Historic train arrives in Hillsdale. Logan Washburn | Collegian
Historic trains took visitors from across the Midwest on trips between Hillsdale and Indiana earlier this month to enjoy the fall scenery and local attractions.
The trips featured a historic diesel locomotive in one direction and Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive No. 765 in the other, as well as passenger cars from the 1920s-1950s, according to the website for the Indiana Rail Experience. Sam Fry, the marketing and economic development coordinator for Hillsdale, said steam locomotive No. 765 is designated on the National Register of Historic Places.
The trips are offered through the Indiana Rail Experience, a partnership between the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society and the Indiana Northeastern Railroad.
One couple, Chris and Leslie Corneau, came from more than two hours away in Shelby Township to ride the historic train from Hillsdale to Angola on Oct. 15.
“It was just a fun day getaway for us,” Leslie Corneau said.
This is the second year the Indiana Rail Experience has offered the trips but the first year they have included routes in both directions, according to Fry.
Corneau said her favorite part of the Oct. 15 trip was the band on the train.
“There was a clarinetist, a singer, a guy that played the washboard — that was pretty fun,” Corneau said.
The trips on Oct. 14 and 15 boarded in Hillsdale and departed for Angola, Indiana, and then returned to Hillsdale later in the day. The previous weekend, on Oct. 7 and 8, trips began in Pleasant Lake, Indiana and departed for Hillsdale.
Heather Tritchka, a Hillsdale resident, said she went to see the train on Saturday, Oct. 7.
“It was a little rainy and cool, but people still came out to see the train,” Tritchka said. “There was also an art show going on at Rough Draft that was well attended. A lot of people came out and looked at the train and supported the arts even on a rainy day.”
Fry said there were a lot of things for people to do when they got off the train in Hillsdale.
“We would bring in food trucks. We’d have local vendors. There was an art show at the Dawn Theater as well as one at Studio 42,” Fry said.
He said he wants people to enjoy the historic nature of Hillsdale.
“We were kind of the furthest west the train would go at one point, you know, in the 1800s, and so we have a very rich and storied rail history here in Hillsdale, and so we want folks to be able to check that out, appreciate that,” Fry said.
Fry said people from many different states have taken the trips.
“We’re really excited that they’re continuing to do this in year two and grow and expand, and we’re certainly going to make sure that we continue to partner with them in Hillsdale as they grow and move forward,” he said.