#Nickel Plate Road 765

[collinthenychudson]

Nickel Plate Road 765 and Pere Marquette 1225 team up with each other as they perform a special photo charter recreating history. Models and Route by: K&L Trainz, Auran, and Download Station

#NKP #Nickel Plate Road #New York Chicago & St Louis #New York Chicago & St Louis Railroad #765 #NKP 765 #Nickel Plate Road 765 #S-2 #PM #Pere Marquette #Pere Marquette Railroad #1225 #PM 1225 #Pere Marquette 1225 #N-1 #Berkshire #2-8-4 #Steam Locomotives #Trains #Trainz Simulator

[heavenlybackside]

The Nickel Plate Road 765 during the Indiana Rail Experience America History Train.

[guerrerense]

I will be working to process my Nickel Plate Road 765 photos from chasing the Sunday Fall Color Excursion. 10/23 por Bryan Burton

#flickr

[1863-project]

Looking through your blog, many of your train posting is northeastern focus, which, absolutely fair, love what's around you, but what are some of you favorite non-local trains, historic or modern? Around the US and/or international

Ah, yeah, I'm in Northern New Jersey, so I tend to do a lot of PRR, NYC, Lackawanna, Jersey Central, Erie, etc. (not to mention the NYC Subway, PATH, NJT, etc.). Grew up going to the Strasburg Rail Road a lot as a kid, so in terms of historical railroading, I was exposed to the Pennsy first, and everything else just got picked up as I continued along.

In terms of the rest of the US, I've inherited a fondness for the Nickel Plate Road's Berkshires from my dad. In 2015 we went to Jim Thorpe because 765 was visiting and normally she's not that far east so we couldn't miss out on it.

It was a real treat, we got to walk right up to her and everything.

I also love the streamlining for the Southern Pacific (the Daylight is just gorgeous), everyone knows the Santa Fe (still haven't made that French toast but I swear I will), and the Southern...the green paint on their locomotives...divine. And of course, nobody has a better logo than the Chessie System! I also need to do a big shout-out to the Milwaukee Road, as well, because those Atlantics are a dream drive for me that I'll never get because they're all scrapped. But those timetables make me drool...

Internationally, most people who follow this blog are aware that I'm a huge fan of Sir Nigel Gresley's work with the LNER and have a particular obsession with the A4 Pacifics. Driving one would be a dream come true. I know they won't let me take Mallard out (she hasn't operated since the 1980s anyway), but there's a few A4s that are in operational status, so...I promise I won't immediately go for the speed record or anything.

In terms of modern stuff, I'm also fond of the E5/H5 Shinkansen trainsets. They're gorgeous and they operate so well at high speeds. Keep an eye out for the ALFA-X, though, it's due to dethrone them as the highest speed regularly running Shinkansen trainset if it goes into revenue service!

That's a brief overview - a verrrry brief one - but I'm always excited to see trains from everywhere, especially historical ones. It's genuinely the longest-lasting passion in my life (it's been there for over 30 years now) and I hope it stays that way forever!

#replies #ice-to-orange-blossoms #I like trains

[ironhorsegirl]

Taking a break from maintenance, which I do every Wednesday, to explain something since I was chatting with my co-workers and figured out how to put it in layman's terms!

Most people who like trains are aware that it takes multiple diesel units to pull really long freight trains. They also pull these trains really slowly when they're really long. A big part of the switch from steam to diesel for these sort of things is due to their thermal efficiency - diesel locomotives are usually somewhere around 30%-40% thermal efficient, whilst the average steam locomotive was closer to 8%-9%. This means that steam locomotives went through more fuel - up to six to eight times more fuel. If you're pulling a mile-long train, you want to find the most efficient way to do that, and combined with their lower repair and maintenance costs, most railroads finished that switch by the end of the 1950s.

Now, that said, the thing with diesels is that their horsepower is more consistent. They run with internal combustion engines, like your car does. You can generally expect the same horsepower output out of them day to day, even as you open the throttle more. As an example, the famed EMD GP40-based passenger locomotives are usually rated for something like 2000-3000 HP, and their freight counterparts were consistent at around 3000 HP. The F40PH, a passenger locomotive, can get up to 3200 HP.

Modern diesels and diesel-electrics have even more power - Bombardier's ALP-45DPs, one of which I'm looking at in the yard right now, are rated thusly:

Both the power output and the tractive effort, which basically translates in layman's terms to "how much can this locomotive push or pull," are higher for electric than diesel. You'd think that this would mean a push for more railroad electrification, but...well, you probably know why cleaner forms of energy don't get used by now, so I won't get into that.

Now, for comparison, let's look at some steam locomotives. This is Nickel Plate Road 765, a 2-8-4 Berkshire built in 1944:

When you think about it, those numbers really aren't too different! By the 1940s, steam technology was really at the best it had ever been (superpowered steam). When they started testing diesels en masse, it was actually found that performance-wise, the locomotives more or less kept pace with each other. Ultimately, the diesels won out because they were easier to mass manufacture, were cheaper to maintain, and could be operated by one person (not recommended, safety first!). You can hook multiple diesels up to each other and operate them from the one in the front, whereas if you doublehead steam locomotives you need a crew to operate each one. So yeah, it was a cost-saving measure, ultimately, because executives are like that.

Just for fun, let's look at the Big Boys for a second, though.

Yeah, you're not gonna beat those numbers. Union Pacific's Big Boys were some of the most powerful machines ever built. Those mile-long freights that you see three or four diesels on? A Big Boy could pull those by itself without breaking a sweat.

But if the horsepower and tractive efforts come across mostly the same, why do steam locomotives appear to be able to pull more weight? It's all about how steam power actually works.

A diesel engine, as mentioned above, will have fairly consistent horsepower outputs. Steam locomotives take a bit more to get going, and you have to start pulling heavy loads slowly because of potential wheel slip. But once you get moving...that seems to change.

Here's a great story from Rich Melvin, who was the engineer of NKP 765 until he retired several years ago:

Now, in the comments of this video, I found someone explaining this really well:

Basically, the harder you work a steam locomotive, the closer it gets to its actual peak power output. The more you open up the throttle, the more fuel you have to add to the fire, and in turn, the hotter the fire gets. This means the steam in the superheater is actually drier, and that means that it expands more. So you can use less steam per stroke that way, and that means you can really get up to using your full power.

A diesel will have an easier job starting to pull, because they're great for getting those things moving. But if you have it running at higher speeds, the steam locomotive will have an easier time pulling it from that point.

So there you go.

#train physics

[kennethpettay]

Nickel plate road 765. Acrylic Painting on canvas. 24x48". Hand brushed acrylic.

#acrylicpainting #painting #art #artists on tumblr #hyperrealism #hyperrealistic #train art #realistic art #nickel plate road

[railsaroundtheworld]

NS 8108?

(baby boyeeee)

(writing below the cut!)

His eyes sparkled as the locomotive pulled up in front of him, then came the Guider. He had raved to the yardmasters and Guiders around him about the time he was on a train with 1070, or the Wabash Heritage Guider. They got along super well, he loved asking him about the railroad and what he knew. Wabash seemed to enjoy his presence too, a passionate Guider is a good Guider.

But this time, it wasn't Wabash. Rather, a Heritage Guider he wanted to talk to. Or just ask about the railroad that came before Norfolk Southern. The Guider wore a special outfit colored black and gold, with red accents. The number on their outfit was 8100.

The Nickel Plate Road Heritage Guider.

They first noticed him excitedly smiling and waving at them like a human child who just got a 5 dollar bill. It... confused them for a bit, but they had experience with railfans fauning over them and the other Heritage Guiders. So, they nodded and began to talk to him.

"You're 8108, the Guider I'll be working with today. It's nice to meet you."

"Nickel, I just want to say what a HUGE honor it is to get to work with a Heritage Guider. The Nickel Plate Road is SO COOL!!"

"You say that about every railroad that came before us. But it's true... I guess we were a cool railroad, but if anything that title should go to railroads like the Norfolk and Western."

"ALL of Norfolk Southern's predecessor railroads are really awesome! Their history is so intriguing, the paint schemes are really cool, and some of them were labeled as some of the best railroads in the country! Dear Jupiter I wanna meet 765 so badly- can you think of how amazing it would be to talk to him!? Or any of his siblings... Maybe at some point I can go to Bellevue and talk to 757! Can you imagine how cool that'd be!?"

They just chuckled as they boarded their Maverick, then looked over at him with a gentle smile.

"You know the Heritage Guiders keep all records of the railroads that came before us? I'm pretty sure the Lehigh Valley Guider still has some records of when-"

"YOU GUYS HAVE ARCHIVES OF THE RAILROAD'S PREDECESSORS!?"

"Mhm! I could always show you some of them after we're done."

"Oh, PLEASE DO!"

"Then if we get this train delivered on time and without any mishaps... I'd be happy to show you what I have of the Nickel Plate."

#rails around the world #ratw #jasper writes #norfolk southern #norfolk southern railway #norfolk southern 8108 #norfolk southern 8100

[american-railroading]

Engine Showcase: Elgin Joliet & Eastern #765, Pt. 1

Ah yes, for once an actual post and not just reblogging pictures of engines from various places. Today, I wanna talk about an engine I feel very strongly about for several reasons.

We’re going to be discussing EJ&E (Elgin Joliet & Eastern) steam engine #765. Yes I’m absolutely sure this isn’t about the Nickel Plate Berkshire, as EJ&E’s 765 is a Mikado and obviously from a very different road.

Warning: This is a lengthy rambling read about a very specific steam locomotive.

In short, the engine was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1929. Obviously it’s a 2-8-2 Mikado. It’s an AB Class engine made to haul freight all around the road. When the EJ&E dieselized in the late 1940’s, the engine was sold to the DM&IR (Duluth Missabe & Iron Range), being renumbered to 1330 in 1948. When the DM&IR diseslized in 1962, 1330 was renumbered and repainted back to her original EJ&E colors and number. She was like new and was sent to Gary, Indiana to be donated and put on display in the small Gateway Park right next to and beneath the SSL (South Shore Line). Thus ending her service she’s been on static display ever since, as the only surviving EJ&E steamer.

EJ&E #765 in revenue service for the EJ&E:

DM&IR #1330 in revenue service for the DM&IR:

Now I’m sure you’re thinking, what’s the problem? The engine is preserved in a park, she’s still there to this day and anyone can visit her anytime. Here’s the thing. She’s been on display in Gary since 1962, so she’s been there a good while, as of posting this, she’s been there roughly 62 years. Which I would have no problem with, I’m glad she’s around. She’s from a small forgotten road after all, one really only locals seem to know about, and everyone else at the very most seems to have only heard it mentioned in passing but don’t know much about.

When first donated to Gary, as stated before, 765 was in pristine condition, freshly repainted and operable. In fact I found a source (although unsure how reliable since it’s someone just claiming things), that she was pretty well rolled up to where she sits now beneath the SSL. Well, according an article (I’ll link it at the bottom) and a railfan discussing it, after being donated the engine was taken care of for a time. But as all things go she was slowly forgotten and fell into disrepair. Up until recently when a small group of people who volunteer with grants of money try to spruce up old towns, historic sites, and abandoned places to make older run down places and things more appealing and try to upkeep anything of value. They’re apparently the Decay Devils preservation society, and in 2023 they not only did their best with poor old 765, but the Gary Union Station just a short walk away that’s long been abandoned. Which the station is a talk for some other time (as apparently the 20th Century Limited stopped there at one time).

But apart from the preservation group, 765 hasn’t seen any real work done on her since 1992. That’s 31 about years. She’s since been rusting and rotting, since she’s simply out in the open in the park with no awning or shed to shield her from the elements. Mind you this is in the Midwest so we get a lot of snow and rain to get in all the cracks and crevices to rust her out.

From various sources, I can see and read people discussing how badly she’s fallen apart and been scavenged for scrap and souvenirs. Her cowcatcher is in rough shape and the little wooden footplates that were once beside it for the switchman to ride while guiding her through the yard have rotten and been taken off. For a time her headlight and number boards on the front were in tact and looking nice, but soon enough, after about 2014, her headlight, which had already had the glass removed disappeared entirely, and the empty number boards also vanished. Her bell, whistle, and builders plates are all long gone. I hope and pray these all exist somewhere and aren’t just melted down. Her sanding tubes are all rusted through, bent, and disconnected. I saw that myself when I visited. There used to be stairs up into her cab, but those rotted and were removed. Her cab was once labeled, each lever and valve named, but that all disappeared, as with the valves and levers. She’s been scavenged inside and out. All sorts of little bits and bobs are badly damaged and missing, and a lot of her steel is thinning. That’s not even all of it! Other stuff is missing and gone, like her piston covers! There’s a lot I didn’t catch or don’t know about! When she was finally repainted back in 2023 it was clearly done by hand, obviously a labor of love, but not quite the right scheme. That I’m not too upset about though. But for example, you saw how nice she was during her working days?

This was her, around 2014:

And… this is what she looked like when I saw her earlier this year in about February:

Just look at her! The poor girl deserves so much better! Considering all sorts of people say that Gary is a dying town with a high crime rate, of the few who do know about her not many want to visit. We went not knowing it was a dangerous part of town, but it was a bit chilly so no one was really out anyway. We might’ve been some of the lucky ones!

And I think one of the worst parts is that the city of Gary does not want to give her up. They claim she’s a big part of their heritage despite the fact they can’t take care of her since they don’t have much money, and no one really knows or cares that she’s there. Apparently, back in the early 1980’s the IRM (Illinois Railway Museum) tried to buy her! But the Common Council decided she was too important to the town’s history to sell! Maybe back then, but now all types of people describe her as ‘derelict’ ‘forgotten’ and ‘invisible’! That’s horrible! Sure just as she is in Gateway Park, she might not run if she went to the IRM, but that doesn’t matter! They’d be able to restore her like new someday and keep her from rotting to the point of no return! (If you can’t tell I love the IRM, and I get a lot of insider info there as one of my uncles volunteers there.) I almost cried when I saw her. I looked up pictures online before visiting and I expected her to look nicer, especially after reading the trains article on how she was being fixed up. I’ve felt very bad for her, and wanted to do something since but I’m afraid there’s nothing. I wanted to try and bring awareness to her, since obviously even with her recent touch up (yeah I hate to say it, despite the working having been done being well done, it wasn’t much, certainly not a restoration) no one knows about her and her terrible situation.

I hope you guys end up loving her as much as I do. Maybe someday she’ll be leading a better life in a museum or at least somewhere they can take care of her better. It’s really important to me that she stays around. She’s the only steam engine left from her entire road, so it’s not like we can afford to lose her. Not to mention, I’ve lived near EJ&E tracks all my life, I’ve seen all kinds of rolling stock and cabooses preserved, so it’s a very familiar thing to me. And for the people and railfans who don’t know, it’s nice to learn about something new and niche. So there you have it, links will be below to sources I used while writing this. I hope you feel like she deserves a second chance like I do. Not sure if this ‘Engine Showcase’ will be a series or a one off thing. But if you like it let me know!

Sources:

Trains article: https://cs.trains.com/ctr/b/mileposts/archive/2020/10/16/ej-amp-e-765-another-forgotten-park-engine.aspx

Discussing the engine: http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=47198

Second Article: https://www.nwitimes.com/localbusinesses/gary-steam-locomotive-downtown-refurbished/article_a8e456ea-120c-11ee-9f72-ab64a16c5273.html

First hand visit to 765 with pictures: http://zettsoscaletrainlayout.blogspot.com/2013/03/ej-765-last-of-its-kind.html

Extra condensed information: https://locomotive.fandom.com/wiki/Elgin,_Joliet_%26_Eastern_Railway_No._765

(All photographs were taken from Google, I do not own or claim to own any of them)

#trains #history #freight train #steam engine #steam locomotive #engine showcase #EJ&E #elgin joliet & eastern #dm&ir #Duluth missabe & iron range #ssl #chicago south shore & south bend #south shore line #ej&e 765 #train rambles #poor girl #someday I hope she gets what she needs #i don’t need her going to the big roundhouse in the sky because she was neglected #I’m sorry I feel so strongly about her #meeting an engine sometimes makes you bond with them #for better or for worse

[trainmaniac]

NKP 765 Extra - Joliet, Illinois by Tyler Pate Via Flickr: The Joliet Rocket just departed Joliet, Illinois for La Salle Street Station while blowing through the intermediates at MP 37 on the former Rock Island Route.

#Nikon D500 #Nikon Photography #Joliet #Illinois #Joliet Rocket #Metra #2-8-4 #NKP 765 #Nickel Plate Road 765

[aryburn-trains]

Strange Stable Mates by Joe McMillan Via Flickr: Nickel Plate Berkshire 765 moves out of the TP&W roundhouse at East Peoria, Illinois, on May 3, 1980. The steam engine was on the TP&W for several days hauling freight trains and passenger excursions. Photo by Joe McMillan.

#nyc&stl 765 #nickel plate road 765 #nyc&stl #nickel plate road #tp&w #toledo peoria & western #1980 #east peoria #trains #passenger train #history #illinois

[jasperdoodles-art]

have i ever talked about canonical siblings in ratw before? no? well here ya go

SO

Nickel Plate 765 is a guy who is pretty laid back and just wants to lay around and do nothing because why not? he loves running excursions and trains in general but he also likes his free time. his sister, Nickel Plate 757 is definitely more energetic than him, which also leads her to be a little stubborn and come off as someone who goes "work first, dammit!" half the time. she means well, though. they love each other as siblings, i promise you.

questions about ratw are always appreciated!!

(design inspiration came from one of @theflyingkipper's drawings of them, specifically the whistle battle one. which was also what inspired this whole drawing, hence the fire hose. go check em out their art is chef's kiss)

#my art #digital art #digital illustration #rails around the world #ratw #ideas #projects #nickel plate #nickel plate road #nkp #nickel plate 765 #nickel plate 757 #nkp 765 #nkp 757

[collinthenychudson]

Masquerading as a C&O Kanawha, Nickel Plate Road 765 powers an excursion through Tennessee with a train of CSX Office Cars in tow.

Models and Route by: K&L Trainz, JointedRail, TrainzProRoutes, Auran, and Download Station

#Chesapeake & Ohio #Chesapeake & Ohio Railway #Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad #Nickel Plate Road #NKP #New York Chicago & St. Louis Railroad #Nickel Plate Road 765 #NKP 765 #Kanawha #765 #2765 #steam locomotive #trains #Trainz Simulator

[heavenlybackside]

Nickel Plate Road 765 charges ahead during the golden hour.

The 2-8-4 Berkshire type steam locomotive, built by the Lima Locomotive Works, was capable of 4500 horsepower and a max speed of 80 MPH.

Today, it's operated by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society on the Indiana Rail Experience.

[guerrerense]

Nickel Plate Road 765 on the main in Hudson. 07/23 por Bryan Burton

#flickr

[1863-project]

I Watched The Steam Locomotive Episode of Digimon

I’m going to preface this by admitting that normally I don’t watch or play Digimon, and I just went in for the sake of seeing this one episode because, like Kichii, I was The Train Kid when I was younger and I get where he’s coming from. I went into this watching it from the perspective of someone who loves trains and especially loves steam locomotives, and from viewing it from that lens and not just a Digimon lens, it hits in a different way for me.

This episode comes from Digimon Xros Wars, a series that ran in 2011-2012 or so, and can be watched on Crunchyroll. In it, the main character finds out his classmate Kichii Funabashi is somehow traveling all over the world at night, and he’s getting very sleep deprived as a result. Kichii loves trains, and he offers to take the main character along on a trip to prove the photos are real. The protagonist agrees and meets him on what appears to be the roof of the school, where he’s picked up by Kichii, who shows up in the cab of a flying 2-8-4 Berkshire named Locomon (a Digimon, of course).

Kichii relates the story of how he and Locomon met, and in the flashback he manages to be one of the best depictions of being the Train Kid that I’ve ever seen:

He literally moves his arms as if they’re the drive rods of a steam locomotive. Honestly, he’s a mood.

But what really sold me was that Kichii clearly understands steam locomotives.

Kichii gets it - trains are a form of accessible travel and should be for everyone, not kept to oneself. He also understands that operating a steam locomotive isn’t ownership - it’s partnership.

I have driven a steam locomotive, Strasburg #90. I’d admired her for most of my life, and 30 years after I first saw her I got to step inside the cab and take my place at the throttle. I’ve driven many different vehicles before in my life, but never a steam locomotive, and it felt different from anything I’d ever operated before. I was attached to my first car, which I had for over a decade, to the point that I gave it a name, but I couldn’t feel a soul emanating from that car. When I climbed into 90′s cab, there was an internal sense of warmth I can’t quite describe. Sure, the firebox was giving off heat, but this came from within.

When I was a little kid, I rode horses for a couple of years (before realizing I was more of an Iron Horse Girl than a regular Horse Girl). Sitting down in the cab and getting settled in, I felt more like I did when I rode horses than I ever did driving a car. This machine felt almost alive, and she had a soul, and she was going to lend me her power for the next 30 minutes. I wasn’t in control, we were a team, and we had to work together. I opened the throttle and we took off, and I felt like I was supposed to be there. It was her job to keep me safe in the cab, and my job to keep her safe on the rails by making sure we were at the right speed and didn’t have anyone crossing the tracks in front of us. I helped her use her voice by blowing the whistle before crossings and when we were about to move forward or in reverse. By the end, I felt so comfortable in the cab that I didn’t want to leave, and I felt like if I needed to I could have kept going forever. For 30 minutes, my soul was entwined with 90′s soul, and we were a team.

When Kichii has to rescue Locomon at the climax of his episode, he invokes that same feeling. Locomon is a 2-8-4 Berkshire - locomotives that weren’t as fast as, say, Atlantics, Pacifics, or Hudsons, but were immensely strong and well-suited for freight work. Lima Locomotive Works made likely the most famous Berkshires, both Pere Marquette 1225 (the Polar Express locomotive) and the Nickel Plate Road Berkshires, a representative of which, 765, runs excursions to this day. NKP 765 maxes out at around 80 miles per hour - not slow by any means, but not as fast as some steam locomotives (Mallard, a Pacific, holds the official record at 126 mph) and certainly not as fast as modern high-speed rail in Japan. Locomon dreams of going faster, and this is exploited by an antagonist group for a time until Kichii manages to bring Locomon to his senses - by reminding him that they’re a team.

Kichii demonstrates he both understands Berkshires - known for their strength, not their speed - and steam locomotive operation in general. These machines feel like they have souls, and engineers speak of them as if they’re alive, with their own quirks - much like horses, or any other animal humans have partnered with to get things done. Kichii, in his little conductor uniform, single-handedly snaps Locomon out of it and brings him back to his senses by reminding him that they have a bond. Locomon runs on the smiles of his passengers, and he ultimately realizes making them happy and enjoying his friendship with Kichii is the most important thing. The protagonist and his partner Digimon are able to help rescue Locomon, the antagonists are beaten off for the time being, and Kichii and Locomon are officially reunited as a team.

At the end of the episode, the two of them are seen operating together, with Kichii offering the traditional Japanese railway employee salute to the protagonist as they pass by:

Whoever wrote this episode clearly also must love trains, because they nailed the way it feels to work with steam locomotives specifically so accurately through Kichii’s dialogue. It reminded me of my experience with 90, and how for that brief half hour we were a team, working together to do things neither of us could do alone. Steam locomotives are one of the closest things we’ve come to creating something truly alive - they have to be fed and given water, and they can “breathe.” We have to work with them, not against them. Kichii and Locomon are an excellent representation of how that actually feels to do, and it hit me squarely in the heart.

#Digimon #Kichii Funabashi #Locomon #I like trains

[capewolfe]

Nickel Plate Road 765 - Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society - Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad - Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio.

#cuyahoga valley scenic railroad #cuyahoga valley national park #nickel plate 765 #765 #cleveland #ohio #akron #fort wayne railroad historical society #nickel plate road #nkp 765