PLEASANT LAKE, Ind. — Finishing off the 2024 operating season for Nickel Plate Road No. 765 was the Indiana Rail Experience’s second annual Fall Color Steam Special on Oct. 19 and 20. The all-day round-trip jaunts drew beautiful weather as the 80-year-old 2-8-4 of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society marched up and down the Indiana Northeastern Railroad from Pleasant Lake to Hillsdale, Mich.
The Friday before saw a chartered excursion with both No. 765 and SD9 diesel No. 358 as part of the Nickel Plate Historical & Technical Society’s 2024 convention. The day concluded with both locomotives posing side-by-side at the Pleasant Lake depot in a night photo session. For Kelly Lynch, recently appointed executive director of the historical society, the lineup was a remarkable sight helping to provide an eye towards the bigger picture.
“No. 765 turned in another admirable performance,” Lynch remarked. “The weekend made for a great finale to the steam season, amid three great days of warm autumn weather and glittering leaves falling around the locomotive’s exhaust.
“We hosted guests from as far as Virginia, New Jersey, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, New York, and of course all over the Tri-State area riding this sold-out event. Nearly 700 people rode this weekend and over 1,400 people will ride next weekend during our diesel-powered Autumn Limited trips.”
No. 358 is expected to take part in the aforementioned excursions, Oct. 25-27, in addition to three consecutive weekends in December for the Indiana Christmas Train out of Pleasant Lake. Meanwhile, No. 765 will cool off at the society’s New Haven facility for offseason work. “We do intend on replacing the injector with a new version of the Nathan 4000C,” said Lynch. “This will be one of 12 built in a special run that includes No. 765 and is being sponsored by the T1 Trust.”
Additional offseason work will revolve around the society’s capital projects, according to Lynch.
New York Central coach No. 2568 of the “Great Steel Fleet” is receiving finishing touches in its renovation. The next car in the repair line is being evaluated for its planned restoration. “We need to begin fundraising for that effort and finalize the interior layout, which will likely resemble a first-class car on the Empire State Express,” said Lynch. “Each of these cars costs, at a minimum, $330,000 and we’ve been able to raise over $130,000 in grants to kick start the work.”
Back in Pleasant Lake, the passenger and freight sections of the depot recently received cosmetic repair and foundation work, respectively. New windows are planned to be installed in the winter while additional paint and wood repair will resume on the freight house when warmer weather returns in 2025. Lynch adds that a Nickel Plate Road watchman’s shanty will be added to the campus, with roof work still needed.
Saving the best for last is the society’s new acquisition to the steam fleet, New York Central 4-8-2 “Mohawk” No. 3001 [See “New York Central Mohawk No. 3001 joins…” News Wire, Oct. 9, 2024]. The first fundraising deadline for $500,000 is scheduled May 3, 2025, the 68th anniversary of the end of steam on the ex-NYC. “As funds are raised for [No. 3001], we’ll be able to turn our attention to getting it prepped and ready to depart the National New York Central Museum,” said Lynch. “$500,000 will help us prep the engine and other equipment for removal, open up the tracks at the museum, get them to Fort Wayne, stabilize, and start the disassembly [of the locomotive] to allow us a deeper evaluation and create a proper roadmap for restoration.”
Visit the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society and Indiana Rail Experience websites for more information.
