SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The newest additions to the Indiana Rail Experience passenger fleet are nearing the end of the journey to that operation.
Heavyweight Pullman Kitchi Gammi Club and former Union Pacific sleeper Pacific Island are shown in South Bend this morning (Saturday, Sept. 7) on the rear of the Lake Shore Limited as part of a special charter move from New York [see “Former Nickel Plate Pullman to join Indiana Rail Experience,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 14, 2024]. Tomorrow (Sunday, Sept. 8) the cars will be on the Pere Marquette for a move to Grand Rapids; after that, they will move as freight to the Indiana Northeastern Railroad. Their scheduled debut at the Indiana Rail Experience, the collaboration between the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society and the Indiana Northeastern, is set for Oct. 19-20 on the Fall Colors Steam Special between Pleasant Lake, Ind., and Hillsdale, Mich.
The Kitchi Gammi Club, built by Pullman in 1923, ran in Nickel Plate Road passenger service from 1937 to 1953, then was converted to a private car. At the Indiana Rail Experience, it will join the Fort Wayne society’s Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 and restored NKP SD9 No. 358
