The Spirit of Jasper is alive in well in southern Indiana

Posted by Bill on Tuesday, June 8, 2010   |   2 Comments

As tourism groups go, the Dubois County Tourism Commission is pretty young. It was established in 1992 by a Dubois County ordinance with the purpose of promoting the growth and development of the convention, visitor and tourism industry in southern Indiana’s Dubois County, Indiana.

Dubois County is a county or two north of the Ohio River at the bottom of Indiana. So it’s close to Evansville on the west and Louisville on the east.

Nearly smack dab in the middle of the county is Jasper, a town of about 12,000 that lends its name to the excursion train (the Spirit of Jasper) that regularly winds its way from Jasper to French Lick.

Southern Indiana is pretty territory. In fact, not too far north of Jasper is wonderful Brown County with its popular artist’s colony of Nashville.

In addition to the Spirit of Jasper, the burg and surrounding area have a fair number of other attractions to draw visitors, including a sidewalk chalk festival, the Jasper Arts Festival, the Monastery Immaculate Conception and Patoka Lake.

The later is one of eight Indiana reservoirs designed and built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The lake serves many purposes, including flood control, recreation, water source for the surrounding communities and wildlife refuge. The 8,800-acre lake and the surrounding 16,920-acre reserve were first opened to the public on August 20, 1980.

In truth, what really makes Jasper (and the Spirit of Jasper train) worthy attractions is their proximity to more significant traveler magnets: Nearby Louisville and even closer, the spectacular hotels and casino in the French Lick and West Baden areas a scan few miles north and east.

Since I visited both recently and plan a separate column on them, I’ll let them pass with only a mention. However, they deserve much more.

Catch the Spirit of Jasper

But back to Jasper, the Spirit of Jasper, to be specific. Pulling power for the Spirit is courtesy of a 1956 General Electric 80-ton diesel/electric-powered switch engine.

The Club Car was built originally for the Milwaukee Railroad in the 1940s and used as an overnight coach car. When it arrived in Jasper, local volunteers rebuilt it as a passenger car in a club-seating configuration.

The Lounge Car was built much earlier, between 1917 and 1922, and originally used as a “coffin car” to transport bodies of World War I soldiers. Also dating from the 1940s is the Parlour Car.

In its former life, it served as a military hospital car. Today, it has been reborn as a lounge for 32 passengers, complete with leather couches and a 19-foot long bar.

When you ride from Jasper on the French Lick Express, you’ll enjoy a route through the southwestern Indiana countryside and pass through the second longest railroad tunnel in Indiana and over several railroad trestles and bridges.

Enjoy a cash bar and complimentary hor d’oeuvres and non-alcoholic beverages as you watch the sights roll by. Dessert and coffee are served on the return leg.

The nearly three-hour layover in French Lick will give you time to explore and learn why this hotel duo—joined more recently by a 50,000-square foot casino—has been a hideaway for the rich and famous for decades.

Check out complete details about schedules, costs and ride-and-dine options at the Spirit of Jasper website.

Photo courtesy of the Spirit of Jasper.

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