NKP 765 Tender Getting New Bearings

The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society has launched a bearing replacement project on its Nickel Plate Road 765 steam locomotive. The upgrade will cost more than $60,000 and is being undertaken, the society said in a news release, to enable the 765 to be able to offer high-speed mainline excursion service in the Midwest.

The project involves converting the tender’s existing journal bearing trucks to roller bearings. For further information about the project, including how to make a donation, click  on the link below.

http://www.765.org/

The 765 is a 2-8-4 Berkshire that once pulled NKP freight trains before being retired in 1963. It was restored to operating condiction in 1979 by the Fort Wayne group after the locomotive had sat on static display for several years in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The FWRHS has launced a Facebook page, which can be found by clicking on the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/fortwaynerailroad.

Capitol Limited Getting Back on Track

A very late westbound Capitol Limited stops at Alliance to discharge passengers in December. (Photograph by Roger Durfee)

After being sidelined for a week due to winter weather in the East and a derailment on CSX, Amtrak’s Capitol Limited is set to resume operations this weekend. The first train will be No. 30 from Chicago to Washington tonight (February 12). The first westbound Capitol  (No. 29) will depart Washington on Saturday (February 13).

The Capitol Limited last operated on February 5 when the westbound train was terminated at Connellsville, Pennsylvania. The train had struck three downed trees that fell during the storm. One tree became lodged beneath the lead locomotive while another was stuck under a coach. The crew managed to remove the trees, but then had to go off duty due to the hours of service law after reaching Connellsville.  A replacement crew could not immediate reach the train due to the winter storm closing roads.

Passengers were stranded for 22 hours before being taken by bus to Pittsburgh where they boarded the trainset that had made up Friday’s eastbound Capitol and resumed their journey to Chicago.  

The weekend storm dumped more than two feet of snow, prompting Amtrak to cancel many of its trains serving Washington. 

Also affected by the storm has been the Chicago-Washington Cardinal, which operatesd via Cincinnati. It has operated only between Chicago and Huntington, West Virginia, since last Friday. Amtrak said today that a date for resumption of full service has not been determined. The Cardinal operates tri-weekly.  

The Chicago-New York Lake Shore Limited has been unaffected by the winter storms of the past week and has been operating normally.

Another Ohio Central Locomotive Gone

Ohio Central 7133 looks pretty good as it prepares for its last ride. (Photograph by Roger Durfee)

G&W Industries continues to rid its roster of former Ohio Central 6-axle General Electric-built power. Ohio Central No. 7137, still wearning Conrail colors, is at Larry’s Truck and Electric (LTEX) already, and No. 7133 departed Warwick for LTEX on Sunday afternoon (January 31, 2010).

No. 7133 was one of the three big GEs that got the full OC image and the only former Conrail one. The other two were ex-CSX.

Built for Conrail as a C36-7, the unit went to Norfolk Southern following the Conrail split and wound up on the CSX roster before Ohio Central acquired it.

CSX local D750 picked up the 7133 at Warwick on Sunday. She was looking pretty good for her last ride.

Roger Durfee 

 

A CSX crew member directs the coupling of the OC 7133 to the CSX power at Warwick.

And off she goes for LTEX in Youngstown.