By Justin Franz

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Four years after the Indiana Transportation Museum was evicted from its city-owned property, some of the final pieces of equipment at the site have been saved by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, owner and operator of Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 765. 

On Tuesday, FWRHS announced that it had recovered seven pieces of equipment from the former ITM facilities in Noblesville and Logansport. Included in the acquisition are two former Milwaukee Road F-units, a former MILW B-unit, a Pennsylvania Railroad hopper, an NKP boxcar, a Louisville & Nashville boxcar and a Wabash boxcar. 

Some of the historic freight equipment that has been acquired by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society. 

“We’re grateful that Noblesville and Logansport elected to partner with us to find new homes for these historic artifacts. It’s an unusual burden for a City to be faced with de-accessing railroad equipment of any size or age and an enormous challenge for a non-profit like ours to be able to intercede,” said Kelly Lynch, Vice President of the Fort Wayne Railroad. “Fortunately, a private donor stepped up to assist in saving these pieces of Indiana history. Everything relocated is destined for restoration and interpretation of some kind and will help tell the story of Hoosier railroading.” 

Some of the equipment, specifically the freight cars, will stay with the Fort Wayne group and some will be offered to others. The group said it is willing to offer mechanical parts from the locomotives to other rail preservation groups. Inquiries on locomotive parts can be made at contact@fwrhs.org. 

FWRHS was aided by Nickel Plate Express, US Rail Corporation, and Hoosier Heartland Trolley Company in moving some of the equipment, which is now stored at a privately owned, rail-served facility where stabilization efforts will take place. Due to the active industrial nature of the storage site, the equipment is not currently available for public viewing or tours.