Indiana Transportation Museum in Noblesville, Indiana
Railroad museumClosed; left its Forest Park home in Noblesville in 2018
The Indiana Transportation Museum was a not-for-profit railroad museum in Noblesville's Forest Park that preserved, restored and ran historic railroad equipment from 1960 until 2018, when it left its long-time home.
- Forest Park, Noblesville
- Operated 1960 to 2018
- Ran excursions on Nickel Plate track
- Reporting mark ITMZ
- Now closed
Indiana Transportation Museum at a glance
- Hours
- Closed
- Admission
- Not applicable; the museum no longer operates
- Best for
- Rail history readers
Hours and prices as the museum posts them, checked October 19, 2026. Confirm before you go.
Look inside the book
Taking the kids to Indiana Transportation Museum? Bring Rally along.
In Rally Takes the Train, a corgi's little legs can't manage the big train stairs, so Dad gives him a boost. It takes about five minutes to read, a good fit for the drive to Noblesville.
Rally Takes the Train
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Nearly six decades of railroad preservation in Forest Park
The Indiana Transportation Museum, known as ITM, set out to save Indiana's transportation heritage, with railroads at the center. From its grounds in Noblesville's Forest Park, northeast of Indianapolis, the not-for-profit museum preserved, restored, ran and explained historic equipment, including many pieces of rolling stock and several locomotives. It carried its own reporting mark, ITMZ, and at its height ran excursions over about 38 miles of former Nickel Plate Road track.
Its collection reached back to Indiana's interurban era. One example was the body of a car that had served Union Traction of Indiana and then the Indiana Railroad as No. 447; the museum acquired it in 1977.
The museum's time in Forest Park ended in 2018, when it vacated the site after its eviction. To keep pieces from being scrapped or handed to the City of Noblesville, much of the collection was sold to other museums, collectors and a new nonprofit, and some of that equipment still operates elsewhere. Not everything survived: the No. 447 body was scrapped in 2018. Today excursion trains on the line run again as the Nickel Plate Express.
What remains to see
There is no longer an Indiana Transportation Museum to visit in Noblesville. Forest Park is now the boarding point for the Nickel Plate Express, which runs excursions on the former Nickel Plate Road, so families can still ride a train from the same park.
Where kids can ride in Forest Park now
The museum itself is closed, but the Nickel Plate Express now boards in Forest Park and runs family rides on the old line, including seasonal trains for Halloween and Christmas.
Plan your visit: tips for Indiana Transportation Museum
- To ride the former Nickel Plate line from Forest Park, look up the Nickel Plate Express.
- There is no longer an ITM office or ticket window in Noblesville.
The volunteers and the equipment they saved
ITM was a not-for-profit museum, and its story is one of people who spent decades restoring and running historic railroad equipment in central Indiana. When it closed, other museums, collectors and a new nonprofit stepped in to buy pieces of the collection and keep them from the scrapper, so some of that work lives on elsewhere.
Places to see Indiana railroad history today
The Nickel Plate Express boards in Forest Park, about a mile from the old museum site, and runs on the former Nickel Plate line. The Linden Depot Museum is about 48 miles away and the Monon Connection Museum about 72 miles. For open museums, see our guide to train museums across Indiana.
- Nickel Plate ExpressNoblesville, IN · about 1 mi
- Linden Depot MuseumLinden, IN · about 48 mi
- Whitewater Valley RailroadConnersville, IN · about 55 mi
- Monon Connection MuseumMonon, IN · about 72 mi
- Bradford Ohio Railroad MuseumBradford, OH · about 84 mi
- Terre Haute Children's Museum railway exhibitsTerre Haute, IN · about 84 mi
Bring Rally along: a train book for the drive
Places like this one remind me that a story can go quiet for a while and still come back. In our book, the train slips into a dark tunnel, and then there's a big bright light and everyone cheers. The museum in Forest Park closed, but trains roll out of that same park again. My mom never got to write her story down before she died in 2021, so I did. That is all on our story page.
Free for train families
Print the Rally coloring pages before you go
Watercolor coloring pages from the book, free to print. Tuck a few in a folder with crayons for the drive or the wait for the next train.
Get the free coloring pages
A train story for the ride homeRally Takes the Train is a five-minute rhyming picture book about a corgi's first train trip to see his grand-paw-rents. Hand-painted in real watercolor. $13.99 on Amazon, for ages 0 to 8.
Buy on Amazon (opens in a new tab)More for train families
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Work or volunteer at Indiana Transportation Museum?
We want this page to be the best introduction to your museum on the web. Send new hours, event dates, corrections or photos to kelsey@rallytakesthetrain.com and we will update it. You are welcome to share this page with your members.
Indiana Transportation Museum: 20 questions people still ask
Is the Indiana Transportation Museum still open?
No. The Indiana Transportation Museum left its long-time home in Noblesville's Forest Park in 2018 and no longer operates as a public museum there. Excursion trains on the former Nickel Plate line out of Forest Park are now run by the Nickel Plate Express, a separate nonprofit, if you are looking for a train ride in Noblesville.
What happened to the Indiana Transportation Museum?
The museum was evicted from its Forest Park site in Noblesville and vacated it in 2018. Much of its collection was sold to other museums, collectors and a new nonprofit to keep the pieces from being scrapped or turned over to the City of Noblesville. Some of that equipment still runs today at other places.
Where was the Indiana Transportation Museum in Noblesville?
The museum was in Forest Park in Noblesville, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis, where it stood from 1960 until 2018. Forest Park is now the boarding area for the Nickel Plate Express at 825 Forest Park Drive, so the park is still a place to find trains, though the museum is gone.
Is there still an Indiana Transportation Museum office in Noblesville?
No public office or ticket window remains in Noblesville, and there is no posted phone, email or website for the museum today. If you are trying to reach someone about train rides in Forest Park, contact the Nickel Plate Express at (317) 674-3840, which now runs excursions there.
Was the Indiana Transportation Museum in Logansport?
One fan wiki places ITM in Logansport, but every other description, including the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, puts the museum's long-time home in Forest Park in Noblesville from 1960 to 2018. There is no current Indiana Transportation Museum site in Logansport posted online to visit.
Was the Indiana Transportation Museum equipment scrapped?
Some of it was. Equipment that could not be sold faced scrapping when the museum left Forest Park, and the body of interurban car No. 447, acquired in 1977, was scrapped in 2018. Many other pieces were sold to museums, collectors and a new nonprofit specifically to save them, and some still operate.
Is the Indianapolis transportation museum the same as the Indiana Transportation Museum?
People often search for an Indianapolis transportation museum when they mean ITM. The Indiana Transportation Museum was in Noblesville, a short drive northeast of Indianapolis, rather than in the city itself. It closed in 2018, so check other Indiana rail museums for a current visit.
When did the Indiana Transportation Museum open and close?
The museum was based in Noblesville's Forest Park from 1960, and it left that site in 2018. Some sources date its end to 2017 and others to 2018; the move out of Forest Park and the final loss of the site happened in 2018 after the museum's eviction.
What did the Indiana Transportation Museum preserve?
ITM focused on Indiana's transportation heritage, especially railroads. It preserved, restored, ran and interpreted historic equipment, including many pieces of railroad rolling stock and several locomotives. Its collection also included interurban equipment, such as the body of a car that once ran for Union Traction of Indiana and the Indiana Railroad.
Did the Indiana Transportation Museum run train rides?
Yes. Using its collection, the museum ran excursions over about 38 miles of former Nickel Plate Road track out of Noblesville. That made it a working museum railroad rather than only a display. Today the Nickel Plate Express runs rides on part of that former Nickel Plate route from Forest Park.
Who runs the train in Forest Park now?
The Nickel Plate Express, operated by the nonprofit Nickel Plate Heritage Railroad, runs excursions from Forest Park in Noblesville on the former Nickel Plate Road. It is a separate organization from the Indiana Transportation Museum. Its rides include fall, Halloween and Christmas trips, and tickets are sold on its website.
Where did the Indiana Transportation Museum collection go?
Pieces were sold to various museums and private collectors, and some went to a newly formed nonprofit, all to keep them from being scrapped or left to the City of Noblesville. There is no single list of where every car ended up posted online, but some of the equipment still operates at other places.
Where can I see photos of the Indiana Transportation Museum?
The museum no longer has an active website or social media page to post photos. Historical photos and equipment records appear on rail history sites, the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis and the Wikipedia article about the museum. Rail fan groups that followed ITM over the years are another good place to look.
What was the Indiana Transportation Museum reporting mark?
The museum used the reporting mark ITMZ. A reporting mark is the code painted on railroad cars to show who owns them, and having its own mark let the museum's equipment be identified on the rails. Rail fans tracing old ITM cars often search for that code.
Can I visit the old Indiana Transportation Museum grounds?
Forest Park in Noblesville is a public park, and the Nickel Plate Express boards there at 825 Forest Park Drive. The museum's own displays and buildings are no longer open as a museum, so there are no exhibits to tour. A ride on the Nickel Plate Express is the closest way to experience the old line.
Can I donate or volunteer with the Indiana Transportation Museum?
No. The museum is no longer operating and does not post a way to donate or volunteer. If you want to help preserve rail history around Noblesville, the Nickel Plate Express is a nonprofit that accepts donations, and other Indiana museums such as the Monon Connection Museum and Linden Depot Museum welcome visitors.
Is there a museum like the Indiana Transportation Museum for kids today?
Yes, several in Indiana. The Nickel Plate Express in Forest Park runs short family train rides, and the Linden Depot Museum and the Monon Connection Museum are within about an hour and a half. The Terre Haute Children's Museum railway exhibits and the Wabash Valley Railroaders Museum are each about 84 to 85 miles away.
Did the Indiana Transportation Museum have interurban cars?
Yes. Among its pieces was the body of an interurban car that served Union Traction of Indiana and then became Indiana Railroad No. 447 in 1930. The museum acquired that body in 1977. Sadly it was scrapped in 2018, the year the museum left Forest Park.
What railroad did the Indiana Transportation Museum line belong to?
The museum ran excursions on track that originally belonged to the Nickel Plate Road, the nickname for the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad. At its peak that meant roughly 38 miles of former Nickel Plate trackage. The same historic route is used today by the Nickel Plate Express out of Noblesville.
What train museums are near Noblesville now?
The Nickel Plate Express is about a mile from the old museum site in Forest Park. The Linden Depot Museum is about 48 miles away, the Whitewater Valley Railroad in Connersville about 55 miles, and the Monon Connection Museum about 72 miles. The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson is about 89 miles north.
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