Dear Editor:
The Indiana Transportation Museum is a nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization that I have volunteered with for almost a decade. The organization, founded in 1960, has safely transported more than one million passengers to events like the Indiana State Fair across the region since 1991, attracting visitors from across the United States and the world along with their tourism dollars. This Museum represents both Indiana and America’s railroad heritage in an immersive format unlike any other, allowing our citizens and guests to experience railroad travel as it used to be all while stimulating the economy and appetite for learning. Despite the recent news coverage and issues facing the organization, it’s a true asset for the region, state, and country.
Through the organization, I have had the privilege of meeting some of the nicest and most intelligent people with a dedication unlike any other – a true testament to Hoosier spirit and hospitality. As a senior readying to graduate from Ball State University and enter the workforce, I owe credit for a lot of my formational youth experiences to the Museum.
The Museum is one of roughly 40 heritage railroad organizations of its kind in the United States. It’s even more rare regarding the scope of its programs and efforts. Few places in the country, like the Museum, transport people back in time, as did the railroad industry that built our nation by authentically connecting towns, events, and people to one of the largest urban cores in the United States.
With more than 160 years of history behind the Nickel Plate Heritage Railroad, from transporting troops to orphans, to transporting goods as well as people to reunite with family and friends, to several noteworthy United States Presidents, we are at risk of losing an irreplaceable piece of our story as Hoosiers and Americans.
The organization welcomes an average of 40,000 people and more than one million in economic impact annually. I have yet to see a trail such as the proposed replacement Nickel Plate Trail, an item that is a dime a dozen, draw the same level of national notoriety, economic impact, educational benefit, and tourism volume to an area.
The experiences the Nickel Plate Heritage Railroad provides to our state are immeasurable in value.
Nothing surpasses seeing the faces of children and adults alike light up at the sight of the train. I can fondly remember the joy on a critically ill little boy’s face as we toured the locomotive and rode to the North Pole with Santa as part of his wish through the Make-a-Wish Foundation. I’ll also never forget the countless times we offered private, annual excursions to a group of cancer survivors to celebrate life. Nor will I forget trips given free-of-charge to those underprivileged North-Pole-bound on the Polar Bear Express, in which the Museum partnered with several Hamilton County relief organizations.
Furthermore, nothing beats seeing the wonder and excitement of thousands of families as they are transported back in time on their way to one of the state’s premier events, the Indiana State Fair.
Consequently, the volunteer-run Nickel Plate Heritage Railroad of the Indiana Transportation Museum is irreplaceable and deserves our support for the enjoyment and benefit of future generations.
I invite you to join us as we #SavetheNickelPlate for the legacy and benefit of the thousands affected by the railroad’s story as well as economic and cultural benefit. A trail that costs taxpayers more than nine million in construction and upkeep fails in comparison.
We must work together in order to achieve a long-term and innovative solution that benefits Hoosiers and the state’s visitors comprehensively, before a true asset and differentiator for our great state is lost.
Warmest Regards,
Cameron Nichols
Director-at-Large,Board of Directors
Indiana Transportation Museum, Inc.