We visited the Indiana Railway Museum in French Lick, Indiana and took the train ride through the countryside including a 2,200 foot tunnel. First we browsed the trains sitting around.
M. & G.R.R.Co. engine #97
There were 2 eingines attached to this old train on the side track.
Small engine and caboose
A Pennsylvania car.
Pluto Water.....good for what ails you!
#11 engine. I liked the yellow flowers by the nose.
This was a special one for me.....I may have ridden on it! It is part of the old Monon line in Indianapolis and my Girl Scout troop took a ride when I was in grade school.
Monon caboose
# 208 and the FL, WB& S
This is the engine for our train ride.
The car we rode in
We sat in the back so we could take photos out the back door. Leaving the station!
OK.....anyone who knows who Larry Byrd is......played basketball for the Celtics, was on the first Olympic Dream Team, and now owns part of the Indianapolis Pacers....this is his boyhood home on the left. Awfully small house for such a BIG guy! French Lick is very proud of their native son :-)
Down the tracks.......lots of old ties where they have been replacing them.
Before getting to the tunnel, we passed some nice rock faces. We are actually in the Hoosier National Forest.
Tunnel opening
It was really dark in there! The opening as seen as we approached the other end.
On the return trip, it had begun to rain and the opening was in mist as we came back out. Several deer were seen crossing the tracks. They used a light shining along the right hand rail as we went back through the tunnel. Mike said they were looking for bad spots on the rails which need a lot of work done on them.
A log cabin off to one side.
Parson's Falls.....which was a bare trickle of water that you could barely see through the trees.
A nice red barn along the side.
And the French Lick Hotel which means we are back at the station! This hotel was quite popular at the turn of the century with health seekers who came to "take the waters" and gamble. The mineral springs in the area were considered very healthy. This hotel and the West Baden one nearby were two of the most fashionable hotels in the nation. The hotel registar is suppose to read like a "Who's Who" of the 20th century's most prominent politicians, industrialists, entertainers, sportsmen, and socialites. We didn't visit this one, but I have some shots of the West Baden Hotel to post tomorrow......once called the "8th wonder of the world".
M. & G.R.R.Co. engine #97
There were 2 eingines attached to this old train on the side track.
Small engine and caboose
A Pennsylvania car.
Pluto Water.....good for what ails you!
#11 engine. I liked the yellow flowers by the nose.
This was a special one for me.....I may have ridden on it! It is part of the old Monon line in Indianapolis and my Girl Scout troop took a ride when I was in grade school.
Monon caboose
# 208 and the FL, WB& S
This is the engine for our train ride.
The car we rode in
We sat in the back so we could take photos out the back door. Leaving the station!
OK.....anyone who knows who Larry Byrd is......played basketball for the Celtics, was on the first Olympic Dream Team, and now owns part of the Indianapolis Pacers....this is his boyhood home on the left. Awfully small house for such a BIG guy! French Lick is very proud of their native son :-)
Down the tracks.......lots of old ties where they have been replacing them.
Before getting to the tunnel, we passed some nice rock faces. We are actually in the Hoosier National Forest.
Tunnel opening
It was really dark in there! The opening as seen as we approached the other end.
On the return trip, it had begun to rain and the opening was in mist as we came back out. Several deer were seen crossing the tracks. They used a light shining along the right hand rail as we went back through the tunnel. Mike said they were looking for bad spots on the rails which need a lot of work done on them.
A log cabin off to one side.
Parson's Falls.....which was a bare trickle of water that you could barely see through the trees.
A nice red barn along the side.
And the French Lick Hotel which means we are back at the station! This hotel was quite popular at the turn of the century with health seekers who came to "take the waters" and gamble. The mineral springs in the area were considered very healthy. This hotel and the West Baden one nearby were two of the most fashionable hotels in the nation. The hotel registar is suppose to read like a "Who's Who" of the 20th century's most prominent politicians, industrialists, entertainers, sportsmen, and socialites. We didn't visit this one, but I have some shots of the West Baden Hotel to post tomorrow......once called the "8th wonder of the world". 
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14 comments:
You sure see a lot of interesting things on your trip!
Glad you share it, too! :)
Cheers, Klaus
I really like the tunnel shots! Very border to wonderland feel to them!
Klaus: thanks...it was a good trip.
Emily: It was a bit like going down the rabbit hole :-) Very dark! Coming out in that mist was neat!
Trains have such an appeal ... the call of the rails!
I'm glad you were able to do so many fun things on your trip.
Traveling by train is the only way to go ! What a wonderful trip and so many neat things to see! Love the tunnel shots. It looks like the date reads 1907.
All those old locomotives and cars just sit there, but it's so great someone has preserved them.
That yellow locomotive you rode behind looks like an ALCO engine. Gary's grandfather worked at the ALCO ( American Locomotive Company) in Schenectady, NY back when they built ALCO steam engines. Now there is just the diesel ones operating today.
Thanks for the cool ride!.
Cicero and Becky: Trains do have a wonderful appeal and both Mike and I agree that we need to take an Amtrak trip out to Seattle some year instead of flying. I like the lull of the train as it goes along and would probably fall asleep most of the way! It is a shame that train travel isn't encouraged for shorter distances where planes are not practical. They are more comfortable to, now that they pack you into planes like sardines. I will put the remainder of my train shots and the more technical ones that Mike took into an album and give you the link. I'm finally getting caught up on my own blogs and everyone elses....I think.
Never heard of French Lick, tho I'm from the midwest. First time I heard of it is when my daughter was offered a job running the bar and restaurant of one of the smaller resorts.
I've enjoyed learning about the town these last few days, Mary. Thanks!
Great minds think alike I see!! On Sunday I went hunting around to see if I could find any old trains to take pictures of but the place was closed. Wonderful pictures Mary.
I enjoyed this...you are giving me ideas of something to do sometime in the future.
Annie: I would like to see inside of these old hotels and there is a lot of history about them on the net. Did she take the job?
Joan: We've toured a lot of old train museums and this was neat because of actually getting to take a ride.
Rose: That whole area of Indiana is very beautiful. I'm ashamed to have seen so little of it in the past when I don't live that far away.
Sounds like a fun time! LOVE the red barn!!
Kerri: Thanks...it was fun!
YOur posts just keep getting more and more interesting!!!
great shots.
I've always wanted to take a train ride. These photos make me want to even more. Love the shot with the mist at the end of the tunnel.
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