Beech Grove: The Greatest Locomotive Hospital in the World

Beech Grove, tucked into the southeast corner of Marion County as an enclave city within Indianapolis, grew from farmland to industrial city in the span of a few years because of one decision: in nineteen oh six the New York Central's Big Four Railroad purchased land here to build a multi million dollar locomotive repair complex. The shops, completed by nineteen oh eight, were once described as the greatest locomotive hospital in the world, covering over a hundred acres and repairing engines from across the Central's network. As recently as nineteen oh seven there were just four homes and two businesses in the entire town.

Beech Grove incorporated in nineteen oh six, the same year the railroad arrived, and the two events were essentially the same event. The beech trees that gave the community its name came first. The railroad made it a city.