Steam Saturday: Chasing NKP 765

Here are a pair of images of Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 from 2012 when it was pulling Norfolk Southern employee appreciation excursions on the Sandusky District between Bellevue and Bucyrus.

Paul Woodring was with me on this day chasing the Berkshire locomotive.

Both photographs were made on the morning of July 21 near Flat Rock. The NKP 765 was accompanied by NS 8100, the Nickel Plate heritage locomotive.

In both images the train is moving southward, although on the railroad the direction of travel is eastbound.

Photographs by Robert Farkas 

Enjoying Warmer Weather and NS Action

Norfolk Southern Train 18M at CP Shriver near Flat Rock with the Virginian heritage locomotive on the point.

Despite some meandering clouds, I wanted to get out and enjoy some warmer weather last Sunday.

So I headed for the Bellevue area, where the Virginian heritage unit of Norfolk Southern was leading an 18M east out of Bellevue after changing crews.

He had to wait for some traffic to clear, which helped me as I got a late start from home.

While waiting at CP Shriver in Flat Rock for the 18M to depart the siding on the ex-Wheeling & Lake Erie/Nickel Plate Road Toledo main back in Bellevue, a westbound freight with a Union Pacific-NS combo showed up.

The good news was he didn’t block the shot of the 18M, which showed up about 10 minutes   later.

I caught the 18M just out of Bellevue at Flat Rock, at the CP Shriver crossovers

After waiting for two CSX trains to clear the diamonds at Attica Junction, he finally came   around the curve at the old Sunrise elevator in the town of Attica

Then it was back to Bellevue where I lucked into a 2-for-1 photo op as a westbound 941 work train, led by the NS 3535, departed toward Toledo, while an eastbound set of light power, with NS 7596 on the point, was coming by on the ex-Pennsylvania Railroad’s Columbus main.

Article and Photographs by Mark Demaline

The 18M rounds the curve as it cruises into Attica.

The UP-NS combination of this train did not block the 18M

A light power move headed for the Sandusky District passes a work extra on the Toledo main in Bellevue at the mini plant in Bellevue.