Moving Grasselli Tower

Although the entire $55,000 needed for moving Grasselli Tower from East Chicago to North Judson had not yet been fully raised, moving the tower to North Judson was completed in May of 2009. The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum's Board of Directors approved a request from the Grasselli Tower Committee to utilize general museum funds to finish the move to North Judson. Several work days were established and a number of HVRM members were on-site at Grasselli to prep the tower for the move to its new home.

Cold Days at Grasselli Tower

During the winter of 2008-2009, HVRM members began removing various hardware inside and outside of the tower in preparation for the move. In order for the moving contractor to transport the tower, everything on the second floor that isn't attached will have to be removed so that the tower can move down the highway on its 60+ mile journey to North Judson. Most of the outside appliances used to control the switches and signals along the IHB were removed.

Pouring the Foundation

During the week of March 9, 2009 a foundation contractor arrived at the museum to dig the hole, setup the forms, and pour the foundation for Grasselli Tower. The tower site was choosen just west of Mulberry Street between the Chesapeake & Ohio and Erie mainlines.

More Work Days at Grasselli

There's more to moving Grasselli than, well - just moving Grasselli! It took the hard work and dedication of volunteers to make the project a success. Volunteers from the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum worked to remove certain appliances, equipment, and components of the tower so that the mover can cut the building in half and move the tower to its new home in North Judson. One interesting note worth of mentioning - while prepping the tower, crews found evidence of an apparent fire inside of the tower years ago.

Contractor Prepares Tower for the Move

The museum selected moving contractor Dillabaugh Inc. to begin work in April of 2009 preparing Grasselli Tower for its move to North Judson. With the help of Central Rent-a-Crane, the second floor of the tower was removed and placed on cribbing so that it could be prepped for the long haul to HVRM.

Top Half of Tower Arrives at HVRM

On Saturday, May 9, 2009, the second floor of Grasselli Tower arrived at the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum. Early in the morning, crews from Dillabaugh carefully transported the top half of the tower from East Chicago.

Bottom Half of Tower Arrives at HVRM

On Sunday, May 17, 2009, the first floor of Grasselli Tower arrived at HVRM after some delays on Saturday. Once again, crews from Dillabaugh carefully transported the heavy bottom half of the tower from East Chicago with the interlocking bed in place.

Placing the Tower on the Foundation

On Tuesday, May 19, 2009, crews placed the bottom half of the tower on the foundation. Heavy cribbing was placed in the foundation hole and the entire bottom half of the tower along with the truck drove across without incident.

Reassembling the Tower

On Thursday, May 21, 2009, crews from Dillabaugh and Central Rent-A-Crane worked to reassemble the top of bottom halves of the tower. The previous day, Nickel Plate Road 765 had arrived at the museum in preperation for the steam excursions and was sitting near the depot. It was quite a site to behold with all of the activity!