From the Indianapolis Star:

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2017/02/27/fishers-noblesville-turn-nickel-plate-corridor-into-trail/98493462/

Does this mean the end of ITM operations?

I believe they still have track northbound to Tipton, IN. What it does mean is that the State Fair Train, one of their major revenue drivers, would no longer exist.

Good news is hard to come by for these guys...

If by "they" you mean the Indiana Transportation Museum ("ITM"), they do not have any track. All of the former NKP/LE&W mainline from Tipton to Indianapolis is owned by the Hoosier Heritage Port Authority, the authority that will not let ITM operate on the line.

In theory, I guess they could forge an agreement to operate on the remainder, but I wonder how feasible that is, considering what has transpired.

The article mentions that the proposed trail will run from Noblesville's northern boundary. If accurate, this also means ITM's present museum site, in the city park may become isolated.

Press release from ITN.org:

http://itm.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/ ... elease.pdf

Just like the Catskill Mountain RR. One of the top tourist attractions, but the county wants a rail trail instead.

I hate to say this...but ITM is going to be ALL FINISHED! As a museum/group they been dying a slow death. This ROW To Trail Proposal will be the final nail into ITM coffin. It seems since the 2 cars accidents they had back 2014, it began a downward spiral of misfortune events/issues. I'm more worried about their equipment and possible future, especially NKP 587. I have seen that steamer in person since 1993, it was back during old NS Steam Excursion Program era on a NRHS Bluewater trip between Detroit,MI-Bellevue, OH.

Personally...I would say the best is for ITM is...
-Just Deal With The Current Issues At Hard. Keeping The Status Quo/Business As Usual

-Move/Find A New Home, of course that's IF they can afford it, but it doesn't look it they can do it at this time. Is the old NKP Roundhouse in Frankfort, Indiana still available? Thought there was a group trying to save it...

-Another action would be to liquidate their collection IE Sell Off Stuff in order to pay the debt. Just look at their collection roster:

Indiana Transportation Museum Collection
http://itm.org/museum/equipment-roster/

Here's the status on their current restoration projects

MILW 72
http://itm.org/museum/restoration/milwuakee-72/

NKP 587
http://itm.org/museum/restoration/nicke ... -road-587/

Other On Going Threads On Other Forums...

Indiana Railroads Bull Session: Museums Threads (6+ Covering ITM Issues)
http://indianarailroads.org/board/index ... &board=4.0

Nickel Plate Road 587
http://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/nick ... e-road-587

NKP 587 is my main concern as a railfan. IF it were possible I would like to see FWRHS rescue the steamer from ITM's failure. They also got PRR 6565 RPO/Tool Car and the N&W/L&N (ITM) 220166 "Big Emma" Aux. Water Tender.

Enjoy?! -_-

I realize it is tempting to try to change ITM's narrative to fit the "rails v. trails" story, but this isn't the case. ITM's milquetoast response is proof enough of what is really going on, in addition to all of the news stories over the past year or so.

ITM had a long, productive relationship with the governmental entity that owns the railroad. ITM let that relationship sour through poor museum management. ITM has been rather stagnant the last 25 or so years. They are still cramped in the same site they lease from the parks department in Noblesville, one they've been in since the late 1960s. They haven't grown, they haven't capitalized on all of the goodwill they say they created in their press release. They just continued to do the same thing over an dover again. Coupled with poor management from a "professionalized" museum board, and this is what you get. The Fair train of 1983 looks a lot like the Fair Train of 2014, because nothing really changed or improved. Instead, the museum chose to not only be beholden to a landlord that owned the railroad, but one that owns the very site they sit on in Noblesville. Doing so, without taking steps to ensure the long term success of the partnership was the fatal flaw.

I frankly do not blame the governmental entity for having enough. It's easy to convert an isolated railroad to a bike path. It's much harder to find another operator.

I assume this thread will eventually be locked or deleted, given RYPN's moderation policy, because we are incapable of discussing such difficult issues. But, there is a reckoning in progress for many railroad museums. What's happening at ITM is just the tip of the iceberg. Decades of poor management, declining volunteer numbers at many organizations, and a failure to adapt to a changing world will cause a lot of museums to fail in the coming years. The real tragedy is that it's happening before our eyes and we cannot discuss it honestly in most cases, as people do not want to discuss unpleasant things.

The place was dead forty years ago... literally. I stopped by the museum site on a beautiful summer Saturday afternoon, and it was deserted and locked up tight.

I see the beginnings of all the wailing about the railroad pieces that are going to be lost, or land locked, but other than the NKP 2-8-2, that's all common stuff. The really important part of the collection would seem to be the interurban and street railway pieces, although I have no idea what sort of condition they are in after all these years.

Anyone know?

The two pieces stored in the barn are still in good shape, the Singer locomotive and the Union Traction "Noblesville."

They do have a nice former L&N heavyweight diner Cross Keys Tavern. It was modernized by the L&N in the 1950s with the all electric kitchen and updated interior, much like its sister the Galt House at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Called in there on a MI/IL/IN/OH circular tour by car in 2012 which tied in with an auto show in the park. Looking at my photos from the trip, the items depicted are all in fair/good condition, given that they were stored outside, and certainly better than one other (which shall remain nameless - though they appear to have moved on significantly since then) site visited on the trip. The only "suspect" car photographed was a CTA rapid transit car. Everything else appeared "complete" and not rusting to oblivion. I recall several freight cars in a recently repainted (in 2012..) condition as well.

Sadly just more proof that government is not the friend of preservation.

No matter how well your organization may be doing and no matter how much of a bennefit you may be providing to the community, if something comes along that catches a politicians eye comes along (especially if it comes with federal funding and a chance for said politician to "build" something) you will be gone, no matter what.

Jason Midyette

The majority of the traction collection is in poor condition. As far as I know, nothing electric has operated since about 1998. At last count ITM owned 24 pieces of electric equipment including seven Chicago 4000-series "L" cars (all in poor condition, though some better than others), four Lackawanna MU trailers (all in poor condition), and six car bodies. The only pieces that are complete and in good shape are the Singer and Twin Branch locomotives. One of the bodies, Union Traction 429 "Noblesville" (that identity is somewhat in doubt), is stored inside in good condition though not complete. There is also a mule car stored indoors in moderate condition. Photos and more information can be found here.

A few photos from 2012.....

Some of the Chicago cars


The Singer loco


The mule car


A couple of the other electric locos

In this situation, why would government expect to be ITM's friend? The museum did not maintain the track they operated on, and engaged in other behavior that made "government" suspicious of the museum's long term viability. Once again, blaming "government" means you will learn nothing from this whole escapade. This is the end result of decades of poor decision making by ITM's own members and governing board. They handed "government" the sword used to slice the museum's operating line away. It'd be one thing if ITM was a viable institution, but that hasn't seemed to be the case in years, if not decades, despite the fact that they are located in a major metropolitan area with lots of corporate donors and decently-paid citizens who would form a great natural base for the museum.

Wow. I can see why the local Gov't seems to have lost interest in this "museum."

At risk of letting my bias show, it seems the only truly significant part of the collection, that isn't duplicated elsewhere, is the singer loco, the Union Traction cars, and the 1902 Jewett built THI&E car. The link to the photo of the last is dead. Anyone have a more or less current pic?