It also handles plastics, fiberboard, aluminum, copper, coal, perlite, stone, lumber, glass, rendering products, as well as agricultural fertilizers and chemicals.

The tracks IN operates on between Quincy and Coldwater are owned by the Branch County Rail Users Association (RUA).

[2][4] IN's route south of Hillsdale heads southwest through unincorporated Bankers, Michigan and through Reading, Montgomery and Ray.

It then passes through the Village of Edon before arriving at Montpelier, Ohio where it interchanges its traffic with the Norfolk Southern Railway on its Detroit to Fort Wayne line.

The line would eventually be designated as Wabash's 4th District and became part of the shortest route for trains between Detroit and Chicago.

Wabash would continue to operate the line until the railroad was acquired by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W), through lease in 1964 and full ownership in 1970.

Penn Central's bankruptcy in 1970 and the dire financial condition of other Northeast and Midwest railroads prompted the federal government to enact legislation creating Conrail in 1976.

The company started with routes approximately 60 miles in length and it acquired a handful of first-generation EMD diesel locomotives.

The railway would also join the ranks of other US railroads in 1976 who painted at least one locomotive in a special scheme to commemorate the United States Bicentennial.

Threatened with potentially losing its rail interchanges, HCRC extended operations on a three-mile section of underused track between Pleasant Lake and Stubenville, Indiana.

In April 1986 HCRC purchased an almost 25-mile segment from N&W between Ashley, Indiana through Stubenville to a rail connection with N&W's Detroit - Fort Wayne line near Montpelier, Ohio.

[19] In 1980 the Staggers Rail Act was enacted by the federal government which deregulated the United States railroad industry.

The legislation made it easier for railroads to set rates, negotiate shipping contracts, seek abandonment of unprofitable routes and get merger approval.

In order to preserve their rail connection the grain company acquired an over 15 mile section of the N&W from Wolcottville, Indiana through South Milford to Ashley and created the Pigeon River Railroad (PGRV).

Eastbound PGRV trains from South Milford transferred onto the Hillsdale County Railway at Ashley to interchange with Norfolk Southern in Montpelier.

The grain elevator company's owners decided to assume HCRC's $1 million in debt and it acquired the railway.

The IN immediately began to repair and rebuild trackage, spending $3 million on track improvements within its first two years of operation.

Since it began the IN has continued to spend millions of dollars to upgrade its tracks with roadbed, rail, bridge and grade crossing improvements which enables the railroad to haul heavier trains at higher speeds.

Through numerous track rehabilitation projects over its nearly 130 miles of routes and careful management of its resources, the railroad has been a solid, stable and dependable operation capable of handling a diverse flow of traffic in a timely, professional manner.

[25] Indiana Northeastern's locomotive fleet consists of first and second generation road-switcher diesels all built by Electro-Motive Division (EMD).

Some came from the acquisition of the Hillsdale County Railway and others were acquired through rail service and leasing companies like the Indiana Boxcar Corporation (IBCX).The railroad purchased its first two six-axle locomotives from Motive Power Resources in 2017.

The Indiana Northeastern name is painted white in billboard style in the center on each side of the long hood section.