The nonprofit Hoosier Heartland Trolley Co. (HHTC) will hold a summer fundraiser, “High-Speed Electric Cocktails & Trivia,” from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 24 at Hunt Club Distillery, 3774 State Road 47, Sheridan.
Each guest will receive one complimentary cocktail and a chocolate pairing from the South Bend Chocolate Company. The event will also include a small museum exhibit from Indiana’s electric railways, a raffle, trivia, a presentation, and live music immediately following. Hand-rolled cigars and additional cocktails will be available for purchase along with souvenirs.
“Proceeds will support our interurban car restoration, which thanks to a Heritage Support Grant provided by the Indiana Historical Society and made possible by Lilly Endowment, Inc., will allow the car to move under its own power this summer for the first time in 80 years,” HHTC President Cameron Nichols said.
HHTC is Indiana’s only nonprofit working to preserve and revive the state’s electric railway heritage for education, tourism and economic development.
Tickets are $30 each and must be purchased in advance at hoosiertrolley.org. A $20 upgrade for a laser-engraved Glencairn tasting glass is available. All guests must be 21 years of age or older.
HHTC preserves several rare artifacts, including three of Indiana’s last interurban cars, which were the electric train precursor to today’s interstate highways. The organization has also saved the last Indianapolis streetcar, an 1860s mule-drawn Indianapolis streetcar, and an 1898-built electric locomotive from Singer’s South Bend sewing machine cabinetry works. These artifacts are the core of a developing electric heritage railroad project where the community will be able to experience, enjoy and learn from an industry that transformed the state into what we know today.
“Events such as this allow our organization to further our community-centered, educational mission for generations to come,” Nichols added.
About the Hoosier Heartland Trolley Company
The Hoosier Heartland Trolley Company is an Indiana nonprofit 501(c)(3) founded in 2018 to save the last remaining railroad cars representing Indiana’s rich electric railway heritage. The organization exists to spark imagination in people across all walks of life regarding the art, science, culture, technology, and economic empowerment of Indiana’s world-renowned electric railway industry from the 20th century. The company is developing the state’s only electric heritage railway to immerse Hoosiers in authentic transportation experiences as a community asset for education, economic development, and tourism.
More information regarding preservation efforts, news, and development can be found at hoosiertrolley.org.