ITM Retrospective, or "You Can't Go Back Home Again"

Our intrepid cub reporter Zach Ehlers has filed this trip report...

On Sunday, Greg, Nick, and myself were in central Indiana picking up a donation. While in the neighborhood, we stopped by Noblesville to see what was left of the Indiana Transportation Museum. Faithful viewers may recall that ITM was evicted from their long time home in Forest Park by the city in 2018. IRM was able to rescue CNS&M 172, among other things, from the fray. A link to some adventures during this time can be found here and here.

Starting in 2019, a new operator, the "Nickel Plate Express", began operating on portions of the Nickel Plate Railroad formerly operated by ITM. In the fall of 2021, the city of Noblesville broke ground on a project to revitalize the former site of ITM in Forest Park for operation by the NPE. On June 11th, these facilities opened. Those that remember what ITM was like in its waning years will be very surprised to see how the area looks now. 

This is the scene that greets patrons of the park and railroad now. Significant investment in the landscaping and structures has taken place.

The whole place now has a park like atmosphere, with new restrooms and a playground.

These are the former display tracks. It could be like a jungle wandering through the weeds and the equipment at one time. The city has removed at least two tracks here and significantly ballasted the other two.

The Hobbs Depot is one of the original structures from ITM that was retained. We could not see inside, but presumably it has been revitalized like the exterior. (Hobbs is approximately 20 miles northeast of Noblesville along the Nickel Plate).

East of the pole barn, a large environmental remediation operation has taken place. Most all evidence of ITM's presence is gone, save for the PRR keystone in the foreground.

At the south end of the park, the Nickel Plate Express' train is...well...parked. The F9 is a former Erie Mining unit.

Finally, this view looks south down what was once the "trolley main". 172 and a few 4000's used to run here as the museum's only rail operation before they expanded to the Nickel Plate.

The city has completely transformed the park into what could be considered a family friendly area attraction. While it's sad to see an organization like ITM go under, and most certainly see the equipment suffer for it, the city has done quite well in turning this area around.