NKP 765 Summer Excursion Schedule Announced

Following over two years of research, negotiations, planning, and scheduling, the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society will be highballing Nickel Plate Road no. 765 to North Judson, Indiana’s Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in May.

No. 765 will operate roundtrips on preserved Chesapeake and Ohio trackage between North Judson and LaCrosse, Indiana Memorial Day Weekend and Father’s Day Weekend this summer. The locomotive will pull three trips daily both weekends using the Ohio Central Railroad’s passenger fleet with all trips departing North Judson featuring photo runs for passengers.

Tickets for these trips are on available at www.765.org or by calling 260-493-3885.

In July, no. 765 will travel to Owosso, Michigan to star alongside Lima Locomotive Works relatives PM no. 1225 and SP. no. 4449 in the nation’s largest railroading event of the year as it and seven other historic steam locomotives operate in public exhibition and recreational passenger service. The 765 will be on live-steam static display July 24th and 25th and operate a day-long passenger excursion on July 26th.

Tickets for this event may be purchased online at www.trainfestival2009.com.

 
 
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SP 4449 Rides Again

It’s turning into a Lima reunion.

Ex-Southern Pacific 4-8-8 no. 4449 will depart Portland, OR, July 3 on a 2500-mile cross-country trek to Train Festival in July, where it will join ex-NKP 765 and ex-PM 1225 in Owosso, MI.

In cooperation with Amtrak, BNSF Railway, and Friends of the 261, no. 4449 will operate via the “Empire Builder” route, hauling a train of private cars to Minneapolis, MN. Then it’s on to Chicago and Durand, MI, where the Daylight will enter the Great Lakes Central tracks to Owosso.

Once at Train Festival, no. 4449 will power an excursion to Alma, Michigan, on Friday, July 24, and be on display Saturday and Sunday.

After Train Festival, no. 4449 will return to Minneapolis, where it will lay over until until fall, when the Friends of the 261 will feature it on their usual public excursions. No. 4449 will then return to Portand to fulfill its duty on “Holiday Express” trips.

It’s been 35 years since a young Doyle McCormack took on the task of rehabilitating a display locomotive for service on the American Freedom Train. No. 4449′s current boiler certification will expire in June, 2013, so this may be the Daylight’s last cross-country trip for a very long time indeed. So don’t miss this one.

 
 
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