Indiana Transportation Museum

Here's the entrance to the museum, designed to look like a signal house.

Little surprises like this can be found throughout the grounds. Do not read this as some kind environmental statement or man versus nature thing. When you see flowers and a train, you just take the picture.

Did I mention that it was about 9,000 degrees (celsius) on the day I visited? This spot was in the shade, but make sure to bring your hat.

For every refurbished train, there are probably three that need some serious attention. And as the previous picture shows, there's lots of randomly discarded iron lying around. Here's another example -- make sure your tetanus shot is up-to-date!

They were firing this engine up to take the kiddies (and their sweating parents) on a train ride. The museum is actually located on the "Nickel Plate Road" line, which is still in operation. This is the line that's used for the state fair train, which runs from Fishers to the fair every year. Interestingly, this is also the route that's being considered for a new mass transit system.

The fellow rolling up the wire is David Wilcox, activity director for the museum. I had the chance to talk with him after grabbing this shot, and he explained that the museum is able to run largely because of a dedicated team of train-loving volunteers.