A unique auction will be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway March 11, 2017, involving a series of items not seen by the public in more than 40 years.
The auction includes a rare Herschell-Spillman 30-horse, all-wood carousel, and a second Allen Herschell 30-horse, ½ & ½ carousel.
Two vintage National Amusement trains are featured items that will be auctioned off, along with 16 brass and cast iron bells, an original Hansom Cab, and a classic Albert Decap dance organ built in Belgium in the 1930s.
Several vintage steam pumpers used for fire-fighting early in the 20th century and an actual 1826 prairie schooner wagon are also in the auction catalog.
These items are being sold as non-collection assets unrelated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation’s mission because they do not relate to racing or automobiles in any way, and were never intended to be displayed in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.
“The spectacular items in this one-of-a-kind auction tell important stories about life in America in the days of our grandparents and great-grandparents and deserve to be displayed and used in an appropriate setting. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum was never intended to be that setting and it is time they find a home where they can be enjoyed as treasured examples of American life of 75 to 100 years ago, or more” said Betsy Smith, executive director of the nonprofit Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation that operates the museum.
Proceeds from the auction will be invested in the future of the museum, to celebrate more than a century of the innovation, thrill, and adventure of motor racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The sale will be held in the Pavilion at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Admission is $10.
For more information on the auction items and how to participate, go to www.nortonauctioneers.com.