renovations,” railroad historian Craig Berndt shares.
The wooden beams that can bee seen in historical photos were removed and renovated.
