NKP 765 Travels Home

Posted by: Yard Goat on Jan 11, 2012

Tagged in: yardgoatimages , Yard Goat Images , TPW , TP & W , Toledo , Steamin' Summer , steam locomotive , Steam Engine , Rock Island Train Festival , Peoria & Western , NKP 765 , Nickel Plate 765 , Mark Paulson , Iowa Interstate , IAIS , Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society , 765 DVD

The day after the Rock Island Train Festival I traveled with NKP 765 as she headed east from East Peoria, IL to Logansport, IN on the Toledo, Peoria & Western (TPW), a short line operated by RailAmerica. Just after the festival closed, NKP 765 headed out of town to East Peoria where it would spend the night.

Instead of following NKP 765, I chose to spend the evening at the Rock Island rail yard as the Iowa Interstate QJs were preparing their train for what would be a high speed run across Iowa to their home in Newton. (Videographer Mark Paulson followed the QJs for a program which is also featured on the Steamin’ Summer Volume 3 DVD).

Following NKP 765

On Monday morning I got up early, gobbled the “free” breakfast at the motel and checked out. Not knowing exactly what time NKP 765 would be leaving East Peoria, I stopped at the yard first to confirm she had indeed left. Turned out she had moved out really early, and it was not until about 100 miles later that I caught up with the train near Watseka, Illinois.

It was another hot day but less so than the westbound trip the previous week, so the railroad did not have any heat-related speed restrictions. Due to the general condition of the track, there were a few spots where the speed was slow, but overall the train was able to move along at a reasonable clip, which made for a more interesting chase. There were a few chasers, but it was a weekday, and possibly the previous four days of high speed chases to Bureau, Illinois and Iowa City, Iowa was enough to satisfy many potential participants today.

The day was excellent in terms of good light, and despite the heat, it didn’t seem nearly as awful as some of the previous days. Maybe I was getting tough.

Most of this line was new territory to me, and we traveled through some beautiful areas, especially as we we were getting closer to Logansport.

NKP 765 Arrives at Logansport

Arriving in Logansport brought out crowds of local folks, many of whom had the chance to see NKP 765 the previous week when it traveled west. As the engine was serviced on the TPW, a large group gathered in the late afternoon sun to see and be seen. As I finished up with video and photos, I realized my 11 day steam quest (Little River Railroad, Silver Creek & Stephenson Railroad, and the Rock Island Train Festival) had just come to end.

After both celebrating and feeling some sadness at this milestone, I ate a meal at Mr. Happy Burger and departed Logansport for 10 more hours behind the wheel.

As I headed northwest, I thought about my great day traveling with NKP 765. I also thought about the crew members who had ferried the engine to and from Rock Island, and all those who helped service the engine at the Rock Island Train Festival. My mind wandered on that long trip, thinking about all the volunteers who had helped restore NKP 765, and the people who contributed financially for that effort. Plus all the continuing work and expenses required to keep NKP 765 active.

For those of us who enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of steam locomotives, we owe these individuals a great deal of thanks. I hope you will consider donating or becoming a member of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society. You will help keep NKP 765 running now and in the years ahead.

You can learn more about the Steamin’ Summer DVDs and see a preview of this historic trip by visiting the Yard Goat Images website.

Thanks, Steve, Yard Goat Images

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NKP 765 Travels to the Rock Island Train Festival

Posted by: Yard Goat on Jan 5, 2012

Tagged in: yardgoatimages , Yard Goat Images , Steamin' Summer , steam train video , steam train DVD , steam locomotive , Steam Engine , steam DVD , railroad video , railroad dvd , NKP 765 , Nickel Plate 765 , locomotive dvd , heritage locomotive

January 5, 2012

Maybe I sound like a broken record about the days we worked on the Steamin’ Summer DVDs, but one of the hottest, most unbearable days I’ve ever experienced was the day I attempted to follow NKP 765 Travel to the Rock Island Train Festival across Indiana and Illinois. I say attempted because the extreme heat put a temporary end to the locomotive’s journey just short of the Illinois border.

My day started in northern Indiana near the Michigan border where I was getting footage of the three tank engines (Flagg Coal 75, Lehigh Valley Coal 126, and Viscose 6) in their truck convoy to Rock Island. The convoy had started late due to a problem with one of the rigs as they were leaving the Little River Railroad in Coldwater, Michigan. I was set up in LaGrange, Indiana for quite some time to record the trucks passing through town. The owner of 75 and 126, John Gramling, was advising me of progress by cellphone.

I finally caught them when they passed through LaGrange, then I was able to get ahead for a freeway shot near South Bend. Because of the delay and the probability of getting caught in Chicago sprawl before I would get ahead of the trucks again, I decided to break it off to see NKP 765 Travel to the Rock Island Train Festival.

Finding NKP 765

I traveled southwest and finally caught up to NKP 765 as she was nearing Goodland, Indiana. It had been cool and comfortable in the car when I saw the smoke on the horizon, and was surprised to catch up so quickly. When I caught sight, I could see why, as NKP 765 was CREEPING along very slowly due to slow orders, which I had been aware of hearing it on the scanner. The Toledo, Peoria & Western (TPW) was justifiably concerned about heat kinks in the tracks.

I opened the car door and and faced the miserable heat and humidity, got my shots, re-stowed the gear, then headed down the road to get ahead again. Usually when you follow a locomotive of NKP 765’s caliber, you will be lucky to get ahead in 30 minutes or more, but today it was just a few moments as the engine and a line of chasers oozed down the soft pavement on that miserable day. It was no problem getting several more runby shots before the train had been halted by the dispatcher. In fact, the entire TPW was instructed to stop all train movements, until the weather "cooled" later that evening.

NKP 765 and its train rested beside Highway 24 in front of a classic farm house. Soon, cars and trucks parked along the road, and the front yard of the house was full of people, mainly because of several welcoming shade trees. The farm family was there too, and they offered chairs and refreshments to their unexpected visitors! Nice folks!

So I captured additional footage and photos of the becalmed train there on a hot Indiana afternoon, and felt sorry for NKP 765′s engine crew in their heavy clothes, especially now with no breeze coming in through the cab windows. Still, they seemed happy to allow some youngsters to climb up for a look inside the fiery hot beast.

NKP 765 eventually makes it to the Rock Island Train Festival

Since there was no way of getting any more daylight footage of this trip, I decided to head to my final destination of the day, Rockford, Illinois. On the way there I stopped at the TPW yard in East Peoria, where NKP 765 was to have spent the night. When I arrived, warning sirens were sounding because a tornado had been spotted close to the rail yard. In fact the security guard pointed to some trees on the edge of the yard as the place he had seen the tornado just minutes before my arrival. Fortunately the twister never touched ground or did any damage in the area.

Late in the evening, NKP 765 was given clearance to finish its trip to East Peoria, IL, where it arrived before sunrise. It completed its trip over the Iowa Interstate (IAIS) Railroad and arrived at Rock Island later that day, while I was covering the photo special at the Silver Creek & Stephenson. Had it not been for this hot weather, we would have been able to follow NKP 765’s trip over much of this route the day before.

So, a lot of miles and sweat, some good footage even if not as much or as exciting as I had hoped for. But, I met a lot of nice people on this day, and the experience gave me some new appreciation for the hard work of a steam locomotive crew. Remember, the people in charge of maintaining and operating NKP 765 are all volunteers. Their pay is the experience, and the smiles from the lucky ones who view the engine in steam. Today they really earned it!

Thank you and thanks to all volunteers!

The tank engine convoy is presented on our DVD Steamin’ Summer – Volume 1 and our story about 765’s journey to the Rock Island Train Festival is found on Steamin’ Summer – Volume 2.

Thanks, Steve Mitchell, Yard Goat Images