The Linden Depot is the last surviving junction depot in Indiana. It was built in 1909 to serve the Nickel Plate Railroad which ran east and west from Toledo, OH to St. Louis, MO, and the Monon Railroad (formerly the CI&L Railroad) which ran north and south from Chicago, IL to Louisville, KY. The Depot closed in 1973, and re-opened as a Museum on April 13, 1993.
In this original building, which has been restored to its original colors, are housed many items of railroad memorabilia pertinent to the Nickel Plate and Monon Railroads as well as some from other railroads. There is a Museum Store and an antique ride-on train for children aged six and under!
On the grounds of our museum complex is a Nickel Plate Railroad caboose, which is open for all to explore. There are also four 100-year old semaphores, including the double-bladed one pictured on the right, as well as other railroad signs and signals. We are also pleased to have added a 1978 CSX caboose now parked in our south yard. After a small amount of refurbishing, this caboose will also be open for all to explore!
On the south side of the property is the building which houses our new HO-gauge model railroad. We have four independent tracks traveling through Southwestern-style mountains, a canyon, a riverbed, through a town that looks much like Linden did in the 1960s, past an animated circus and an animated carnival. We also have a monorail encircling our carnival, a trolley traveling through the town, a blimp cruising above the circus and a hot-air balloon ride. We will be continuing with the work on this layout throughout this season. Come and enjoy this exciting attraction!
Also in this building are two static N-gauge model railroads, and numerous O-gauge, HO-gauge and N-gauge trains on display. In keeping with the carnival and circus theme on the HO layout, we have numerous circus-related items, including star-back seats, circus tent poles, a lion transfer cage, an elephant stand, a circus performer's trunk with costumes, a clown bike and our very own clown car!