The train passenger cars were a bit chilly — a reflection of the gloomy spring weather outside — but in the tiny kitchen, it was boiling as chef Nick Alessandri prepared a garlic, white wine and cream sauce for the evening’s dinner special, shrimp linguine.
The freshly made food aboard The Hoosier State (www.hoosierstatetrain.com) comes as a surprise to many of the passengers making the five-hour journey between Chicago and Indianapolis. Last August, Iowa Pacific, a Chicago-based company, took over the four-day-a-week service. Before that, the food and beverage service on Amtrak was nearly nonexistent.
“We had water,” passenger service manager Andy Bradburn said matter-of-factly. “A huge amount of passengers still bring their own food and drinks. They don’t realize we now serve food.”
Thanks to a first-of-its-kind, public-private partnership, Amtrak’s silver sameness has been replaced by vintage, orange-and-black rail cars from the mid-1900s. In addition to fresh food, the train offers the ambiance of a bygone era.
For Chicagoland folks seeking a not-too-distant escape, plenty of rail-themed activities await in Indianapolis, the capital of a state celebrating its bicentennial throughout 2016.
Since the train arrives in Indy just before midnight (Eastern Time), the ideal place to stay is a mere two-minute walk from the combination bus and train station. At the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Downtown (www.downtownindianapolishotel.com), guests can opt to bed down in one of 13 vintage rail cars. The entire hotel is inside the city’s old Union Station.
“We sit on Tracks 1 through 8. Tracks 9 through 11 are still active,” noted JJ DeBrosse, the hotel’s sales and marketing manager.
While the train cars feature the same decor as the regular rooms, there’s a certain nostalgia that goes with clambering up the metal steps into a Pullman car from the 1920s. (The cars are not handicapped-accessible.)
Throughout the hotel, the golden age of rail travel is recalled through a couple of dozen whitewashed, life-size statues of “passengers” — from college students to servicemen to nuns in their habits.
“We call them our ghost figures,” DeBrosse explained. “They don’t haunt anything. They just represent a time period gone by.”
Unless conventiongoers are using the space, guests should check out the station’s Grand Hall, restored to its early 20th century grandeur. Two massive stained-glass windows are impossible to miss, but visitors should also look up; the barrel-shaped ceiling contains another 3,200 square feet of original stained glass.
Fitting a state known as the Crossroads of America, the Indiana Historical Society’s (www.indianahistory.org) downtown museum shares plenty of information about the history of rail travel using impressive touch-screen technology that allows people to explore specific topics. The database includes details about the Monon, the railroad whose Hoosier train inspired the modern-day Hoosier State. Visitors learn that, in Potawatomi, Monon means “swift running.”
Throughout 2016, the museum is celebrating 200 years of statehood. One of its three “You Are There” exhibits — which feature live, costumed interpreters who cleverly stay in character — is dedicated to the drafting of Indiana’s constitution in 1816.
For kids, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (www.childrensmuseum.org), the world’s largest museum devoted to youngsters, is a must-see. Families could easily spend a full day here exploring the many fascinating, hands-on exhibits.
At the “All Aboard” exhibit, the focal point is an 1868 steam locomotive. The 55-ton Reuben Wells won fame for conquering Madison Hill near the Ohio River in southern Indiana. It’s one of the steepest climbs in the country.
Aboard a vintage car, guests travel back in time. While the car doesn’t really move, the special effects include passing scenery in the windows.
More than 2 million people a year discover Indy’s first paved hiking-and-biking path, the 20-mile Monon Trail (www.traillink.com/trail/monon-trail.aspx), built along the former rail line. Where passengers once detrained at suburban Broad Ripple, the funky neighborhood now features an eclectic collection of merchants — bars, restaurants and boutiques — within steps of the trail.
Plump’s Last Shot, a sports bar, is named for Bobby Plump, the 79-year-old owner who in 1954 led tiny Milan, Ind.’s basketball team to the state championship. The high school senior’s game-winning basket, with three seconds remaining, was the genesis for the 1986 movie “Hoosiers.”
“I was wide open from about 16, 17 feet. When the ball left my hands, I knew it was going in,” he recalled. “Then there was pandemonium.”
For a healthier meal than Plump’s giant pork tenderloin, head across the street to Public Greens where the delicious food, including a bounty of house-made salads, emphasizes healthy eating. Proceeds from the nonprofit restaurant help provide nutritious meals to needy children.
For dessert, BRICS — an ice cream shop in the former Monon depot — is also close by.
Belly-filling breakfasts can be savored on the trip back to Chicago aboard The Hoosier State. Passengers enjoy their heaping plates of food without a hint of the chaos eggs can cause in a train kitchen.
“If you’re on a lean, the eggs just start rolling,” chef Alessandri explained. “You’re playing pingpong with eggs. But I’d say 95 percent of the time I win.”
Jay Jones is a freelance writer.
Indy 500
Race fans heading to the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 29, can get there on the Hoosier State. A Friday-to-Tuesday round-trip (www.amtrak.com) starts at about $60 in coach and $140 in business class, which includes drinks and meals.
Getting a seat at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (www.ims.com) will prove more challenging. Since 2016 marks the 100th running of the race, grandstand seating is likely to sell out for the first time in 20 years. Infield passes may remain.
The tourism group Visit Indy (www.visitindy.com) says folks still in search of lodging will likely have to stay on the city’s outskirts. Downtown hotels are booked solid.
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