SARM Photo Freight on the ITM

On April 15th, the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum hosted a photo freight on the Indiana Transportation Museum's line from Indianapolis to Tipton. It was a fun filled day with a few surprises and some excellent operation on the part of the museum. I was lucky enough to enjoy the ride from the NKP 1, an observation car used by the president of the NKP railroad. It was a mild sunny day, which meant I spent most of my ride standing out on the back observation platform of the car...

The first shot of the day was SARM train organizer Bart Jennings, proclaiming the trip underway.

One of the first staged photos was the NKP 426 leading a period freight south through downtown Noblesville. The first shot turned out to be one of the sweetest, as the freight passed Syd's Bar downtown. I got the train framed just right to block out the U-haul that pulled up to the stop light just west of the tracks as the train came out into the street....

A few more shots show the photo freight rolling south past the town square (if I was a driver, I wouldn't turn left at the light), and NKP 426 on the point moving south along 8th St. with the NKP 770 bringing up the rear. A few moments later, crew member Don Nickel is out on the steps of the 426 watching over is freight while the trains prepares to have the passenger coaches reattached to the rear of the train for the continued trip south to Indianapolis.

A big thanks to Don for keeping me stocked with the occasional Cheerwine passed down from the locomotive cab.

Museum member David Wilcox was required to negotiate "trackage rights" with one of the local law enforcement officers.... :)

A mechanical problem with 426 allowed for an extended stay in Fishers while the crew was troubleshooting a newly installed blower. The crew shows its relief about 20 minutes later: crisis averted! The pit stop in Fishers allowed for a nice shot of the photo freight passing the Nickel Plate Bar & Grill. I'm sure the drivers of Fishers enjoyed the large group of people standing in the street, including the lady that was nice enough to tell me that I was Number 1.

The freight ran south to the former NKP yard at Sutherland Ave., south of 38th, where it ran around the train to head back north.

After making a stop at the museum to drop off some passengers, we headed north toward Tipton. A stop at Atlanta was made to allow Monon DS-50 to tack on to the north end of the train. This allowed me the opportunity to get a good broadside of the 426.

I switched to video at this point, so there's no more pics. But all in all, it was an excellent ride. I heard nothing but kudos to the engine crews for smooth stops and starts, and a big round of applause goes to everyone at the Museum that made all of this possible. I hope they will be able to put on more, & I definitely know that I'll be chasing them more in the future.