Arrival completes second phase of campus development and creates a new space for education and community events
PLEASANT LAKE, Indiana. — A vintage passenger car built for military medical service during the Korean War arrived at the Pleasant Lake Railyard on Wednesday, July 29, marking the completion of the second phase of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s campus development.
The car traveled from Fort Wayne’s downtown riverfront, where it had been incorporated into Pufferbelly Ice Cream, to its new home at the growing railroad destination in Steuben County. It will serve as a classroom, meeting room, and event space in partnership with nearby Camp Chief Little Turtle.
A NEW COMMUNITY ASSET
With support from local philanthropist Don Steininger, the once-dilapidated display car was renovated into a lounge car. It was originally envisioned as part of a downtown Fort Wayne railroad attraction before being adapted for use by the riverfront eatery.
That larger railroad attraction ultimately found a new path forward at Pleasant Lake’s historic depot. Since shifting its focus to Steuben County, the Fort Wayne Railroad, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and its partners have transformed the once-neglected property into a destination for passenger excursions, railroad education and community events. The attraction continues to serve Fort Wayne and the wider Northeast Indiana and Tri-State region while welcoming visitors from all 50 states and several countries.
In a fitting connection, the car traveled from Fort Wayne Outfitters’ own historic depot, which was once linked to Pleasant Lake by the same railroad corridor used by the heritage railroad today.
DEVELOPING THE PLEASANT LAKE RAILYARD
The car’s arrival complements newly finished site improvements, which also included a new stamped-concrete passenger platform, signage, security, and landscaping. This work was supported by a $250,000 grant awarded to the Fort Wayne Railroad by the Indiana Destination Development Corporation in 2024.
The milestone builds on the restoration of the historic Pleasant Lake depot. Completed in partnership with 3rd Street Construction, the project included extensive exterior and structural improvements to the 1882 building, including foundation and flooring repairs, restored woodwork, new windows and transoms, electrical and security upgrades, and the return of the depot’s original Pleasant Lake sign.
The final campus project currently planned is the restoration of the depot’s historic passenger waiting room. That work will be supported by a $15,000 grant from the Steuben County Community Foundation.
MORE THAN $470,000 INVESTED IN PLEASANT LAKE
More than $470,000 has been raised to bring the Pleasant Lake campus to life. The project has been made possible by local volunteers, private donors and strategic partners, including Visit Indiana, Norfolk Southern, the Indiana Historical Society, the M.E. Raker Foundation, the Olive B. Cole Foundation, the Steuben County Tourism Bureau and Indiana Michigan Power.
This investment has helped transform a once-endangered historic site into an active center for tourism, education and community engagement.
The Fort Wayne Railroad also recognizes Steel Dynamics, and the volunteer community leaders and supporters behind Pufferbelly Junction — the organization behind the original Headwaters Junction concept — as well as Steininger Development for their support of the car’s rehabilitation and original placement along Fort Wayne’s downtown riverfront. Their early investment helped preserve and renovate the car, preparing it for its next chapter of public service. Plans call for the car to be repainted and incorporated more fully into the campus through additional landscaping.
FROM MILITARY SERVICE TO PUBLIC SERVICE
Originally constructed as Car No. 89552 for military medical service during the Korean War, the car found various uses throughout its life, including on the Minuteman Mobility Test Train, a 1960 U.S. Air Force project that evaluated deploying intercontinental ballistic missiles on railroad networks to reduce vulnerability to surprise attacks.
On Amtrak, the car was converted to head-end-power and renumbered No. 1614, where it was assigned to the railroad’s modern incarnation of the Broadway Limited, which operated through Fort Wayne, and later used on the Tennessee Bicentennial Train. It was acquired by the organization in the mid-2000s after storage by the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan. The group donated the car to Headwaters Junction around 2018.
Although it had successfully acquired a mile of railroad right-of-way from Norfolk Southern in Fort Wayne in 2019, delays involving floodwall relocation and other development provisions made Pleasant Lake a more immediate path toward establishing an operating regional attraction and the all-volunteer organization shifted its focus north, approximately 38 rail miles north of downtown.
Since that pivot, volunteers have restored the historic depot, rebuilt railroad infrastructure, improved the surrounding property, and assembled and renovated a complete vintage passenger train set. Through the Indiana Rail Experience, the Fort Wayne Railroad now operates excursions over more than 100 miles of the privately owned Indiana Northeastern Railroad in a special partnership.
A GROWING REGIONAL ATTRACTION
To date, the Indiana Rail Experience has operated on more than 140 days, welcomed approximately 80,000 visitors and generated an estimated $5 million in economic impact across the tri-state region, according to the Steuben County Tourism Bureau.
“The last few years have proven what we had always known: a rail tourist attraction would become a meaningful destination in Northeast Indiana,” said Kelly Lynch, executive director of the Fort Wayne Railroad. “Our partnership with the Indiana Northeastern and the surrounding communities has allowed this vision to flourish.”
Though reserved for static use, the hospital car will complement programs including fall color excursions, Christmas trains and Indiana Railroad Camp. Members of the 2026 Rail Camp class watched Wednesday as Fruchey Construction and Buchanan Hauling unloaded the car.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Pleasant Lake depot was constructed in 1882 for the Fort Wayne & Jackson Railroad and later became part of the New York Central system, one of several rail networks connecting Fort Wayne to the nation. Pleasant Lake was once a popular vacation destination for Fort Wayne residents, served by as many as six passenger trains a day on weekends.
For more information, visit fortwaynerailroad.org or indianarailexperience.org.
ABOUT THE FORT WAYNE RAILROAD
Since 1972, the Fort Wayne Railroad has worked to restore and transform historic railroad equipment into operating attractions, including most notably Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive no. 765. For over 40 years, its dedicated volunteers have exhibited vintage rail attractions throughout the Midwest and Eastern United States.
In association with the Indiana Northeastern Railroad, the organization created the Indiana Rail Experience in 2022 and now routinely operates tourist trains between Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. With growing attendance numbers and an economic impact of over 5 million dollars, the 100-mile-long route was named Indiana’s Best New Experience in 2023.
Its operations are made possible entirely through volunteers and funded by ticket sales, memberships, donations, grants, and sponsorships. For more information, visit fortwaynerailroad.org.
