Indiana Transportation Museum


The Indiana Transportation Museum was a railroad museum that was located in the Forest Park neighborhood of Noblesville, Indiana, United States. It owned a variety of preserved railroad equipment, some of which still operate today. ITM ceased operations in 2023 and the line is now owned and operated by the Nickel Plate Express.

History

The Indiana Transportation Museum was an all-volunteer not-for-profit museum dedicated to preserving and showcasing railroads of Indiana, and sharing the equipment and information with the public, as well as operating trains to show how people traveled across the country in the past.
Founded in 1960, ITM began life as the Indiana Museum of Transportation and Communication with an initial focus on preserving interurbans and trolleys along with early passenger and freight equipment. IMOTAC initially planned to build its museum in southern Indiana, but those plans did not materialize. During this time, IMOTAC was associated with the Indiana Railway Museum. However, the partnership did not last long, with IMOTAC and IRM going their separate ways. In the summer of 1964, IMOTAC signed a 99-year lease with the Noblesville Parks Department to lease a site in Forest Park. In May 1966, IMOTAC operated a series of sesquicentennial excursions from Noblesville to Indianapolis with Grand Trunk Western 5629. IMOTAC purchased the former Nickel Plate Hobbs, Indiana, station in 1967 and moved it to Forest Park in May 1968. The depot served as the museum's gift shop, ticket booth, dispatch office, crew reporting room and as a boarding location for the museum's excursions. Following ITM's eviction, the depot was repurposed by the Nickel Plate Express.
On August 3, 1968, the museum held its grand opening and dedication ceremony. Later that year, IMOTAC purchased the Indianapolis Traction Terminal train shed. IMOTAC planned to reconstruct it in Forest Park to store and display the museum's collection and also construct a 2-story building next to the train shed to house a museum and waiting room. The train shed was disassembled and moved to Forest Park in late 1968. IMOTAC's plans did not materialize as it would have been cost prohibitive to reconstruct and the components were scrapped in the 1980s. In 1973, IMOTAC began offering trolley rides on a trolley line that ran from the museum property to the south entrance of Forest Park.
In the 1980s, IMOTAC decided to broaden its focus and changed its name to the Indiana Transportation Museum. In August 1983, ITM operated daily shuttle trips from Carmel, Indiana, to the Indiana State Fairgrounds over the former Monon Railroad second subdivision during that year's Indiana State Fair. The excursions were dubbed FairTrain '83 and became a yearly tradition for ITM. ITM continued operating the FairTrain over the Monon trackage until 1985. At that time, the Monon trackage was to be abandoned. The museum pushed hard to save the railroad but was unsuccessful. In 1986, the Fair Train equipment was moved back to Noblesville and plans to operate FairTrain '86 were scrapped due to high insurance costs. The Monon trackage was eventually removed and turned into the Monon Trail. Alongside ITM's attempt to save the Monon Railroad, the museum also unsuccessfully attempted to save and acquire the former Midland Railway trackage.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the museum considered moving to a new location. The museum looked at potential sites such as the former NKP Roundhouse in Frankfort, Indiana, and several parcels of farmland in Hamilton County along the former Monon and Midland railroads and received offers from several Indiana communities, including Indianapolis. However, those plans did not materialize. From 1988 to 1998, ITM ran several mainline excursions with NKP 587 and its two Milwaukee Road EMD F7's painted in Monon Railroad colors. In 1990, ITM began operating excursions over the Nickel Plate Railroad line from Tipton to Indianapolis. In August 1990, following a five-year absence, the FairTrain resumed operations from Noblesville to the Indiana State Fairgrounds during the duration of the Indiana State Fair. Later on, FairTrain operations were moved to Fishers, Indiana, with the FairTrain operating from Fishers to the Indiana State Fairgrounds until 2015. In the 1990s, the museum and its equipment were used in film and television, including the Discovery Channel show Rediscovering America, Going All the Way, and 587: The Great Train Robbery. In 1999, following the electrical failure of Chicago Transit Authority EL car #4293, ITM shifted away from trolley operations. In 2008, ITM began offering caboose train rides from the museum site to downtown Noblesville. The caboose train was initially supposed to be a temporary replacement for the trolley rides with EL car #4293, which was in need of a $50,000 restoration. As a result of a lack of interest within ITM, EL car #4293 never ran again. The caboose train became a staple of ITM's later operations and continued until ITM's eviction in 2018. In April 2014, The Leviathan 63 visited the museum and operated a series of excursions from Fishers to Noblesville. This marked the first time in 12 years that steam had been operated at ITM since 587's retirement from service in 2003 and the final time ITM would operate steam powered excursions.
For the next 25 years, ITM continued to operate excursions over the Nickel Plate line until 2015, when the museum was forbidden to use the Nickel Plate line by the Hoosier Heritage Port Authority due to allegations of questionable practices and financial mismanagement. With ongoing issues with the city of Noblesville, ITM looked to move the museum to Logansport, Indiana. In 2017 and 2018, ITM operated excursions over U.S. Rail Corporation trackage from Kokomo, Indiana, to Walton, Indiana, using leased Iowa Pacific Holdings equipment. During this time, the museum also operated Polar Bear Express excursions over Hoosier Southern Railroad trackage from Tell City, Indiana, to Troy, Indiana, using leased Iowa Pacific Holdings and Hoosier Southern Railroad equipment throughout the fall and winter of 2018.
In 2018, the museum was evicted from Forest Park by the city of Noblesville. ITM scrapped several pieces of equipment that were deemed surplus and sold several pieces to new owners. ITM was unable to move everything from their property, so several pieces were abandoned by the organization. ITM moved most of its retained equipment to the former General Tire plant property in Logansport, Indiana in 2018 and 2019, and the remainder of the museum's Budd coaches were moved to Santa Claus, Indiana. Nickel Plate 587, Pennsylvania Railroad RPO car no. 6565, Pennsylvania Railroad B60 Baggage Car no. 9036 and Norfolk Southern water tender no. 220166 were moved to the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation site in Ravenna, Kentucky. Nickel Plate Road Cabooses #405 and 770 and Pennsylvania Railroad Flat car #X-66 were moved to a siding in Walton, Indiana. On July 12, 2018, the city of Noblesville seized ITM's former Forest Park site. Equipment that had been sold to a new owner prior to ITM's eviction was moved out between 2019 and 2021. Equipment that had not been sold prior to the eviction was sold off in two Ozark Mountain Railcar auctions held in 2019. Equipment that had not been sold via Ozark Mountain Railcar was either sold off to new owners, scrapped on site, or retained as a static display or for usage by the Nickel Plate Express. The former ITM site was rehabilitated and became the home of the Nickel Plate Express in 2022. In 2019, ITM struck a deal with the Logansport & Eel River Railroad to purchase the LER's rail line in Logansport. In 2021, ITM became involved in yet another lawsuit. The deal to purchase the Logansport & Eel River Railroad fell through and ITM was evicted from the LER property. ITM sold and scrapped its remaining assets and ceased operations. ITM was administratively dissolved by the Indiana Secretary of State on March 5, 2023. The line was purchased by new owners and now runs excursion trains, called the Nickel Plate Express, over the former ITM trackage.

Heritage railroad

While located in Noblesville, the Indiana Transportation Museum operated excursion trains on of a former Nickel Plate Road line originally built for the Indianapolis and Peru Railroad and, at the time of ITM's eviction, owned by the Hoosier Heritage Port Authority, which is made up of the Indiana cities of Indianapolis, Fishers, and Noblesville. Excursion service on the line had been suspended due to a dispute with the HHPA. The museum submitted a proposal to HHPA requesting authorization to resume service.
The museum operated out of Forest Park in Noblesville and traveled to the northern terminus of the line in Tipton, Indiana, and to the southern terminus at approximately 39th Street in Indianapolis. The rail line originally extended further south but had been abandoned.
The rail line originally connected to the Norfolk Southern railroad in Tipton and to the CSX railroad in Indianapolis via the Belt Line. The railroad line had also been operated as a freight railroad by the Indiana Rail Road, hauling coal to the power generating plant in Cicero, Indiana, until the plant's conversion to natural gas in 2003.
The connection in Tipton was cut by Norfolk Southern in 1997 and the bridge connecting the line to CSX was removed by the Indiana Department of Transportation during the rebuilding of Interstate 70 in Indianapolis. In spring 2010, CSX railroad removed the diamonds connecting the southern portion to the Belt Railroad, thus isolating the line from the U.S. rail system.

Preservation

The museum was home to many pieces of railroading history, with primary emphasis on locomotives and equipment relating to the Nickel Plate Railroad. Most passengers were carried in the museum's restored Budd cars that dated back to 1937 and were originally in service on the Santa Fe Railroad and the New Jersey Transit Authority before being sold to the museum as scrap in 1983. Several cars were restored and others awaited funds for restoration.
ITM also had an extensive collection of trolleys and interurbans with ties to Indiana's railroad history. ITM operated several different interurbans over its trolley line between 1973 and 1999.
While the museum was in Noblesville, it had in its collection the 1898 private railcar of Henry Morrison Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad #90.
At the beginning of 2003, the museum's operating steam locomotive, Nickel Plate 587, was taken out of service for a federally mandated boiler rebuild. Since then, work had been ongoing for the restoration of this locomotive. In 2008, ownership of the engine was permanently transferred from the Indianapolis Parks Department to the ITM. In 2018, the locomotive was held in storage in Ravenna, Kentucky, by the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation. On March 5, 2021, the ownership of No. 587 was transferred from the ITM to a private individual. As of 2025, the locomotive is to be auctioned off by the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation due to unpaid storage fees. However, the auction was cancelled. Kentucky Steam is currently in talks with the locomotive's former owner to reach a resolution via a settlement.
Image:ITM's tracks -5.jpg|thumb|ITM's tracks in Fishers, Indiana.

Events

While in Noblesville, the Indiana Transportation Museum operated different excursions, ranging from holiday trains to shuttles in freight cabooses.
  • The Morse Lake Dinner Train was a dinner train that operated from Noblesville to a variety of restaurants in Cicero, Indiana, near Morse Lake.
  • The Hamiltonian, also known as the Hamiltonian Dinner Express, was a dinner train that operated from Fishers to different restaurants in either downtown Noblesville, Atlanta or Cicero.
  • The Fair Train was the museum's biggest yearly event with ITM passenger trains transporting as many as 16,000 people to the Indiana State Fair daily, with ten daily round trips each day of the fair during August.
  • The Polar Bear Express was held in the months of November and December. It included a train ride and a visit from Santa Claus.
  • The Harvest Train, also known as the Pumpkin Train, was held every weekend in October and was supported by the Hamilton Heights High School FFA Organization|FFA], who grew and sold pumpkins alongside the rail line.
  • The Blue Arrow, often called the Pizza Train, was run multiple Saturdays throughout the late spring, summer, and fall from Noblesville to Tipton. It gained its name because the stop in Tipton was at end of the track and adjacent to the Pizza Shack, where riders could eat. Riders also had the option of being shuttled to the nearby Pizza King or Jim Dandy Restaurant for their buffets, or on select dates, a meal at the Tipton Elks Club.
  • Special events included various festivals in Tipton and the towns of Atlanta and Arcadia; private charters were also available.

    School programs

The museum offered custom school tours, which included a tour of the museum grounds and an excursion train ride.

Equipment

Locomotives

Interurbans and trolleys

Rolling stock

Accidents

Throughout ITM's history, there were several accidents.
  • In 1988, 9 of the museum's Budd coaches were involved in a runaway and collided with Singer Sewing Machine Company electric locomotive no. 1. The first 2 coaches derailed and knocked down a Public Service Indiana light pole and a power line.
  • In 1992, an ITM locomotive traveling southbound struck a Fishers Department of Public Works street sweeper on a dirt road north of 116th St. in Fishers.
  • In July 1996, an ITM train struck the drivers side of a parked truck in Noblesville.
  • In October 1996, an ITM train headed south to the Indiana State Fairgrounds struck a car at the ungated 65th St. crossing in Indianapolis.
  • In 2003, the FairTrain struck a van at the ungated 65th St. crossing in Indianapolis.
  • In 2005, the FairTrain clipped a truck near 82nd St. and struck a car at the 75th St. crossing in Indianapolis.
  • In November 2014, the Blue Arrow heading south to Noblesville and Fishers struck a truck at the Park Road crossing in Tipton. The female driver of the vehicle was killed.
  • In December 2014, the Polar Bear Express derailed near downtown Noblesville while on route back to Fishers.