Steam Saturday: En Route to Pittsburgh

We are overlooking the Conrail Fort Wayne Line tracks tracks in Massillon where Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 is eastbound headed to Pittsburgh on May 11, 1985. 

Photograph by Robert Farkas

NKP 765 Concludes 2023 Excursion Season

Nickel Plate Road 2-8-2 No. 765 has pulled its last excursion trains for the Indiana Rail Experience in 2023.

Future planned excursions in the program this year will be powered by diesel locomotives.

A report published on the website of Trains magazine said the fall foliage excursions pulled by the 765 in Indiana and Michigan were sell outs.

The steam locomotive’s owner, the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society is already looking ahead to the 2024 Indiana Rail Experience schedule but has a list of things to do in order to get ready.

This included completing the restoration of former NKP SD9 No. 358; rehabilitating the former New York Central depot in Pleasant Lake, Indiana; raising money for and restoring passenger cars recently acquired by the Society; and recruiting new volunteers.

Society officials said longer range plans include rebuilding a siding on Indiana Northeastern Railroad to be used for passenger car maintenance and storage, and exploring acquiring additional real estate beyond the Pleasant Lake Depot.

The 358 is expected pull Indiana Rail Experience excursions next year while the 765 may visit some rail lines beyond the Indiana Northeastern system.

Steam Saturday: NKP 765 Ferry Move Chase

In the top image, Norfolk Southern 7051 is leading the ferry movement of Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 to Bellevue where it will then head east on the Wheeling & Lake Erie for another segment of 765’s journey to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad’s Steam in the Valley 2010. Robert Farkas made that photograph and the middle image of the ferry move on the W&LE east of Bellevue.

The bottom image was made by Paul Woodring who was independently chasing the ferry move. Paul’s image was made on the W&LE at Medina where the 765 was making a service stop.

Steam Saturday: Jaite Memories

Seeing Todd Dillon’s article and photos of Nickel Plate Road 765 at Vaughn Road on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad at Jaite prompted me to look through my files for same location favorites.

Morning photos were preferred on the east side of the tracks and afternoon from the west side. All these photos as Todd’s were are from the east side.

This location is probably now the favored spot since the Ohio Route bridge in Brecksville is so grown in with trees and brush.

Looking through old photos the only photos I have of Grand Trunk Western 4070 are from the west side of the tracks.

From top to bottom, the images were made on Sept. 29,2012; Sept. 14, 2013; Sept. 7 2014, and Sept. 26, 2016.

Article and Photographs by Edward Ribinskas

Tale of Two Photographs

Here are a couple photos of Nickel Plate Road 765, both taken at Jaite on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. They are from 2021 the last year of fully running trips to Akron.

While similar — they are from the same runby — there are some differences and I have thoughts on what makes for a good photo.

The first image is closer to the camera. The 765 fills the frame and the sun has risen to fully light the side of the engine. 

Another photographer is also taking pictures and I worked him into my photo for human interest.

Many times we tend to shun people being in our train photos particularly other railfans but it isn’t always possible to work them out.

An old saying is when you have a bunch of lemons make lemonade that applies here.  

This is a good photo and I am pleased with the result but let’s look at the second photo. The engine is farther back and we have more of the scene.

The railroad crossing and the two former Baltimore  & Ohio railroad buildings are visible. The 765 is a litter further back in the scene than I would like. Having the engine on or just about to enter the crossing would be ideal or would it? 

Take a look at the shadow that covers the second building.  This is caused by 765 itself and its smoke plume.

If the train was on or near the crossing the shadow would engulf both buildings. In fact I have that photo, this being a sequence of pictures and that is exactly what happened.  

I find that I prefer the second photo even though both turned out well. The first photo is more of a three-quarter wedge while the second shows more of the total scene. 

And the ideal or what I thought would be the ideal photo turned out to be a dud in my view.

Article and Photographs by Todd Dillon

Dillon to Present at ARRC End of Year Dinner

The Akron Railroad Club will be holding its annual end of year dinner on Saturday (Dec. 3) at the New Era restaurant in Akron. The event is limited to 40 participants.

The program will be presented by ARRC President Todd Dillon.

His program will focus heavily on the Chicago Transit Authority’s 75th anniversary. This will include photographs from the Chicago elevated and the Fox River museum and the Illinois Railway Museum.

Also included will be photographs from the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad and a Nickel Plate Road 765 excursion in Indiana.

Shown above are a few images from Todd’s program that he will present on Saturday night.

Photographs by Todd Dillon

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 

Steam Saturday: Remember These ARRC Outings?

It’s a nice warm fall Sunday afternoon in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The Akron Railroad Club is having a picnic at the Valley Picnic Area along Riverview Road south of Peninsula. Chef Marty Surdyk is cooking burgers and dogs on the grill and other goodies are laid out on a table.

The impetus for the picnic is about to arrive, so many of the attendees have walked a short distance to get a better view of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad tracks.

Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 767 — yes you read that right — is on the property to pull excursion trains on the CVSR. You know this locomotive as No. 765, but for the 2016 runs on the CVSR the engine was renumbered 767.

There is a long story behind why the 765 operated as the 767 for two weekends on the CVSR in September 2016. It goes back to the 1950s when Nickel Plate Road No. 767 participated in a grand opening ceremony in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to mark the completion of a track elevation project through downtown Fort Wayne.

When the NKP offered to give the city a retired steam engine to put on static display in a park, officials requested No. 767. But the 767 had been scrapped and in a bit of subterfuge, the railroad sent No. 765 renumbered as No. 767.

That sleight of hand went unnoticed for years until the Fort Wayne Railroad History Society began restoring the 767 to operating condition and discovered it was actually No. 765.

In summer 2016 a ceremony was held in Fort Wayne to mark the beginning of the Headwaters Junction project. That railroad-themed park will someday be the home of the 765. For that ceremony the 765 was renumbered 767 and it continued to wear that roster number during its two weeks on the CVSR in September.

But getting back to the ARRC picnic, the afternoon northbound trip that originated in Akron is coming with the 767 trailing.

We’ve gathered on a slight hill along Riverview that offers a clear view of the tracks. Cameras are poised to capture the 767 as the excursion train goes past the photo line during its trip up from Akron.

We’ll repeat all of this in another hour when the 767 pulls the train back to Akron and past the picnic area.

The ARRC would hold another picnic in September 2017 when the 765 returned to the CVSR for another slate of excursions. That year it operated as 765 and carried a tribute to Jerry Joe Jacobson, who had died earlier that year, on the sides of the locomotive below the cab.

In looking at the 2917 image, which shows the excursion returning to Akron, I’m struck by how Riverview Road was almost empty when the 765 arrived. Some years there was a posse of vehicles chasing the train along Riverview, including one guy who paced the steamer and backed up traffic in the process.

In both 2016 and 2917 the CVSR’s regular train, the National Park Scenic, operated, thus giving us another train to watch. In later years that would not be the case when the 765 was running excursions.

The 2017 picnic would be the last time the ARRC held an outing in the Valley to picnic and watch the steam train.

Chasing NKP 765 Through 3 States

Leaving Edon, Ohio

Passing the depot in Pleasant Lake, Indiana

Passing the old depot in Montgomery, Indiana

Coming into Hillsdale, Michigan

Little River Railroad No. 110 in Hillsdale.

This past weekend Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 ran a series of trips on the Indiana Northeastern railroad between Edon Ohio, and Hillsdale, Michigan.

Light was challenging because it first runs due west from Edon (shooting into the sun) before tuning north at Steubenville, Indiana. Going north the light was good and turning east again at Hillsdale for a short distance was also good.

A bonus was the Little River railroad was running short trips (very short of 12 minutes each direction) with their No. 1 a 0-4-0, and No. 110, a small Pacific type.

Fun fact: The 110, which was built by Baldwin locomotive works in 1911, is one serial number off from Southern Railway No. 4501 (also a Pacific) meaning they shared the shop floor together during construction.  Lighting was especially challenging here.

Around 3:30 p.m. the 765 returned south and lighting was good until it turned back east again (shooting into the sun).  I managed to get some good pictures all the same and here are a few.

Article and Photographs by Todd Dillon

Steam Saturday: Headed Home Through Copley

This image of Nickel Plate Road 2-8-2 No. 765 was taken across the street from the former Akron, Canton & Youngstown depot in Copley. The Berkshire is running westbound on the Wheeling & Lake Erie on a return home to Indiana after pulling several excursions for the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad’s 2015 “Steam in the Valley. The view is looking railroad east.

Photograph by Robert Farkas