Hey everyone! I am almost positive I will be transferring to Indianapolis by this summer. Does anyone know of any model railroad clubs in the Indy area? Anyone on these forums live in the Indy area? Thanks for the info. I’ve been here all my life and I can’t wait to get out of here! Anyone wanna buy my condo?[:D]
There will no doubt be clubs in the Indy area but in general I think you will find that there is much more house available in the midwest usually with a basement or an out building and most people work on their own layouts as a first option. Dependent on where you are moving from you should be able to get the same size property for 1/4 the cost in California or four times the property for the same price. Indy has a lot going for it. It is a nice sized city and easy to get around except on race day! the big four yard on the west side had numerous freights when under Conrail. It is a good spot for train watching as is Union station down town. You can also stay in a passeger car attached to the Holiday Inn at Union Station where they have been made into suites and very luxurious.
Hey railfan! Glad to hear you might coming our way. Just be sure to brush up on your Larry Bird bio because there will be a quiz before they let you into the state…
I’m Indy born & raised and the only club I know of is the Naptown & White River Valley. I think their website is www.naptownrr.org (Naptown being an old nickname for Indy because it hasn’t always been the exciting vibrant city it is today). Shoot me an email if you want to learn more about our fair city!
Man, I’d be leaving too if I had to call Bakersfield my California home. The problem was, you live’d too far north. Down here we call that Bakersfield, Oregon. Good luck with the humidity and the cold winters.
Cold winters in Indy? That’s down south! [(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D]
And put the hooch away on sundays LOL.
Good luck!
Yeah, all of the above and when you get to Indiana DRIVE CAREFULLY, the odds are good that if you hit someone in the Indianapolis area it will be one of my relatives. I am fond of them. Several gave me trains when I was a kid!
Doug, in Utah
Good thing about model railroading: you won’t have to become a Colts fan (wouldn’t wi***HAT on anyone…)
ndbprr, you mentioned “big four yards” to west of Indianapolis, is this in fact in Beech Grove, a suburb. I haven’t been back in many years and when I was young the “big four shops” with boiler making for steam was a major employer.
No they are different although Beech Grove is an interesting visit also. That is owned by Amtrak and is probably their major repair facility. Last time I was there they had a lot of interesting relics in the boneyard plus they have that guard shack made from two boattail obs. car ends. The big four yard is southwest of town probably four or five miles beyond the interstate on the west side.
no.1railfan,
I used to live up the road from you in Visalia.
FYI: I don’t know if you have any other hobbies, but in the world of model airplanes,
the AMA which is to model airplanes what the NMRA is to model railroads is located in Muncie, IN.
They hold the national contests there every year and have about 1 square mile of land developed for flying model airplanes.
You guys are talking about the Avon yard, which is due west of the city just beyond the county line. I’ve driven past/over it many a time, and it seems to go on forever. Never had the time to stop & railfan it, though.
Jim in Indy, the perennial just-you-wait-till-next-season sports town
(Colts, Pacers, Indiana University, Purdue, etc)
You guys are hilarious. But seriously, thanks for the help, and ndbprr, you hit the nail on the head. I am looking at houses that are twice the size of my condo and $80,000 cheaper. I can finally have a basement!!! I’ve never had a basement, but always wanted one. It’s gonna be grrrreeaaat! I can’t wait to load up the big truck and put the hammer down. The only thing I regret is having to disassemble the layout after working on it for a year, but it can be saved.By the way, model airplanes are cool too. That would be fun to go watch them. (model railroading is #1 though)
ndbprr, can’t thank you enough for your response about Beech Grove. My grandfather was an engineer and my uncle a boilermaker at the Big Four Shops in the 30’s and 40’s. It was a great day to hear the shops whistle signal end of day and watch all the men walking home down main street or to the nearest bar.
Don
Ah yes! Good Ole Bakersfield. I spent the summer of 1945 there stationed at Minter Field with the U.S. Army Air Corps for pilot training. It was hotter there than it is here in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona, but it was a DRY HEAT. Went through there on the way to Yosemite in the Spring of 1995 exactly 50 years later and was astounded at what a giant metropolis that little cow town turned into. We don’t have basements here in Arizona either, so I have to build an outbuilding. I really miss my great basement in Oakbrook, Illinois, but the snow and cold did me in. Not as bad in Indianoplace though. Just a joke there, hoosiers.
I recently heard a good joke about Indiana,
All the other states have cools sayings:texas-We like things big, New York, we’re tough
Indiana’s slogan- We’re moving soon.
Hoosier buddy…
Hoosier friend…[:)]
Ca. is no place for a normal person to live.(some folks belong there)
Your gonna have a better shot at LHS’s and rail fanning in Indy.
Get ready for a new woredrobe though…
Good luck!!!
I’m a Brit that lived in NY for a decade and has travelled all over this fine land. I have settled in the Mid West and would not trade it for any place else. Housing is affordable, the people are really friendly, you get 4 real seasons to enjoy and there are lots of trains! Indy is like St. Louis, a nice 2nd teer city that has a lot of pride and a strong community feel. Go 250 miles in any direction and you come to another great city to visit. Enjoy the open space. I think it is what I appreciate the most.
Having spent most of last week in LA sitting on the Interstates crawling along I can’t imagine living there. Making the drive from LAX to Loma Linda is a real eye opener. It gives you a real appreciation of the size of the LA basin and how incredibly crowded it is. It took me 2 hours to get from LAX to UCLA for example (OK 1 1/2 hours of the time were spent in Allied Model Trains[:D] )
Relating simon1966’s thoughts back to Indianapolis - the rule of thumb here is that no matter where you are in town and no matter where in town you want to go, you can get there in 30 minutes.
A great railfanning spot - there are a couple of fast food places just across the street south of Union Station downtown. I will go there during my lunch and usually see one or two trains passing under the old station train shed. Certainly brightens the work day.
And what about the Colts ? [:(!]
(No real offense taken but I am a Colts fan ! [:D])