Purdue Boilermakers

[Chuck Stewart]

As previously reported, the Spring 2017 Classic Trains has an extremely well written and concise (my opinion) article on the Monon as a fallen flag written by William B. Stewart (no relation...darn it!). 
Would one of the Monon experts care to verify the following: even though it is often written that the Purdue football team was nicknamed the Boilermakers because of the proximity of the Monon Shop, the truth is the football team picked up the Boilermaker moniker in 1892, three years before the Monon Shop opened.  Back in the day, the Purdue school of engineering taught classes on forging metal. Are we in agreement?  Thanks!

[Robert Gibson]

You are correct.  The students at Wabash College gave the Purdue team the nickname Boilermakers before the Shops were built in Lafayette.

[Chuck Stewart]

Thanks, Bob!  Does anyone know when the name "Shops" came into use?

[Robert Gibson]

This information is from Gary and Stephen Dolzall's book MONON THE HOOSIER LINE.  The voters of Fairfield Township, Tippecanoe County, voted to donate $100,000.00 and 45 acres of land to the LNA&C Railroad for construction of a new shop.  Lafayette is in Tippecanoe County.  For construction of the new shops, a new company - wholly owned by the LNA&C - was created.  It was the Lafayette & Monon Railway Co.  The building of the Lafayette Shops started in 1894, and in October 1895 the Hoosier Line began use of its new facility.

[Robert Gibson]

I lived in Lafayette in the 50s and 60s.  The facility was always referred to as the MONON SHOPS.  There was even a street car route (later bus route) named MONON SHOPS that ran from downtown to the Shops.