Discover why staying in a vintage train car at the Crowne Plaza is the ultimate hotel experience in Indianapolis.

Until recently, I never imagined unlocking my hotel room door, opening it wide, and enthusiastically calling out "all aboard!" to my kids.

This stay made that dream a reality.

Every hotel has its own narrative, some more captivating than others. At the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Downtown Union Station, the story includes fascinating figures like Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Edison.

But first, let's dive into the details of that unique hotel room.

This unique room, complete with wheels, once journeyed in and out of Indianapolis' historic Union Station during its life as a genuine, working train car. While the furnishings mirrored other hotel rooms, its character far exceeded any typical hotel stay I've experienced.

The hotel is now situated where the station's historic train shed once stood.

Currently, the hotel boasts 273 guest rooms, including 13 Pullman train cars from the 1920s. These cars were brought in on the original tracks and secured in place before the hotel was constructed around them. Each car has been transformed into two hotel rooms, creating a total of 26 unique Pullman train car accommodations, with options for one king bed or two double beds.

Each train car proudly displays the name of a notable figure from its era. We were accommodated in the car named after Rudolph Valentino, a famous silent film star from the 1920s. Other cars pay homage to legends like Amelia Earhart, Charlie Chaplin, and Winston Churchill.

To reach our room, we had to ascend a small flight of stairs, giving us the sensation of boarding a train for an adventurous journey rather than merely entering a stationary hotel room for the night (though this does mean that the train car rooms are not wheelchair accessible).

Upon entering, the only clear reminder that we were inside a former railroad sleeper car was the long, narrow design of the room. Normally, I might have felt cramped by the tight space between the bed or concerned about passersby peeking into our room if we forgot to pull down the window shades. However, fully embracing the train car experience, I found it utterly delightful.

Scattered just outside our room — and throughout the hotel — were eerie white "ghost statues." Dressed in period attire from the golden age of train travel, these statues provide a haunting reminder of the hotel's history. You can spot a conductor checking his watch, passengers anxiously awaiting their train, and a young boy selling newspapers to travelers.

The statues weren’t the only reminders of the hotel’s history. Many of the exposed iron beams in public spaces, including the lobby and indoor pool, are original; the large skylights used to function as open-air vents for smoke from the trains.

Eventually, the ghost statues guided us deeper into the hotel, leading us down a staircase to the original 1888 "head house." Once a bustling spot for travelers to purchase tickets and await their trains, this space has now been transformed into a venue for weddings and events, yet it still retains many original features.

Now known as the Grand Hall, the head house feels like it has been suspended in time. Built in the Roman Revival style, the Grand Hall boasts a 60-foot barrel-vaulted ceiling adorned with over 3,000 square feet of original stained glass, including two impressive stained glass wagon wheel windows that measure 20 feet in diameter.

Just outside the Grand Hall, the original directional signage that guided travelers to the right track still hangs above the stairwells, and much of the historic tilework remains. I even ventured behind the ticket counter, imagining all the bustling transactions that occurred there over the decades.

And then there are the notable figures forever linked to this station-turned-hotel's narrative. Thomas Edison worked as a telegraph operator at Union Station in 1861 (prior to the current structure being built) but was dismissed for conducting "too many useless experiments," as noted on the hotel's website.

Abraham Lincoln passed through this station twice: first on his way to Washington, D.C. for his inaugural address, and again en route to Illinois to lie in state following his assassination in 1865.

Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower also passed through Union Station, albeit under more favorable circumstances.

During our stay at the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Downtown Union Station, my family couldn't resist play-acting as train conductors and passengers.

The station's artistic preservation certainly ignited our imaginations. I suspect we were also inspired by the vision of the passengers who boarded trains here each month during the golden age of rail travel nearly a century ago.