Indiana Railroad Museums (2026): A Complete Guide

Last revised: October 7, 2026

Indiana was a crossing of main lines, and the museums follow those lines. At New Haven the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society keeps Nickel Plate 2-8-4 No. 765 in steam and, since September 15, 2026, New York Central 4-8-2 No. 3001 in the shop. Elkhart still has the National New York Central Railroad Museum, with E8A No. 4085 and GG1 No. 4882. French Lick runs a diesel scenic train from a 1907 depot. Linden keeps the 1909 junction where the Nickel Plate crossed the Monon. Terre Haute kept Haley Tower. Carmel kept an 1883 Monon depot.

Which days French Lick, Hesston, North Judson, and the Nickel Plate Express post a train, and which days No. 765 is out, are on the Indiana scenic-train guide. Confirm the museum doors on each site before you drive.

The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum preserves the history of North Judson, Indiana where several railroads once met. Today, little of this important junction remains. Museum photo.

On this page: At a glance · Indiana railroads · New Haven · Elkhart · French Lick · Linden · Carmel · Madison · Terre Haute · North Judson · Hesston · Connersville · Noblesville · Related reading

At a glance

Place	Town	What it is known for	Site
Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society	New Haven	Operating Nickel Plate 2-8-4 No. 765. New York Central 3001 arrived at the shop on September 15, 2026, for restoration	fortwaynerailroad.org · 765
National New York Central Railroad Museum	Elkhart	Founded 1987. E8A No. 4085 and GG1 No. 4882. Mohawk 3001 has moved to New Haven	cityofelkhartin.gov
French Lick Scenic Railway	French Lick	Diesel scenic train of about 90 minutes from the 1907 depot, through Burton Tunnel	frenchlicktrain.com · rides
Linden Depot Museum	Linden	1909 Nickel Plate and Monon junction depot. Reopened as a museum on April 13, 1993	lindendepotmuseum.org
Carmel Clay Historical Society	Carmel	Monon depot of 1883, given to the society in 1975	carmelclayhistory.org
Madison Railroad Station	Madison	Brick Pennsylvania depot, opened in the 1890s on the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis	Jefferson County Historical Society
Wabash Valley Railroad Museum	Terre Haute	Haley Tower, saved in 1999 when CSX planned to demolish it	Wabash Valley Railroad Museum
Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum	North Judson	Milwaukee Road, Chicago & Eastern Illinois, New York Central, and Pennsylvania junction	hoosiervalley.org · rides
Hesston Steam Museum	Hesston	Narrow-gauge steam on about two miles, and a miniature line of about one mile	hesston.org · rides
Nickel Plate Express	Noblesville	Excursions from Hobbs Station, 825 Forest Park Drive. The Indiana Transportation Museum closed in 2017	nickelplateexpress.com · rides
Whitewater Valley Railroad	Connersville	Passenger trains suspended since the August 13, 2026 flood. The line is the old Big Four	whitewatervalleyrr.org · status

Indiana railroads

The Pennsylvania, the New York Central’s Big Four, the Monon, the Nickel Plate, the Wabash, the Baltimore & Ohio, and the Southern into French Lick all crossed the state. A fuller account is on the Indiana railroads page. What a visitor can still board is at French Lick, North Judson, Hesston, and Noblesville, and, when the society posts a trip, at Pleasant Lake with No. 765.

Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society

The society was founded in 1972. It is the caretaker of Nickel Plate 2-8-4 No. 765, and the locomotive’s specifications stay on its own page. Excursions run as the Indiana Rail Experience. Some of those trips cross into Michigan. The calendar is on the scenic guide. The shop is at 15808 Edgerton Road in New Haven.

New York Central 4-8-2 No. 3001 is in that shop. The American Locomotive Company built it in October 1940, construction number 69338, class L-3a. It is one of two surviving New York Central 4-8-2s, and the only surviving L-3a. The railroad retired it in 1957. It later stood in Dallas as Texas & Pacific No. 909, and it moved to Elkhart in April 1984. The city transferred ownership to the society in 2023. On September 15, 2026, Norfolk Southern moved it to New Haven behind the railroad’s New York Central heritage unit, No. 1066. Restoration is underway.

National New York Central Railroad Museum

Elkhart founded the National New York Central Railroad Museum in 1987 and opened it to the public in August 1989. The address is 721 South Main Street, across from the 1900 passenger depot that Amtrak still uses. Indoor exhibits fill freight houses the city dates to the 1900s. Those houses once served the Miles Medical Company.

With No. 3001 gone to New Haven, the locomotives on the property are two. New York Central E8A No. 4085, built by Electro-Motive in 1953, led the last eastbound 20th Century Limited out of Chicago on December 2, 1967. The museum bought it from New Jersey Rail Operations in 1987 and restored the lightning-stripe paint. GG1 No. 4882, built at Altoona in 1939, wears Penn Central black. The museum bought that engine from the same seller in 1987.

French Lick Scenic Railway

The French Lick Scenic Railway boards at the town’s 1907 limestone depot. The ride is a diesel-powered scenic train of about ninety minutes through the Hoosier National Forest, including the 2,200-foot Burton Tunnel. The line is a former Southern route into the resort. Which locomotive is on the train, and the day’s schedule, are on the scenic guide. The Polar ticket is a separate product on that same page.

Linden Depot Museum

The Linden Depot Museum calls its building the last surviving junction depot in Indiana. It was built in 1909 where the Nickel Plate’s Toledo–St. Louis line crossed the Monon, the old Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville, on the Chicago–Louisville route. The depot closed in 1973 and reopened as a museum on April 13, 1993. The address is 520 North Main Street. A Nickel Plate caboose and four semaphores, which the museum dates at about a century, stand with the building. The Linden–Madison Township Historical Society operates the museum.

Carmel

The Carmel Clay Historical Society formed in 1975, for the Bicentennial. That year the city gave the society the Monon depot of 1883, at 211 First Street SW, and the society still keeps the building as a museum of local history. In 2024 the society opened the Carmel Clay History Museum on the Monon Greenway, one block south of Main Street. The depot and the newer museum are both the society’s.

Madison Railroad Station

The Jefferson County Historical Society keeps Madison’s brick Pennsylvania depot. It opened in the 1890s under the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis, the Pennsylvania’s line to the Ohio River town.

Wabash Valley Railroad Museum

The Wabash Valley Railroad Museum in Terre Haute grew out of the effort that saved Haley Tower. After a merger in 1999, CSX planned to demolish the tower. The Haley Tower Historical and Technical Society moved it. Bill Foster, the museum’s president, has said five people put their homes up as collateral to do it. The tower became the cornerstone of the museum, beside a CSX main line. A local news story in October 2024 marked twenty-five years since the tower was saved.

Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum

The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum is at 507 Mulberry Street in North Judson, a junction of the Milwaukee Road, the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, the New York Central, and the Pennsylvania. The museum’s trains are on the scenic guide.

Hesston Steam Museum

Hesston Steam Museum, at 1201 East 1000 North near La Porte, runs a narrow-gauge steam railroad of about two miles and a miniature line of about one mile. A sawmill and other steam engines share the grounds. Ride days are on the scenic guide.

Whitewater Valley Railroad

The Whitewater Valley Railroad, when it runs, uses the old Big Four between Connersville and Metamora. Passenger trains have been suspended since the August 13, 2026 flood. The current status is on the scenic guide. The Spirit of Jasper scheduled no public trains in 2026. Its replica depot at 201 Mill Street remains a rental through Jasper Park and Recreation.

Noblesville

The Indiana Transportation Museum operated from 1960 to 2017 and is closed. The Nickel Plate Express is a separate railroad. It boards at Hobbs Station, 825 Forest Park Drive. Railbikes are a separate ticket. Ride days are on the scenic guide.

Railroad museums
Indiana railroads · Indiana scenic trains
Monon · Nickel Plate · Nickel Plate 765 · GG1
Ohio railroad museums · Illinois railroad museums · Iowa railroad museums

Sources

Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, fortwaynerailroad.org, September 17, 2026, for the September 15 move of New York Central No. 3001 to 15808 Edgerton Road, New Haven, behind Norfolk Southern No. 1066, and for the society’s 1972 founding. Alco, October 1940, class L-3a, and construction number 69338 follow the project record. The city’s locomotive page places the Elkhart arrival in April 1984 and the 2023 transfer of ownership. Nickel Plate No. 765 follows its own page. Excursion dates stay on the Indiana scenic-train guide.
City of Elkhart, National New York Central Railroad Museum: founded 1987, opened to the public August 1989, 721 South Main Street. Freight houses dated by the city to the 1900s. E8A No. 4085, Electro-Motive 1953, last eastbound 20th Century Limited from Chicago on December 2, 1967. GG1 No. 4882, Altoona 1939. Both bought from New Jersey Rail Operations in 1987.
French Lick Scenic Railway facts follow the Indiana scenic-train guide: 1907 depot, about 90 minutes, Burton Tunnel 2,200 feet, diesel scenic.
Linden Depot Museum, lindendepotmuseum.org: built 1909, closed 1973, reopened April 13, 1993, 520 North Main Street. Carmel Clay Historical Society, carmelclayhistory.org: formed 1975, 1883 Monon depot. Haley Tower follows WTHI, October 18, 2024. Whitewater Valley status follows the Indiana scenic-train guide and whitewatervalleyrr.org. The Indiana Transportation Museum page is the closed-museum account, 1960–2017.

Confirm hours and which locomotive is on the property before you travel. American-Rails does not sell tickets.

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