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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Leaving Edon, OhioPassing the depot in Pleasant Lake, IndianaPassing the old depot in Montgomery, IndianaComing into Hillsdale, MichiganLittle 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.
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.
Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 poses in Angola, Indiana, before pulling the first of four Indiana Ice Cream Train trips on Saturday.Getting underway for the first excursion of the day.The locomotive engineer of NKP 765 relaxes in Angola before making his first run.Indiana Northeastern GP9H No. 5903 pulls the second ice cream train south of Angola.NKP 765 is along for the ride as the ice cream train continues on to Pleasant Lake.Passing the former New York Central depot in Pleasant Lake on the way back north.
The Indiana Rail Experience with Nickel Plate Road 2-8-3 No. 765 got underway this past weekend with the Indiana Ice Cream Train excursions on Friday and Saturday.
The sold out 45-minute excursions departed from a former New York Central depot in Angola, Indiana, on track now used by the Indiana Northeastern. The station itself, which houses a restaurant, is on the campus of Trine University.
The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, owner of NKP 765, has an agreement with the short line railroad that serves Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, to run a series of excursions this year and beyond.
I made the drive north on Interstate 69 to Angola on Saturday morning with a stopover in Waterloo to catch a late westbound Lake Shore Limited and three Norfolk Southern eastbounds.
Arriving in Angola around 11 a.m., it was easy to find the Ice Cream train because it was parked just south of West Maumee Street, the main east-west artery in town.
The nose of the 765 was pointed north. Later in the day that would mean less-than-ideal lighting conditions.
I had not seen the 765 since September 2018 so it felt good to visit a long-lost friend. The Berkshire-type engine gleamed in the late morning sunlight under a cloudless sky.
Although there was a crowd milling about, it was easy to make images of the static locomotive without people barging into my photos.
The Ice Cream Train departed four times each day, alternating going north and south of town. Passengers were given a cup of ice cream before boarding.
The first trip went north. After photographing it leaving the boarding site, I gave chase even though I really didn’t know that well where I was going.
I saw smoke in the distance so I knew I was close behind. I kept going, looked down a road to my left and caught a glimpse of the train.
I turned left onto the next road that, presumably, went to the tracks. A crowd of locals and railfan photographs had gathered at the crossing.
The sight lines and lighting were good. But after several minutes of waiting, some of the railfan photographers began leaving. The locals quickly followed suit.
It turned out we were one crossing too far north of where the excursion train stopped and reversed direction to return to Angola.
I drove back into town without having made any images on this chase. I kept going to look for a photo site for the second excursion.
I found one not too far out of town. A guy from Geneva, Illinois, was already there. Two other fans showed up shortly after I arrived and set up their video cameras.
After waiting for a while, I spotted the headlight of Indiana Northeast GP9H No. 5903, which pulled the train southward.
After getting my photographs, I followed the train, which I had been told would halt just south of the depot in Pleasant Lake.
A least two of the vehicles ahead of me on Old Route U.S. 27 were railfans and I followed them, hoping they knew where they were going. They did.
Several photographers and a few locals were on hand next to the volunteer fire department. An interesting site at the firehouse was two people on horseback talking with the fire department staff.
The 765 was a short distance beyond the depot and a photo line had formed.
After getting my images I tried to catch and get ahead of the train. But that effort failed due to my unfamiliarity with the streets on the south side of Angola.
I waited for the third excursion of the day to leave and snapped a few images before heading back home.
There are excursions planned for late summer and during the fall with additional trips, perhaps, to be announced.
Next time I’m up that way I’ll be better prepared to chase now that I have explored the territory.
Nonetheless, I was more than satisfied with what I was able to get.
Details about the planned trips in the Indiana Rail Experience featuring Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 were published this week online.
The longest trip planned will be an all-day 100-mile excursion named the Tri-State Scenic. It will run on Aug. 27 and 28 and run from Edon, Ohio, to Hillsdale, Michigan, and return.
There will be a two-hour layover in Hillsdale for passengers to visit a local farmers market, take walking tours and have lunch on their own.
Tickets are not yet on sale but are expected to start at $79 per person. Ticket classes to be offered include deluxe coach, open air, first class and executive class.
The train is expected to allow open vestibule viewing. It will be hosted by the Indiana Northeastern Railroad.
Other excursions set for the summer include the Indiana Ice Cream Train July 8-9. It will operate hour-long excursions from downtown Angola, Indiana, four times each day. Tickets will start at $15.
The Indiana Wine & Spirit Train will run on July 8-9 and Sept. 23. It will be a 2.5-hour evening excursion aboard a first-class passenger train with the wine, whiskey, beer, cigars, hors d’oeuvres, and dessert.
Passengers must be at least 21 years of age to ride. Passengers also may charter an entire private car. Tickets start at $90. The trip announcement did not say where the train will operate.
The Angola American History Train will operate Sept. 24-25 from Angola for a visit to a recreated World War II trop camp with re-enactors.
The excursion is being held in conjunction with Angola American History Days. Tickets start at $29.
A photo freight will operate on an unspecified date with tickets available by invitation only. Prospective passengers may join a wait list for the trip that is being maintained on the website of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society.
The train will operate between South Milford, Indiana, and Edon, Ohio, and to Hillsdale, Michigan.
It will feature freight and passenger cars as well as EMD diesel locomotives. There will be a night photo session, period actors, and vintage vehicles.
FtRHS said on its website that events are being hosted in cooperation with the Little River Railroad, Norfolk & Western Business Car No. 300 Preservation Society, City of Angola, and City of Hillsdale, Michigan.
The Indiana Rail Experience is a partnership between the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, Inc. and Indiana Northeastern.
akronrrclub.wordpress.com 