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The sun poured into through the window! That meant the storm has left and we should have sunny skies for our last day in Indiana.
After a continental breakfast at the Quality Inn in Noblesville, we drove north to stage our rental car at Tipton so we could get to the airport for the 5:20 PM flight for Chicago and then home.
The end of track at Tipton. Dave and his son picked Chris Parker and I up and drove us back to the Indiana Transportation Museum where we had some time to look around.
Wabash and C&O Cabooses.
NKP VO-1000 99.
NKP painted GE 44 Toner 91.
GP-9 200 ex Union Pacific.
Trolley
Monon F unit.
Streetcar
Monon F unit 96.
Milwaukee Road B unit.
Interurban
SW-1
Museum scene.
A battery-electric locomotive from the Mishawaka Twin Branch Railroad.
Nickel Plate Caboose.
Passengers waiting for our photo freight to arrive at the platform.
Our train pulled in with GP-7L 426, NKP Box Car 8099, Conrail Hopper 435140, Pennsylvania Railroad Hopper 257784, Tank Car CRCY 3746, Box Car ITM7 B-38, Flat Car, NKP Caboose 770, Business Car NKP 1, Coaches 3076 and 3099 and CB&Q 1602 Silver Salon.
Nickel Plate GP-7L 426. They backed the train into the station track and everyone boarded. Once we were loaded up we left the station at Forest Park. We headed south crossing Indiana Highway 19 before we crossed the White River. Once across, we detrained for a unique series of photo runbys on the streets of Noblesville. Monon SW-1 came to pull the passenger cars off of the train so we would have just the freight train to photograph down the street in Noblesville.
The train then pulled back to the White River Bridge for photos. We all walked to the next street for the next photo runby.
Crossing the main highway through Noblesville. Our runbys would back up traffic in this town until we were done.
The train backed to let traffic by before we did our next photo runby.
The next runby a block away.
Another walk of a couple of blocks would yield this picture.
Keep walking more pictures.
The last runby as we now had the local police wondering why his traffic was so messed up on a Sunday morning.
The passenger part of our train backed down onto the freight set.
Monon SW-1 50 was pushing the passenger set south.
Two more views of the Monon 50.
The Monon 50 then put together our mixed train before it cut off. We all reboarded and I decided to take a walk and explore the train.
Inside of the Business Car NKP 1.
Coach 3076 ex Santa Fe.
Coach 3099 ex Santa Fe.
Ex CB&Q Silver Salon.
Inside of the baggage compartment of the CB&Q Silver Salon. On the way south the NKP 426 started smoking badly and it was decided to stop at Fishers and a crew from the museum would drive down here to try and fix it. We arrived at Fishers for a long stop and we all detrained.
Front and rear views of our train at Fishers.
The Fishers Station.
Our train at Fishers.
Bart Jennings taking a needed break at Fishers. I walked into the Nickel Plate Cafe and bought a T-shirt as they worked on our engine and fixed the problem. It was then announced that we would a photo runby in front of the Nickel Plate Cafe.
The Nickel Plate Railroad 426 ran by the Nickel Plate Cafe at Fishers.
Nickel Plate Caboose 770 ran by the Nickel Plate Cafe. Once the train had cleared the crossing, we all reboarded continuing south. Our trip then passed through Castleton before we went under I 465. We then went through Marlott Park before we passed the Fairgrounds where the museum runs trains to when that event is taking place. We crossed over Fall Creek before we came to our turn around point at the 38th Street siding where we could detrain for pictures.
Our train had reached the southern end of our journey at the 38th Street Yard in the northern part of Indianapolis.
Nickel Plate Caboose 770.
The engine then ran around our train. Everyone reboarded and then Bart walked through the train with new ETAs for the museum, Tifton and the return. It had become so late that we needed to get off at the museum and be driven back to our car at Tifton. I told the crew our problem and Joel Epstein offered to drive us up to Tifton. While this would cut my trip short on mileage I could come back anytime and ride the Pizza Train to Tifton to get that mileage. Bart said that the engine delay and them running our train only at 10 MPH caused our major time problems. They decided once we returned to the museum yhey would going to drop the freight cars so the train could go 25 MPH instead of the current 10 MPH. We made our way back to the museum where several of us detrained.
Joel Epstein, our brakemen, drove Chris Parker and I up to the car at Tifton. Coming back through Atlanta we spotted our train coming towards us.
We then drove straight to the Indianapolis International Airport where we returned our rental car to Hertz. A shuttle first dropped Chris off at Northwest Airlines where we shook hands and wished each other a safe flight home. Then driver the dropped me off at United Airlines and I used a touch screen to get my boarding pass and to check my two bags to Orange County. I went through the security and got "puffed" like all the other passengers here. It was easy and quick. At 5 PM they checked us in and we all walked through the tunnel, down the stairs to a waiting Embracer 145 Airplane.
United Airlines 7781 operated by Chautauqua 4/15/07We departed from Gate 9 at 5:25 PM EDT then taxied out to be in position and took off at 5:34 PM EDT. It was a quick flight up to 20,000 feet then we descended through the clouds arriving at Chicago O'Hare Airport at 5:19 PM CDT. I walked from Terminal B to Terminal C and had a Rib Eye Steak Sandwich at Billy Goat Tavern and Grill. I walked over to Gate C 11 where I wrote most of the Beech Grove Story during my wait.
United Airline 387 4/15/07I boarded this B757 airplane at 8:00 PM CDT and took off at 8:27 PM CDT. I was tired but watched the movie and the NBC programs and we arrived early into Orange County at 10:25 PM PDT. I meet my mother and got my luggage before I drove us home ending a fantastic trip to Pennsylvania and Indiana.
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