Ride the Nickel Plate Arts Trail Railway in Indianapolis, Indiana

There was a time when riding the rails was the only way to travel. Our country is crisscrossed with the rail lines and railroads that brought the east to the west. Then the advent of the automobile and modern highways, like Route 66, replaced traveling by train as the way to take a vacation. In recent years, traveling by train has been making a comeback, with special rate packages for long and short excursions.

In our part of Indiana a very special Railway has been re-opened and is being used to run local train traffic for special events and excursions, The Nickel Plate Railway run between the Indianapolis Fairgrounds up 30 miles through Fishers, Noblesville, Cicero, Arcadia, Atlanta, stopping in Tipton. This Nickel Plate Railway Engine and train cars are restored 1920's circa railcars and the back in time adventure they offer makes it a fun overnight or day trip for families.

Recently, Nickel Plate has renamed it's train excursions the Nickel Plate Arts Trails, connecting some special artisan and cultural stops in each of the communities along it's railway. You can experience the history, art and adventure of 30 miles of trail that include six historic urban and rural communities. In addition to the actual Nickel Plate Railroad, you can travel along the same path by car and even parts of it by canoe in the White River.

The journey begins in Fishers, Indiana, home to one of America's premiere living history museums, Conner Prairie. The weekend that we spent on the Nickel Plate Arts Trail, we boarded the train at the historic Fishers Train Station on a warm June morning and headed down the railway to Noblesville, our first stop along the trail.

Noblesville is anchored by a restored historic central square courthouse, bordered by unique artisan shops, quaint brick lined sidewalks, and some wonderful dining and shopping experiences. You get off the train in this beautiful downtown region for a round the square walking and shopping tour. Check out the History Museum in the old jailhouse where John Dillinger once spent the night or tour the courthouse where you can sit in a restored jury room from the early 1900's. Lunch at the Hamiltonian Restaurant offers Hoosier hospitality and some delicious traditional foods. On the weekends, you can usually find some good music on the square or a special event there during the summers including the strawberry festival, jazz concerts and street dances with music.

Boarding the train you head north up to Cicero, Indiana. This resort style community features the beautiful Morse Reservoir. A short drive 4 miles east is Strawtown Koteewi Park with 750 acres of wetlands and restored Hoosier prairie lands bordering White River. In Cicero, the Iron Anvil has been dishing up gourmet lunches and dinner for over 25 years and is a sought after dinner spot. A nice collection of small artisan shops line Cicero's short but pretty main street.

We did not disembark at Cicero but headed north to Arcadia where we got off at the heritage train depot and stopped at the Arcadia Music Hall to hear some banjo playing by some of the local musicians who make the Arcadia Music Hall a fun destination. Arcadia is another quaint Hoosier community with a variety of specialty artisan shops.

After ice cream in the late afternoon, we headed north again to the town of Atlanta, which is best know for its "Atlanta New Earth Festival" held the last weekend in September. Hundreds of art, food, and craft vendors will be on hand for the 80,000 visitors who journey there each fall. On this June afternoon though, it was the Atlanta Mercantile Store that I sought out, filled with many one of a kind art creations in its various galleries.

Tipton, Indiana is the end of the trail, but not the end of the art experience of the Nickel Plate Arts Railway. The exceptional art shops and boutiques are filled with new and different one of a kind artist creations. And once again, the town is anchored by a wonderfully restored vital downtown area, with a retro movie house, The Diana.

We spent the night in a lovely bed and breakfast, Cornerstone Memories, one of several in the Tipton area. Had dinner at the Pizza Shack, a local pizza place with a huge following and over 50 varieties of pizza, and took in a late night movie at the beautifully restored Diana. If theatre is your thing, this community has one of the best civic community theatre programs in Central Indiana producing six plays a year.

Take a day or two this summer or fall, ride the train for a historic rail experience or if train riding isn't your thing, take your car and drive up the trail that runs through 30 miles of lovely rural Indiana communities. You can even jump in a kayak or canoe and canoe your way up the White River like an early pioneer explorer if outdoor adventure is the thing you want.

You can check out the entire Nickel Plate Arts Trail on their website.