Last Weekend of Steam in the Valley

Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 was back in action this week pulling excursions on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

The last public trips of the Berkshire locomotive’s annual visit to the CVSR will feature trips out of Akron today (Sept. 29) with a photo runby at Indigo Lake.

In the top two photographs above the 765 is shown steaming through Peninsula.

In the bottom photograph, CVSR FPA-4 Nos. 6777 and 6771 are shown on th rear of the train next to dome-observation-sleeper car Silver Solarium.

It’s hard to imagine they would ever be coupled to a dome from the California Zephyr.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

Trains to Sponsor C&O 1309 Charter

Trains magazine and the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad will offer a photo charter for Chesapeake & Ohio No. 1309 in late September.

The restored locomotive will pull a freight train with 14 to 18 cars on Sept. 26 to 28, stopping at several locations on the 17-mile railroad.

Among the photo locations will be Helmstetter’s Curve. No. 1309, which was built in 1949, will wear its C&O markings and at times have Western Maryland lettering.

The event will also include a night photo shoot, cab access, and an audio-visual program detailing the restoration of the locomotive.

Tickets are $495 apiece and only 80 will be sold.  Tickets may be purchased at 800-TRAIN-50 or at wmsr.com.

NKP 765 to Pull Rocky River-Bellevue Trip in May

Nickel Plate Road No. 765 pulls a train southweard at Carey Road just north of Bucyrus in July 2012. The Berkshire locomotive will be returning to action on Norfolk Southern rails in May with public excursions in Northeast Ohio. (Photograph by Craig Sanders)

Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive No. 765 will pull a public excursion over the Norfolk Southern between Rocky River and Bellevue on May 12. Ticket prices have not yet been released.

No. 765 will also pull public excursions between Lewistown, Pa., and the Horseshoe Curve west of Altoona, Pa., on May 25, 26 and 27.

All trips will offer first class and coach seating. Ticket reservations may be made by calling the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society at 260-267-5765 or sending an email message to tickets@fwrhs.org. The FWRHS said in a news release that online information ticket ordering, departure locations and passenger car consists will be available soon.

The complete summer season operating schedule with No. 765 will be released later.

In a related development, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum has announced a schedule of March and April public trips behind former Southern Railway steam locomotive No. 630. All trips will be made over NS tracks. The schedule is as follows:

March 2: Chattanooga, Tenn., to Attalla, Ala.

March 9: Bristol, Va., to Radford, Va.

March 10: Bristol, Va., to Bulls Gap, Tenn.

March 16: Roanoke, Va., to Walton, Va., and Lynchburg, Va.

March 23: Norfolk, Va., to Petersburg, Va.

April 13: Spencer, N.C., to Barber Junction, N.C.

April 20 & 21: Asheville, N.C., to Old Fort, N.C.

Ticket prices range from $65 to $40 depending on the trip. All trips feature coach seating. For further information and to order tickets, click on the link below.

http://tvrail.com/pages/21st-Century-Steam

Paul Woodring Posts NS Program on YouTube

Akron Railroad Club member Paul Woodring has posted his NS steam program presentation on YouTube.com. The program, which he first presented last November at the ARRC members night, involves images that he made of Norfolk & Western No. 611 and No. 1218. The images were scanned from slides.

The images are presented with the music of Alison Krauss and Union Station. The 6-minute program can be seen by clicking on the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3y1qpW1c_E&feature=youtu.be

A 1293 Sunday in the Valley

Central Ohio Railroad steam locomotive No. 1293 rumbles in reverse past the northernmost Hickory Street grade crossing in Akron on Sunday during the first passenger run of the day.

Steam locomotive No. 1293 spent another day basking in brilliant late summer sunlight and hauling passengers while strutting its stuff for fascinated onlookers on Sunday on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

The 4-6-2 Pacific-type locomotive, lettered for Central Ohio Railroad but originally built for the Canadian Pacific hauled two roundtrip passenger excursions between Akron and Indigo Lake. Each train did a photo runby at Indigo Lake. Passengers enjoyed a two-hour excursion.

The 1293 will be idle the weekend of Sept. 22-23, but will return to action the following weekend (Sept. 29-30).

Photographs by Craig Sanders

Running alongside the towpath trail just north of Bath Road on the first northbound excursion.

Passing by Botzum station during the first southbound passenger excursion.

The 1293 is almost back to Akron Northside Station as it passes over the Ohio & Erie Canal just west of the depot.

FPA4 No. 800 wearing Baltimore & Ohio markings leads the second excursion train of the day over Bath Road.

The 1293 passes milepost 43, which is measured from Mineral City, Ohio, as it chugs into Akron on the point of the second excursion train of the day.

It’s hard to know who had more fun, those who watched the 1293 pass by or the crew operating the locomotive and smiling and waving at the trackside admirers. The train is shown here just beyond milepost 43 in Akron.