Recent Times
After countless man hours and thousands of volunteer dollars, the 765 was steamed back up on the last weekend of October 2005. The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society held an open house for members to get a look at their reborn engine. In March 2006, test runs were held on the CF&E to break in the bearings on the refurbished locomotive. The 765 was tested with a limited consist, and with a simulated train load provided by a GP40's dynamic brakes. The engine performed flawlessly, and the FWRHS is poised to operate the locomotive on fan trips later in the year. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the FWRHS, one of the East's most famous excursion engines has another lease on life, and has a bright future ahead of her.
The 765 attended the largest railroading event of 2009 in America at the Train Festival in Owosso, Michigan, where it once again met up with PM 1225. Originally scheduled to pull just one all-day excursion to Alma, Michigan, on the event weekend's final day, the 765 ended up running both Saturday and Sunday when the PM 1225 broke down the day before her scheduled trip. The two Berkshires again teamed up for a photo freight in August and an excursion in October.
In 2010, the 765 received new roller bearings on the tender This allowed the 765 to become Amtrak certified, allowing for affordable mainline trips. After the upgrade, the 765 traveled from Fort Wayne to Cleveland, where she ran a series of excursions on the Cuyahoga Valley Line between Independence, Akron, and Canton, Ohio in late September. Several more trips based in Owosso were scheduled for October 2010.
2011 has proven to be a very active season. 765 has since returned to Hoosier Valley and run excursions there on Memorial Day, Father's Day & Independence Day weekends, before joining seven other steam locomotives in Rock Island, IL at Train Festival 2011. There, she hauled at least three excursions out of the Quad Cities, including a 17-car all-day excursion to Burueau Junction on July 22; her first "proper" mainline excursion since being rebuilt. After returning to Cuyahoga Valley Scenic in September, as well as two more trips in Michigan in October, 765 appears to be returning to a new era of excursions between now and when the FRA's 15 year rebuild will be required in 2020.
In July, August, and September 2012, Norfolk Southern Corp. cooperated with FWRHS to run a series of employee appreciation excursions led by 765 across the NS system in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Missouri. This also included deadhead moves through Indiana and Illinois. The timing was perfect as NS was celebrating their 30th anniversary and FWRHS was celebrating their 40th anniversary. These trips have been historic as many of these places have not seen mainline excursion steam in many years. Some notable events included 765 running in WV again for the first time since running on the 1993 New River train and the being the first steam locomotive During the excursions in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, 765 was accompanied with NS NKP Heritage Unit GE ES44AC #8100, one of 20 locomotives painted in predecessor paint schemes of various predecessor railroads for Norfolk Southern's 30th anniversary. 765 also became the first steam locomotive to traverse Horseshoe Curve under steam in over two decades. During the deadhead moves through Indiana and Illinois and the excursions in Missouri, it was accompanied with two EMD SD70ACes. Those locomotives were NS 1072, the Illinois Terminal heritage unit and NS 1070, the Wabash heritage unit. Depending on the predecessor railroad 765 was operating on, a different steam whistle was used as a tribute to the heritage of the line. A Pennsylvania 3 chime whistle running on former Pennsylvania railroad tracks, a Norfolk and Western "hooter" whistle from a scrapped Y3b while running on former N&W rails in Ohio and West Virginia, its usual NKP 6 chime whistle was used running on former NKP rails in Ohio and a Wabash whistle was used on the trips to Missouri. Technically, 765 wasn't part of the NS 21st Century Steam program during these runs but it is possible that it will become part of the program and pull public excursions in the near future as early as 2013.
Read more about this topic: Nickel Plate 765
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—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
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—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)