According to witnesses on site, Florida East Coast office car No. 90, the ornate 1898 Jackson & Sharp-built private car of railroad magnate Henry M. Flagler, left the site minutes before a court-ordered eviction deadline for the museum. A Burlington Route car, Silver Salon, also departed shortly before the deadline. Anything left on site, with the exception of privately-owned equipment to be moved later, goes to the city of Noblesville, which is not apparently in control of the Forest Park museum site.
A report published on the Facebook group Ahead of the Torch with direct references to scrapping said that the only remaining ITM rolling stock left on site was a Pennsylvania Railroad hopper car and a New York Central baggage car. Earlier this week an Atlantic Coast Line lightweight passenger car was scrapped on site, and last week a Milwaukee Road SW1 also met a similar fate. On the positive side, numerous pieces were sold to other preservation groups, and others transferred elsewhere for safekeeping, including the jewel of the collection, Nickel Plate Road 2-8-2 No. 587, now in Kentucky. Milwaukee Road F-units, which gained fame on the point of FairTrain operations in the 1980s, reportedly were sold and awaiting transport.
More on this story today as more details emerge.
