150 years ago, if you saw a train, it would be integral to your day-to-day life. Delivering supplies such as steel took months with a wagon took under a week to be delivered with trains. This led to the nation being much more connected and gave the ability to grow substantially in the Industrial Revolution. 

Currently, most trains in the U.S are used to move heavy freight efficiently, such as coal or agricultural products that contain chemicals. There are some trains that are used for aesthetics, celebrating how important trains were to the history of America. One such train is the Nickel Plate Express (NPE). 

The NPE is a train that runs mostly on weekends under the Nickel Plate Heritage Railroad, an organization that has its main goals set around community and preserving history. The NPE was founded in 2017 but started hosting passengers in fall 2018. 

The train has a wide variety of rides that they offer passengers, such as simple caboose rides for people to see parts of Indiana from the view of a train. Festivities like Terror in Transylvania are also offered, where actors will play out a murder mystery plot. The NPE tries to work alongside schools sometimes. 

“We will do school field trips on weekdays,” engineer Tom Nichols said. “We do certain things like this for Easter as well. Most of the Christmas trains are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Wednesday nights, we will take people just off the caboose by itself up to Arcadia, where we are going to stop today. They will get off, and they will tour our historic depot that is there, and they will have ice cream, then we will bring them back. Those rides are a lot of fun.” 

The historic Arcadia Depot has been around for 150 years. It was restored for the purpose of being a gateway between the past and the present. This main depot is used for the end of trips for people to walk around. The NPE can also sometimes act as a commuter service for more specific events. 

“We will partner with Devin to do rides, such as [those] on the Fourth of July,” Nichols said. “We bring people up so the lights over on Morsley, but Cicero does an awesome fireworks show, and Arcadia does a fall fest with, [for example], an old car show, so we will bring people up there, and that is a lot of fun.” 

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Evelyn Rose

Engineer Tom Nichols sits in the cab while operating the train. April 3

However, with all the fun comes responsibility from the engineers and drivers on the road. While the train is running, trouble can occur when a car is going over the tracks and not being mindful of the train. 

“Two years ago, we were going south. Thank God, it was the other engine, which has a rounded front, but it got ahold of a car that did not see us and dragged him with us,” Nichols explained. “Curtain airbags went off. It was night, and I could see all the headlights. He did not even slow down. He just went right across and up along the arm. He got the bell going. I watched it happen too and I could not stop because we do not want to be throwing people on the ground on the train by doing emergency braking, but the guy left a Christmas party and he had been drinking, he was just jamming up the music. He had a five-year-old. Luckily, they both walked away from it safely.” 

Nichols has some advice for others who wish to be train engineers. 

“[Engineers] all have to be mindful of the fact that we are hauling people,” Nichols said. “We are not hauling grain or something inanimate, but still, it is a load of fun.” 

One of the passengers, Chiara Nelson, had her own experience going on the Easter train ride. 

“It was fun, and it was our first time doing it,” Nelson said. “Our son is three, and he was excited to see the Easter Bunny, and they did a little production through the whole thing. It was a good time. I think it is better than going and buying a toy because you have the memory of what you are doing, so I think it is better than just buying something.” 

You can buy tickets for the Nickel Plate Express for $18-$95, depending on the event.