Touring the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville

Take a tour of Lance Mindheim’s Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville model railroad with Train Number 6—the Thoroughbred with two F3s leaving the Louisville Staging Yard and heading North. This kind of wide-open scenery is what gives the Monon its down home appeal. At Bridge E-8, F Unit Number 81-A encounters the first of many crossings of Clear Creek. Diamond Cut leads to the next crossing of Clear Creek. At this crossing, Train 6 rumbles over the bridge on the south end of Diamond Siding. The F units pass a track that leads to two operating quarries. In the foreground is an abandoned quarry. At the north end of Diamond Siding, there is one final crossing of Clear Creek. This water tank is kept full by the pumping station at Clear Creek. The National Spur leads to the whoolery mill and the Monon Stone Company.

This part of the railroad is still under construction. At milepost 221, the Thoroughbred finds McDoel Yard, south of Bloomington. This is one of four major yards on the Monon. The gray building is the yard office. At the south end of Bloomington, the F units pass a lumber company. As they cross Kirkwood Avenue, the multistory Graham Hotel comes into view. It’s apparent that the Figg Wholesale Grocery has been here a number of years. The F units are now preparing to assault the 2.5% grade out of town. To see the full tour, watch the full video. For more Allen Keller videos, visit the Model Railroad Academy archives.