Steam Saturday: Getting Ready at Conneaut

Nickel Plate Road Berkshire-type No. 759 made its debut as an excursion locomotive in Conneaut on Sept. 8, 1968. Here the locomotive is getting ready to couple onto its train to head east.

Photograph by Robert Farkas

Berkshires United in Bellevue

Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 arrived in Bellevue this week and was reunited with fellow Berkshire No. 757.

The two locomotives will be posed side by side over the next two weekends during a “Berkshires in Bellevue” event that will feature caboose rides, hostler experiences. and cab rides in the 765.

A night photo session also will be held and has already sold out.

The 757 is currently undergoing a cosmetic restoration by Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum, which is hosting the event.

The 757 and 765 are among six surviving Berkshires of 80 built by Lima Locomotive Works.

The 757 moved to the Mad River museum in 2019 from its former home at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

NKP 765 to Appear at Mad River Museum

Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 will be in residence at the Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum in late September.

It will be reunited with another former NKP Berkshire steamer, No. 757, which is part of the museum’s collection.

No. 765 will be at the museum from Sept. 24 to Oct. 3 and will participate in a number of events, including caboose rides, hostler experiences and night photo sessions.

The event is being billed as “Berkshires in Bellevue.” The 765 will be appearing in Bellevue following a two-week stay on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

The 765 and 757 are among six surviving Berkshire type locomotives of a one-time fleet of 80.

Museum president Chris Beamer said it will be the first time since 2013 that the 765 has operated at the museum.

ITM Raising Money to Restore NKP 587

The Indiana Transportation Museum has launched a fund-raising drive to restore Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive to operating condition.

The locomotive is due for a federally required overhaul. Those who donate to the cause will receive a tee shirt bearing a drawing of the Baldwin-built locomotive.

Built in August 1918 for the Lake Erie & Western, the NKP 587 was based in Frankfort, Indiana, for much of its life and sometimes saw service on the branch between Indianapolis and Michigan City, Indiana.

On the LE&W, the USRA light 2-8-2 locomotive carried roster number 5541. It received its current roster number in 1924.

After its retirement in March 1955, the 587 was donated to the City of Indianapolis, which put it on static display in Broad Ripple Park.

It was removed in 1983 and taken to Amtrak’s Beech Grove shops where it was restored to operating condition. It made its first excursion in September 1988 between Indianapolis and Logansport, Indiana.

Donations can be made at https://www.customink.com/fundraising/nickelplateroad587

NKP 767 Goes Off Rails at its Shop in Indiana

Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 767 derailed on Sunday at slow speed while moving on a spur track at its home in New Haven, Indiana.

Formally known as NKP 765, the Berkshire left the rails due to an expansion of the gauge caused by a broken gauge rod in the track.

Trains magazine reported that the locomotive’s wheels climbed the rails with all wheels derailing except the first wheel on the fireman’s side.

Members of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, which operates the 767, spent much of Sunday trying to get the locomotive back on track. They were expected to finish their work on Monday.

The incident occurred during a weekend when the FtWRHS conducted an open house and showed off drawings of a rail-oriented park to be built in downtown Fort Wayne.

Yes, Mr. McCaleb Would Have Approved

Jim Semon’s presentation last Friday night of Willis McCaleb’s color slides of mainly Nickel Plate Road steam is on my list of the top five programs that I’ve seen at the Akron Railroad Club.

Obviously, Mr. McCaleb’s technical quality was exceptional, but his depth of detail in capturing a scene instead of just a train photo made him one of the masters of railfan photography.

How thankful those of us who saw the program can be not only for Mr. McCaleb’s slides but Jim’s interesting narrative.

As for me, capturing a scene was a rare event. I wanted a “train” photo. Still, once in a while, I was blessed with a photo that not only captured an event but a slice of history.

I was looking for a photo to put online and went to a box of black and white negatives.

I had no idea what I’d choose but found this. It is Sept. 8, 1968, and NKP 759 is heading east over the ex-NKP trestle in Conneaut.

NKP 759 is running its first excursion after being restored in Conneaut.

Steam-starved people of all ages from die-hard railfans to families with their children seeing the beauty of a live steam locomotive for the first time lined the tracks.

Down in the valley, the field was dotted with people, cars and cameras. Perhaps Mr. McCaleb would have approved of this image. I like to think so.

Article and Photographs by Robert Farkas