Sunday Throttle Time

 

---

From Doug to the Flaggers and Crew support

I want to thank you for your support on Sunday.  Working a holiday weekend is not one of my favorite things.  With your support the Trottle Time sessions were highly successful.  I believe we had a lot a happy customers.

 

Doug

Thank you -- Please share with your teams...

Jason -   I received this note from Rob Davis, one of the folks who was on the Vintage Photo Freight that HVRM and the FtWRHS operated on Friday, July 1st.   Nice to hear the good reaction to the efforts of both groups to put on a "good show".   Les   Kelly and Les, Please share this note with your respective orgainizations. My son and I had a wonderful time on the July 1st photo charter. Under challenging conditions, the FWRHS and HVRM teams kept spirits up and produced a day that was much better than the weather would suggest. You have our thanks for that. I also have a handful of thoughts I wanted to share with you (in no particular order): * It was our first visit to the HVRM. I cannot tell you how impressed I am with your rolling stock collection. You have the makings of one of the finest, if not the finest, vintage frieght consist in North America. Great job! * The combination of your groups produced something we would gladly return for. When the next #765 charter is planned on the HVRM, just send me the invoice. We will be there! * Everyone was very gracious to my son... and so many of riders and crew offered encouragement and advice to him. That is priceless. He loves trains. The only question is will he find ways to nurture that interest and become one of the next generation's "young guns?" Days like Friday will go a long way towards that. The irony? I was working with him to make sure he didn't get in anyone's shots. Then guess who manages to put his butt in front of someone's camera? Yep, yours truly. * Every aspect of the trip was worth the time and money. Finally, I want your teams to know we appreciate the true effort behind events like these. The time commitment alone is heroic. Hopefully our digital images will last a lifetime... but we know the memories will. All the best, Rob Davis

Cabooses

First of all, the SCIH is the new name for the Chicago Short Line (South Chicago & Indiana Harbor).    Secondly, did you happen to see the very first caboose photo that this guy has on his flickr account?  It shows someone painting a caboose at Hoosier Valley?  The caboose is obviously the IC display caboose, but who is the painter?  Do you recognize him?   Finally, there is a yellow bodied cupola caboose with blue trucks (!) in one of the photos.  Taken at a garden center in Chatham, Ontario, Canada.  I am 99% certain that this is an old Erie caboose.  At least it was well cared for in the photo, even though the colors are a bit unusual.

Rain day July 1, 2011

I am going to try to send a couple of photos that a guy posted on the internet from the 7-1-11 HVRM photo freight day:   http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=367569&nseq=1   http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=367598&nseq=0   One of the photos of the 765 shows a lightning bolt in the background and was taken at La Crosse before departure and before the days rains started.  The other photo shows the Berk and the first part of the vintage freight car string heading westbound into a setting sun with the La Crosse elevator in the distance.  This was probably the only sun the group saw all day!

Weather 765 photo run

I got into La Crosse about 7:30 headed for the museum.  Saw smoke so headed over to the railroad south of town.  Guess what?  They turned the Berk on the wye overnight!   And guess what else?  They also turned the entire freight at the same time.  You're right!  The MDT 13385 undone side ended up facing to the west!  So much for doing the good side for the photographers!  This gripes me.  Why couldn't they tell us they were going to do that and then we could have worked on the other car side!  Not of course that it mattered much in the end; thunder, lightning and rain all day!  Barcus was conductor in the morning and was soaked!  Joe and Louise were sitting in their pickup waiting for that first photo run.  Finally happened and then I headed toward the museum.  For the record, 8 freight cars.  NKP boxcars 15797 and 15979 at each end.  Both MDT 13385 and 14070.  The N&W hopper car.  The N&W gon.  Wabash 49014.   And the N&W boxcar.  Oh yes, the NKP bay window 471 caboose behind the freight cars and the Mohave at the very end. No one was at the museum when I got there after 8 o'clock.  So I unlocked the depot.  About 15minutes later, an older couple showed up.  He told me that he was waiting for the old cars.  Then about 10 minutes later, Don Nickle and another guy showed up coming down Sycamore with 3 vintage automobiles.  The owner was driving a 1949 Hudson pulling a 2 wheel trailer and towing a 1948 Studebaker on it.  Nickel was driving a `46 Packard.  The cars were for photo shoots with the photo freight.  After unloading, and getting a call from the train as to where they were at, the two of them, along with the older gentleman and his wife, drove off to English Lake.   Bob Jachim showed up and we talked a bit.  Commented that the phones didn't seem to be working.  Then a BIG bolt of lightning hit what sounded like it was right outside the depot!  We both jumped!  Then went out to see what we could see.  We went all the way to the back of the depot and saw nothing.  As we headed back in, a lady pulled up, rolled down her window and said to Bob that his wife Kay needed him home immediately as their TV had been hit by lightning.  A coincidence I am sure, but kind of ironic.   Visitors all day.  Joe and Louise showed up.  When the 765 finally pulled in heading eastbound with the photo freight about 11:00, and after Barcus was done with switching, he came in and fixed the phones.  Lots of sitting around.  The Berk had shoved the Mohave and the caboose into track 2 of the shop.  The eight freight cars were left outside snaking back toward the turntable switch.  Then the 765 sat on the east side of Mulberry Street.   Some of the train participants headed over to the depot at times.  More waiting.  Andy Cornwall showed up and told me that there were about 8 people watching the 2-8-4 and its train slowly work its way around the way the previous night.  He had gotten soaked during that operation.   Lunch was from Subway for the train participants.  But didn't arrive until after 1:30 p.m.  Lots more waiting around.  In the meantime, the steamer had gone back to La Crosse to be turned on the wye.  Train not taken so the MDT 13385 will be on the "wrong side" now.   After the 765 returned, they used the 310 to switch so that the cars were on the museum main line and then the 310 pulled the caboose and then the Mohave out of the Shop and placed them on the rear end.  When I left some time after 3:30, the photo freight had not departed west yet.  Barcus's car was still at La Crosse with no way to get back there unless he took the photo freight again (Andy Hershman was the conductor for the afternoon run).  He didn't want to waste all that time, so I just took him back there and then continued on home.  Rain didn't stop until I was almost back in Crown Point.

Nickel Plate engineer on 7-2-11

Hope you had a good day at HVRM today.  And that you have a good one "flagging" tomorrow.  As for me, I left about 1:30 and stopped at 2100 South to watch the second of the photo runbys with the 765.  Were you on the ground there, or did you stay on the train?  There was a "white shirted" guy at the throttle of the Berk when it left North Judson.   One of the Ft. Wayne guys said that he was a former NKP engineeer and he was 87 years old.  One of the last of the engineers still left that ran the Berks in regular service!  I guess that would probably be right considering that they stopped running them in 1958.  That was 53 years ago now!  He would have been about 32 years old at the time the 2-8-4's were withdrawn.  Pretty young for an engineer at that time.  My guess is that he hadn't been promoted from a fireman too long before the end of steam came.  Well, glad that at his age, he was able to still pull the throttle and send the Berk on its way.   I zonked out once I got home.  Didn't do much actual "work" today, but just being in that heat takes a lot out of me these days.  I checked the thermometer at the museum before I left and it read 96.  Probably close to accurate, as that was the same temp on my thermometer when I checked it when I got home.   Sold out 10:00 train and pretty close on the 1:00.  There were still a lot of space on the 4:00 train when I left, but maybe they did okay on that one too.  A good day revenue wise for sure!  Now just the "throttle time" tomorrow and we can kiss the 765 goodbye!   Les

NKP 765 Throttle Time at HVRM 7-3-11

Great day at HVRM for the NKP 765 throttle time (TT). After yesterdays hot, humid, explosive
weather, today was much calmer, dry, typical July weather.
 
Yesterday, going to 4:30am today, was a movie/actor/train shoot, an added bonus to
the 765 operations and HVRM. Old cars and period dressed actors worked on different
scenes till almost day light. I heard it went quite well, even a volunteer HVRM member
played a conductor, whom it was is unknown. Everything and everybody was gone by
6:30 am when I arrived for crossing guard duty.
 
4:30am came early to get ready for today. I wanted a donut from Fingerhut,
but were still closed when I came into deserted North Judson. The NKP 765 was being
serviced down by the east shop, wheels greased, and other little adjustments done.
 
The 7am time came and went, the 765 was not ready, both TT participants were
at the museum. Finally the 765 moved, to couple up to the work car and water canteen
to be pulled up to the east shop. Dropped an left at the east shop door, 765 backed
down to the main line, coupled on to Erie bay window and Bessemer & Lake Erie
cupola caboose and did its air tests. The work car had all the wet containers of
NKP merchandise, taken out and dried during the day out in the sun. The water canteen
was cleaned of remaining rust, getting it ready for the trip to Train Festival.
The water canteen will be filled with water to provide ample supply water on the long
trip to Rock Island IL. Remaining coal will be loaded in the tender when 765 is steamed
up again for the trip.
 
The 765, with both drivers in the engine, cabooses coupled up and ready to go around
8am. It was decided that once on the C&I main, the engine an cabooses would stop
at HVRM switch and change TT people at the west shop area for the rest of the day,
avoiding the switch and backing to the depot. It was no problem, as most of the crew
members were already at the west shop and it worked very well all day. It gave better
photography as the day went on. It was sunny all day and still many showed up to
chase and photograph the short train.
 
Myself and Don? were flaggers till 1pm, we alternated between Toto Road and the other
two crossings and had an hour to come back for eating or refreshments. I made a run
to eat breakfast at 10 am, so I had plenty of time before the 11am departure.
 
When I left about 3pm, things were still going well, everything running cool, and
the water canteen and NKP work car moved by Erie 310 to the depot area to be filled
with water from the fire hydrant after its cleaning or rust.
 
For Saturday, it was hot, humid and down right nasty weather wise. The last run of
the days photo run by went well, no one got wet, but rain was on the way. North Judson
received hail, wind and lots of rain. Water was everywhere when we got back after
the last run. Cept for the wet rain, lightning & thunder on Fridays for the photogs special,
it went off okay. Everyone was soaked, engine crew, photogs and any one else associated
with helping out was just about beat.
 
Due to some problems with equipment, the WCHX tank car, C&NW boxcar and PRR
flat car did not participate in the freight train.
 
Next week, regular HVRM tourist trains will be back running normal schedules.
 
Little River Rail Road in Coldwater MI will be having its steam festival (5) operating
engines over a 4 day period, starting 14 thru 17 July, multiple steam excursions running.
Checkout LRRR web site for more details.
 
July 21 thru 24 is the Train Festival up at the Quad city area in IL. Lots of steam, diesel
and other activities will take place.
 
Many thanks to the NKP 765 crew for the tireless work performed over the last month
to make steam possible. Mid America out of INDY provided passenger cars that were
a riding pleasure to all the visitors over the period. Thanks to all the HVRM members
who volunteered to help out with the excursions.
 
Keep checking the HVRM web for upcoming train activities for the rest of the summer.
 
Tom