The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum is a railroad museum located at 507 Mulberry Street in North Judson, Indiana.
History[]
The first railroad in town was the Chicago and Cincinnati Railroad Company constructed from Logansport to Valparaiso, Indiana, from 1858 through 1861. In 1865 it merged with the Chicago & Great Eastern Railway Company. Later, the line was purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The town had been called Brantwood, then changed to North Judson. The second railroad in town was the Indiana, Illinois and Iowa Railroad, the 3I route. It ran from Streator, Illinois, to North Judson. Begun in 1881 it reached South Bend, Indiana, in 1894. Later it was known as the New York Central Railroad.
The third line through town was the Chicago and Atlantic Railroad, built in 1881 through 1883. It was absorbed by the Erie Railroad. In 1902 the Cincinnati, Richmond and Muncie Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad was built. It later merged with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.
Locomotive Roaster[]
- Current Locomotives:
| Number | Images | Heritage | Type | Builder | Built | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2789 | 
|
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway | 2-8-4 | American Locomotive Company | 1947 | Display | 2789 is the biggest locomotive in the museum’s collection |
| 1 | 
|
Bock Lumber Co. | 0-4-4T | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1908 | Operational | |
| 6 | 
|
Coronet Phosphate Co. | 0-4-2T | H. K. Porter | 1913 | Display | |
| 814 | 
|
Duluth Missabe and Iron Range | SD-M | General Motors | Operational | It was rebuilt from an SD9. | |
| 11 | 
|
Interlake Iron Corporation | GE 95-tonner | General Electric | 1952 | Operational | |
| 509 | 
|
U.S. Army | Whitcomb 44-tonner | Whitcomb Locomotive Works | 1941 | Display | |
| 310 | 
|
Erie Lackawanna Railway | ALCO S1 | American Locomotive Company | 1947 | Overhaul | |
| 818 | 
|
Chesapeake & Indiana Railroad | SD-M | General Motors | 1959 | Operational | It was rebuilt from an SD9. |
| 52 | 
|
Bangor and Aroostook Railroad | EMD BL2 | Electro-Motive Division | 1949 | Overhaul | |
| 56 | 
|
Bangor and Aroostook Railroad | EMD BL2 | Electro-Motive Division | 1949 | Overhaul | |
| 467 | 
|
Long Island Railroad | RS-1 | American Locomotive Company | 1950 | Operational |
Trivia[]
- The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum has a number of both steam and diesel locomotives on display.
- Some of the diesel switch engines are operational and are utilized as part of our tourist operation.
- At one time, a significant portion of the working population in North Judson was employed by one of the railroad companies in town.
- The non-profit museum is located at a former Erie Railroad facility.
- The museum is open Saturdays all year with train rides also available from May to October.