Monon Connection Museum: Monon, Indiana
I do not normally seek out train museums and I don’t really know anything about them–but I spent roughly two hours in this place and could have easily done more!
Monon Connection Museum in Monon, Indiana
The Monon Connection Museum was absolutely amazing! I love when our travels take us somewhere that just blows us away–and leaves us in awe.
Originally we wondered if the large freight cars of various sizes, colors, and kinds outside were the museum.
Boy, were we wrong. This place was enormous!
The Largest Train Museum in The World
Monon Connection Museum: Monon, Indiana
Attached to the Whistle Stop Restaurant was the actual museum.
It’s thought to be the largest detailed train museum in the world. Yes, my friends, this super tiny Indiana town (with a population under 1800) boasts the largest collection of train stuff anywhere.
For example, did you know that each of the various train lines had their own dining car china, a pattern specific to them, that differed between regions?
The museum has extremely rare patterns and pieces. In one instance, out of three remaining demitasse cups, they have two.
The Old Illinois Depot
Monon Connection Museum in Monon, Indiana
There was an exhibit that recreated the old Illinois Depot. With loads of detail, from the tickets to the timetable, this was an awesome peek into the past!
But a museum is only as good as its guide. Our tour guide was amazing. Harold Harvey (who also designed the new Monon town logo) knew absolutely everything about the various pieces in this Indiana museum.
Mr. Harvey was the guy who happened to sell the owner (Dale Ward) the first train piece that got the whole thing started in the first place!
Indiana Trains
Whether you consider yourself a train fanatic or just find Indiana history interesting, I would definitely encourage you to check out the Monon Connection Museum.
See more Monon Connection Museum images and other pictures in Indiana on my Flickr photostream.
Monon Connection Museum
10012 U.S. 421
Monon, Indiana 47959
219.253.4101
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Special thanks to Rensselaer Adventures Blog for the suggestion.
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I agree with you 100%! I have a casual interest in trains. I had no idea the Monon Connection existed until last month, when I happened to drive by it on my way back to South Bend from Crawfordsville. The museum is amazing. Harold’s knowledge is incredible, and his enthusiasm is contagious. I knew I was looking at some neat things, but I had no idea how important and interesting they were until Harold started explaining the history and meaning of the items to me. Then everything took on a while new depth. In addition, the Whistle Stop restaurant is pretty good. Having it in conjunction with the museum makes the whole place a destination worth going out of your way to see. I recommend it highly. It was great to find your write-up about it here.
Exactly! Harold is a font of information — pretty cool stuff.
Thanks for stopping by little Indiana. It’s amazing what you can find out there!
We had driven by this for the past few years, but had never stopped. We went today and were amazed. The railroad-themed restaurant was delightful – fair prices, good food, friendly servers. Then we went through the Monon Connection itself and were blown away by the collection and the information shared by Harold Harvey. Between eating and touring, we were on the site for almost three hours, and didn’t see it all. Allow plenty of time when you go.