This past Saturday, the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum received an "open air" flat car, once on the roster of ITM in Noblesville. In the first photo taken by Les Beckman, the car is shown being winched down off of the Schlatter Trucking tilt bed trailer where, due to the angle, one wheel of the railroad truck jammed up against the bottom of the cars floor. The museum to the rescue! In the second shot, taken by David Miller, Kyle Flanigan in the green shirt directs his dad Todd, in the museums Payloader, to give the car a bit of a nudge. This was done and soon the car was safely on HVRM rails.

The car was in maintenance-of-way service on the old Central Indiana Railway, but is believed to have come from the FM class of flat cars of the Pennsylvania Railroad. We have no way to prove this of course, however one of the truck side frames is embossed with PRR initials. The car eventually ended up at the Indiana Transportation Museum where it was made into an open car for passengers. Hoosier Valley eventually intends that the old timer will be in service after restoration, behind the museums 0-4-4RT Forney; Bock Lumber Company number 1.

Les

The Central Indiana Railway has an interesting history, from the time of the post Civil War boom in railroad construction in the 1870s to becoming part of Conrail.

This website has a photo of that flat car in 1973: http://madisonrails.railfan.net/ci_1973.html

There is are also photos on that site of Central Indiana Railway caboose 60 at a retail development in called "The Railroad Place" located at 1273 Vine St. in Noblesville, IN. Central Indiana Railway 60 is a big center-cupola wood caboose that, according to the website, was originally with the RF&P. This is likely the last Central Indiana caboose surviving.

Caboose 60 still exists and the retail establishment it stood in front of closed in 2020, not long after the passing of its proprietor: https://www.youarecurrent.com/2019/01/29/railroad-place-founder-robert-arbuckle-dies-at-96/ Recent photos on Google Street View show that the caboose has been maintained in good condition.

There is an interest in Hoosier history within Indiana, and the story of the Central Indiana Railway offers an intriguing perspective into how the state became "the Crossroads of America."

The two cabooses that had been parked with this flatcar have also been moved from Lincoln.

Nickel Plate 405 - Currently for sale. Currently stored at Schlatter Transport.
Nickel Plate 770 - Sold and moved to private owner near North Judson, IN.

If I can do it, here's a link to the 770 being off loaded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p8GdNQdwys