Nickel
Plate Road 2-8-4 765 was restored by the Ft. Wayne Railroad Historical
Society in Ft. Wayne, Indiana and first operated in December of 1979. It
ran a lot of excursions in the mid-1980’s to 1993. Our show features a
brief period in 1982 where the engine was leased to the NS Steam
program,since they were short of steam power, and newly restored N&W
611 was operating trips further east on the system. We begin with some
background info on the engine, followed by some scenes of a one way trip
from Cincinnati toward Lexington in 1982. This features a couple of
really nice shots on the steep Erlanger Hill climbing out of the Ohio
River Valley. Next is footage of the two day Lexington to Chattanooga
trips on October 2nd and 3rd, 1980. This takes us through the famous
Southern Railway’s Rat Hole both directions. As an added bonus 765 is
sporting a lovely 3-chime Pennsylvania Railroad whistle for this
weekend. We end with a couple extra scenes of 765 heading home from
Cincinnati in November 1982. This footage is from the collection of Greg
Scholl and shot by him, with sound throughout.
Our next segment
features 765 on 3 trips out of Buffalo, NY to Corning, NY, shot by Paul
Cooledge. These are are on the former Erie Lackawanna, and features some
nice action shots. These are also nice clean sound video scenes,
transferred from Super 8 sound films. These were from 1985 and go well
with the Greg Scholl 1982 clips.
Finally we included
the Nickel Plate Company film “The Nickel Plate Story.” We bought this
film years ago, and had it transferred to video, but didn’t know where
to put it. So its included with this show. In there you will learn about
the system, and train handling in yards, and see lots of engines just
like 765, those great looking Nickel Plate Berkshires (2-8-4’s). There
is also some footage from unique angles like from the cab and low ground
level scenes. Watch coal being unloaded at the docks, and cars being
switched at the yard as time freights stick to the schedule.
Maps guide you with
the narrator in this color presentation. A nice addition for every
Nickel Plate fan as well as 765 fan. The film is 18 minutes.
