The Monon — also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railroad — was a small railroad but it offered three passenger trains a day in 1951. The Hoosier and the Tippecanoe went between Chicago and Indianapolis while the Thoroughbred made a longer trip between Chicago and Louisville.
Click image to download a 3.1-MB PDF of this 8-page timetable.
The Hoosier had a diner and an observation-lounge-parlor car. The Thoroughbred had an observation-dining-parlor car. The Tippecanoe only had a grill-parlor car. Monon52MononlandPC
Click image to download a 1.0-MB PDF of this postcard.
After World War II, Monon was run by John Barriger III, who became known as a railroad recovery artist. He quickly Dieselized the railroad, ordered new passenger equipment, and to publicize these changes he commissioned Howard Fogg to do a series of paintings that the railroad turned into postcards. As the above postcard shows, the observation cars on the Hoosier and Thoroughbred had blunt ends.
Growing up on Indianapolis’ north side, my first train trip was on the Monon leaving from Boulevard Station. Alas, once John Barriger left, the trains went on ignore and died in 1959. However, the NYC “James Whitcomb Riley” was faster.