Indy Incidentals

This particular trip involved a mini-van full of students and chaperones to go to Indianapolis  for the National Forensic League's National Speech and Debate tournament.  As usual, we visited a place or two with railfan potential but alas I could take no time to do such frivolous things.  There were a few things that came my way with little or no effort however.

The league saw fit to have it's massive party at the Indianapolis Zoo.  I saw on the website that they had a train, so I had a side-mission.  These things are usually a bit of a disappointment but this one was a bit more so.  Though I could ride for free on the league's dime, I chose not to.  The tracks seemed to circle it's own secluded part of the zoo and didn't show off much.  While on this quest, I found "abandoned" tracks in the pathways and sidewalks of the heart of the zoo.  They appeared to be roughly 3' gauge and much heavier than the toy now running.  They took people around like a service rather than an amusing ride.  A couple of sidings were present and the tracks went places I'd like to have seen from a train.  But alas, it appears that either cost or insurance or both brought it down.  I have to do more research on that one.  White River Jct. is actually named for the river that runs through Indianapolis and has nothing to do with the one we passed through in Vermont.

As competition wound down and we found ourselves sightseeing, the group went to the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  Here I ran into a gem with PRR roots.  In the basement levels of the museum is the actual Reuben Wells, a locomotive that pushed cars out of the Ohio River valley town of Madison and up to the rest of the rail network.  Apparently the 8.5% grade is one of the steepest in the country.  Over time the line fell into PRR control and the unique loco stayed in good shape.  It was promised and delivered in 1968.  The museum had it's work cut out for it when it tried to get title from the Penn Central however.  That financial fiasco led to endless paperwork that tied up ownership until 9 years after PC died as a railroad.
The museum has a neat O scale model of the line complete with scale grade, but I missed the operating session I guess.   The locomotive was hooked up with lights and sound for the kids but I just gave it a look anyway.  It had one drive rod but two sets of driver wheels, front and rear.  Apparently this custom arrangement aided traction. 

Included with the Reuben Wells was a former PRR "tool car" which apparently got caught in the paperwork fiasco too.  They have photos of the delivery to the present location 1985.



The Lego exhibit was one of the last one's I checked out at the museum and wouldn't you know it...








I had previously assumed that the trade name for Pan Am was owned by Guilford Transportation Industries.  Here is a tower across from the Indiana Convention Center that is known as the "Pan Am Tower".  Apparently it is named for the Pan American Games held in 1987, but there is a rail connection.  This building is a "re-interpretation" of the nearby Union Station tower.  Nice looking building anyway.


Indianapolis Union Station was near, if not connected to the Indiana Convention Center where we spent a lot of time.  As we walked back from Lucas Oil Stadium we walked under the end of the train shed, which is now part of the Crowne Plaza Hotel.  I did not walk over because time was short but I could see the imposing building.

A CSX double stack entered the still used steel portion of the train shed while we were emerging from the ICC.  Another passed while we milled around the stadium and returned to the ICC.  When I saw this, I became interested in the train shed and building so we returned to our venue using the sidewalk under the bridge.  It was actually cleaned up and bright under there. 

Although there was plenty to clutter the photo, the brown masonry of the main building stands out.  At least you see enough to compare to the Pan Am building to examine the "re-interpretation".




After we left Indy, we headed back to Maine via Cleveland.  While I can think of railfan things to do, my team had other ideas.  We spent the less rainy day at Cedar Point Amusement Park.  This gave me another chance to visit the Cedar Point and Lake Erie Ry.  Since I'd already photographed it before, this one vantage point was the only new item worthy of note.  I had to dangle the camera a bit to get this but you can see the intricate placement of several rides as the train passes over a grade crossing.  Cedar Point is known world wide for its roller coasters.  I'm known locally for not riding them.


The last shot is from the Cleveland waterfront, in the literal shadow of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  I include it because ships like this shuttled the iron ore from ports in Minnesota and Wisconsin to Ohio ports like Ashtabula, Conneaut or Cleveland. Railroads took the ore to the likes of Youngstown, Wierton and Pittsburgh for the once mighty steel industry.  Plus, I just like the way they look.


BC