That Other IRM

We're on vacation this week, and today we were able to visit the Indiana Railway Museum based in French Lick, Indiana, in the southern part of the state. This other IRM is mostly a tourist line, running excursion trains through the scenic hills and valleys of the area, and serving the popular resorts at French Lick and West Baden. Their website appears to say nothing about the rest of the collection.

Revenue service today consisted of a NYC combine and several Rock coaches pulled by a critter.

There are three locomotives on display near the depot, including this 0-4-0ST, Indiana & Ohio Gravel #11...

And two moguls: (L) Angelina & Neches River #208 (now lettered "FL, WB & S"), a small 1912 Baldwin which had several owners, and (R) Mobile & Gulf #97, a 1925 Baldwin, also a boomer. Neither is operational at this time. See steamlocomotive.info for details.

Of local interest to us are these two South Shore trailers, now located on a storage track as seen here. The doors are open but I was afraid to enter.







And they have a North Western RDC combine.

And there's much more to the collection than I was able to photograph.

The French Lick depot is very interesting architecturally.

Two large hotels and spas were built in the towns of French Lick and West Baden, no more than two miles apart, in the early 1900's. They were both served by the same railroad branch, which ended at West Baden. Until recently, the line between them was served by a small European streetcar. But it has deteriorated, and I was told that they decided it could not restored. So a Diesel-powered unit of some sort will be built new.

Here is the imposing entrance gate to the West Baden hotel, with the end of the streetcar line in the pavement. We ate lunch at the grand hotel, which is huge and impressive almost beyond belief.

The trolley wire was removed over the winter, and this part of the line is no longer in use.

If you're in the area, a visit to the Indiana Railway Museum is well worthwhile.