The Depot Railroad Museum

06/11/2026

As our nation celebrates America's 250th, one of the greatest symbols of American ingenuity is once again steaming across the country. Union Pacific's legendary Big Boy No. 4014, the world's largest operating steam locomotive is currently making a historic coast to coast journey in honor of America's 250th Birthday.
Built in 1941 and weighing more than 1.2 million pounds, the Big Boy represents the power, determination and innovation that helped build our nation.

06/09/2026

Hello all!
We have regained access to the Depot page!

05/30/2026

For generations, the Monon Railroad became a part of everyday life in Pekin. Photographed here is train #72 traveling through Pekin on October 20, 1962.

05/28/2026

When people remember the Monon Railroad, they often think of the locomotives or the whistles echoing, but the true heart of the Monon was never made of steel, it was made of people.

The Monon Railroad was built and operated by thousands of hardworking men and women whose dedication kept Indiana connected for generations. Some wore suits and managed offices. Others wore denim overalls stained with coal dust and grease. Every one of them played a role in creating the railroad so many still remember with pride today.
The Monon was more than a company. It was a community.

But perhaps the most important people of the Monon were the families who lived alongside it. Wives waited late into the night for husbands working extra shifts. Children grew up hearing train whistles outside their windows. Entire generations worked for the railroad, passing down stories and traditions like family heirlooms.

Their stories still live in preserved depots, faded photographs, old timetables, and memories shared by those who remember when the railroad was part of everyday life.

05/27/2026

05/24/2026

Trains Carried Salem’s Name to the Lake

This article first appeared in The Salem Leader and The Salem Democrat, September 6, 1990
under the heading -- "The Dripping Faucet" -- By Cecil J., Smith

Almost a century and a half ago the people along the northern border of Indiana learned about the town of Salem in an unusual way -- they read the name on the side of trains rolling through their towns.

What started out to be the tiny New Albany and Salem Railroad soon blossomed into a ribbon of steel stretching from the Ohio River to Lake Michigan. And while it was correctly named in its formative days, it still carried that very limited name when it reached Lake Michigan.

The railroad -- the one many of us call The Monon -- was formed in l847 when a group of Salem and New Albany businessmen met at what is now Borden. The Salem businessmen were interested in finding a better way to haul goods into Washington County, and to ship items from here to the river.

James Brooks of New Albany, who for several years had dreamed of building a railroad the full length of the state, was elected president of the new railroad. The line was to be much shorter than Brooks’ dream, but unbeknown to the others, his dream was still flourishing. He figured if a railroad could be built as far as Salem, it could probably continue all the way to Lake Michigan.

But Brooks didn’t want to scare investors off with a plan that appeared too out of sight, so he agreed to the name “New Albany and Salem.”

The railroad’s first locomotives were named for the towns along the line -- the first being “New Albany,” the second “Providence,” and the third, “Salem.”

January 14, 1851, the first passenger train rolled into Salem. Thousands flocked along South Main Street to get their first glimpse of this unusual piece of equipment that was to bring prosperity to Washington County.

By the time that first train reached Salem, Brooks’ plan to push on to Lake Michigan was already well in motion. The right-of-way was acquired along much of the line using, in some places, the right-of-way of a proposed, but failed, road that was to reach from New Albany to Crawfordsville.

So it was that on June 24, 1854, the last spike in the 288-mile line was driven seven miles north of Greencastle. The railroad had been constructed at a cost of $6 million.

July 3, 1854, the first through-train left Michigan City at 5 a.m. and averaging 16 miles per hour headed south. It reached New Albany at 10p.m.

For four years trains along the line would carry the name “New Albany and Salem Railroad.” Then financial disaster struck the railroad and following reorganization in 1858, it emerged as the Louisville, New Albany, and Chicago Railroad, a name that more appropriately described the cities it served.

In later years there would be more name changes, the most notable occurring in 1897 when it became the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad.

The acquisition of the Indianapolis and Chicago Air Line in 1881 gave the railroad its vital link to Chicago and to Indianapolis. That line crossed the original main line at the town of Monon, and soon Monon became the railroad’s nickname.

05/23/2026

Organizing the New Albany and Salem Railroad

In 1847, seven men gathered in a small town called New Providence (known today as Borden) to discuss an idea that would forever change the future of Indiana. What began as a simple meeting soon became the foundation of the New Albany and Salem Railroad.
Leading the discussion was James Brookes, joined by three prominent men representing Salem, Washington C. DePauw, Henry B. Shields and Samuel Reid. Representing New Albany was V.C. Campbell, John Gordon and John S. Davis. The decision made by those seven men in 1847 helped shape the future across the state for years to come.

05/22/2026

On July 10, 1863, Salem, Indiana, found itself caught in the path of one of the most daring Confederate raids of the Civil War. Confederate General John Hunt Morgan and his famed Morgan's raiders swept into Salem during their raid across Indiana and Ohio, bringing fear, destruction and chaos to the small community. The railroad, then an important route through Salem, quickly became a target for the raiders, railroads were the lifeline of the Union, carrying troops, supplies and communication across the north. Morgan's men understood that destroying railroad property would create panic in Indiana. As the Confederate cavalry entered into Salem around 10:00am, they demanded $1,000 from every mill owner. The unwanted visitors were paid the ransom to avoid having the mills burned.

Residents watched shock as the raiders made their way through Salem. The horse's hooves thundered along the streets while the rebels searched for supplies, horses and anything useful. The Salem Depot caught Morgan's eye, he knew they kept a strongbox there containing valuables. Unaware the station agent received a message the raiders were on their way to Salem. The agent had taken all the contents out of the chest and ran them to a home on East Poplar Street and buried the items, he then ran back to the Depot filled the chest with masonry tools and locked it. When Morgan and his men opened the chest, they discovered the tools. Morgan was furious!
He ordered his men to burn the Salem Depot, destroy the tracks and telegraph lines. For many Salem residents, this was the first time the war was at their doorstep. Though the raid was short lived, its impact was remembered for generations.
Today, the notorious strongbox chest sits inside the Depot Railroad Museum. The chest was donated to the Washington County Historical Society in 1993 by the Bryant family.

05/22/2026

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Official Website of the City of Salem Indiana Government