The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum says it’s signed a new agreement with the Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad. The physical track and the company that operates the railroad were both recently purchased by Midwest & Bluegrass Rail. The museum runs excursion trains on the five-mile section between North Judson and English Lake.
Hoosier Valley says the agreement “simplifies operating protocols and communication . . . and gives the museum greater operating flexibility.” The museum will continue to lease and do railroad track maintenance, while Chesapeake and Indiana retains the right to serve freight customers.
In an update on the museum’s website, Museum President Todd Flanigan says the agreement not only lets Hoosier Valley keep running its trains, but also provides “the opportunity to make North Judson a must-see tourist destination.”
Midwest & Bluegrass Chief Operating Officer Brian Miller says the company has quickly developed a great partnership with the museum and says it does a great job at promoting rail and rail history.
According to another announcement this week, the Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad has donated a diesel locomotive to the museum. The EMD locomotive was built in 1959 and has been operating in Northwest Indiana since 1998, first on the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway and since 2010 on the Chesapeake and Indiana. The museum says it’s planning a truck replacement project so they can keep the engine in service pulling excursion trains.
