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The Nickel Plate RoadH-6o was a class of 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotives that were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) for the Lake Erie and Western Railroad (LE&W) and were given to the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (NYC&StL) or Nickel Plate Road (NKP) in 1918.
In 1918, the LE&W ordered 15 locomotives from Baldwin where they were numbered by the Lake Erie and Western Railroad (LE&W) as 5540 through 5554. In 1922, the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (NYC&StL) or Nickel Plate Road acquired the LE&W. This led to the locomotives being renumbered 586 though 600 between 1923 and 1924. [1] [2] Between 1945 and 1946, nos. 586, 588, 589, 591, 592, 594, 595, 596, 597, 598 and 600 were sold to the National Railways of Mexico (NdeM) in 1945 and 1946 all of those locomotives would be scrapped.
Nickel Plate Road 587 (formerly LE&W No. 5541) was retired from active service in 1955, it was later donated to the city of Indianapolis and was placed on static display in Broad Ripple Park where it remained there for 28 years later. In 1983, a group called "The Friends of the 587" formed and did a feasibility study and determined that the locomotive was good for restoration.
After five years of work, 587 returned to operating condition in 1988 and pulled its first revenue train in September 1988 from Indianapolis to Logansport, Indiana.
In 1989, 587 participated in a double-header, and triple-header with two Norfolk & Western Nos. 611 and 1218 hauling with a solo passenger train alongside the excursion. During the 1990s, it also ran several excursions with NKP 'Berkshire' No. 765. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
On June 28, 2018, a court order decided that 587 would need to be moved out of the ITM shops by July 12, 2018, or the locomotive would be scrapped. Thankfully, the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation made a deal with the ITM to relocate the 587 and move it out before the deadline. Plans called for the locomotive to be moved to Ravenna, KY and have it stored alongside Chesapeake & Ohio No. 2716 until the ITM could raise enough funds for restoration, eventually returning the locomotive back to Indiana once restoration was complete. On March 5, 2021, ownership of 587 was transferred to a private individual who is working with the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation regarding the future of the locomotive. 587 will be remaining disassembled in Ravenna, KY until a solid plan can be attained. [8]
LE&W No. | NKP No. | Built date | Serial number | First run date | Retirement date | Disposal date | Notes |
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5540 | 586 | September 1918 | 49682 | - | - | - | Scrapped |
5541 | 587 | September 1918 | 49683 | - | March 1955 | 1955 | Stored, awaiting restoration at Ravenna, Kentucky |
5542 | 588 | September 1918 | 49684 | - | - | - | Scrapped |
5543 | 589 | September 1918 | 49718 | - | - | - | Scrapped |
5544 | 590 | September 1918 | 49719 | - | February 1944 | - | Scrapped |
5545 | 591 | September 1918 | 49720 | - | - | - | Scrapped |
5546 | 592 | September 1918 | 49721 | - | - | - | Scrapped |
5547 | 593 | September 1918 | 49722 | - | - | - | Scrapped |
5548 | 594 | September 1918 | 49723 | - | - | - | Scrapped |
5549 | 595 | September 1918 | 49724 | - | - | - | Scrapped |
5550 | 596 | September 1918 | 49725 | - | - | - | Scrapped |
5551 | 597 | September 1918 | 49726 | - | - | 1957 | Scrapped |
5552 | 598 | September 1918 | 49727 | - | - | - | Scrapped |
5553 | 599 | September 1918 | 49728 | - | - | 1953 | Scrapped |
5554 | 600 | September 1918 | 49729 | - | - | - | Scrapped |
The Kentucky Railway Museum, now located in New Haven, Kentucky, United States, is a non-profit railroad museum dedicated to educating the public regarding the history and heritage of Kentucky's railroads and the people who built them. Originally created in 1954 in Louisville, Kentucky, the museum is at its third location, in extreme southern Nelson County. It is one of the oldest railroad stations in the United States.
Nickel Plate Road 765 is a S-2 class 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road". In 1963, No. 765, renumbered as 767, was donated to the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, where it sat on display at the Lawton Park, while the real No. 767 was scrapped at Chicago in 1964.
The Indiana Transportation Museum was a railroad museum that was formerly located in the Forest Park neighborhood of Noblesville, Indiana, United States. It owned a variety of preserved railroad equipment, some of which still operate today. ITM ceased operations in 2023 and the line is now owned and operated by the Nickel Plate Express.
The USRA 2-6-6-2 is a standardized design of 2-6-6-2 Mallet locomotives developed by the United States Railroad Administration during World War I.
The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway was a Class I railroad mostly within the U.S. state of Ohio. It was leased to the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad in 1949, and merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1988. A new regional railroad reused the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway name in 1990 when it acquired most of the former W&LE from the N&W.
Nickel Plate Road 587 is a H-6o class 2-8-2 "USRA Light Mikado" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Lake Erie and Western Railroad as its No. 5541. In 1923, the LE&W was merged into the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", and allocated 587 as its new number in 1924.
Nickel Plate Road 779 is a S-3 class 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built for the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, completed on May 13, 1949, for use on fast freight trains. It was the last new steam locomotive to be delivered to the Nickel Plate Road, and alongside L&N 1991, another 2-8-4 for the Louisville and Nashville, is the last of 36 steam engines completed by Lima-Hamilton from 1947 to 1949, and the final 2-8-4 locomotive on standard gauge completed in the world. L-H's first diesel, A-3080 demonstrator #1000 was completed the same day as #779. NKP also received the first production A-3080, NKP #305, one of 4 delivered by Lima-Hamilton in 1949.
Norfolk and Western 611, also known as the "Spirit of Roanoke" and the "Queen of Steam", is the only surviving example of Norfolk and Western's (N&W) class J 4-8-4 type "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives. Built in May 1950 at N&W's Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, it was one of the last mainline passenger steam locomotives built in the United States and represents a pinnacle of American steam locomotive technology.
The Hoosier Heritage Port Authority is a quasi-governmental organization in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the owner of a Heritage railway, operated by the Indiana Transportation Museum from 1995 to 2015 & currently operated by the Nickel Plate Express since 2018, over former Norfolk Southern trackage from Tipton, Indiana, to Indianapolis, a distance of 37 miles (59.5 km). This trackage is the southernmost section of the former Indianapolis to Michigan City main line operated by several railroad companies since its original construction in the mid-19th Century, the best known being the Nickel Plate.
Nickel Plate Road 759 is a S-2 class 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built in 1944 by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio as a member of the S-2 class for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road". Built as a fast freight locomotive, No. 759 served the Nickel Plate until being retired in 1959 and placed into storage. In 1965, No. 759 was purchased by F. Nelson Blount for display in his Steamtown, U.S.A. collection in North Walpole, New Hampshire. The locomotive was restored to operating condition in 1967 by New York commodity broker Ross Rowland for use in hauling his Golden Spike Centennial Limited, a special commemorative train that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1969. Afterwards, No. 759 pulled numerous excursions for Ross Rowland and Steamtown until being retired once more and placed back on display in 1977. As of 2023, the locomotive remains on static display at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and sibling engine No. 765 continues to operate in mainline excursion service.
The 21st Century Steam program was conducted by the Norfolk Southern Railway from 2011 to 2015, featuring four classic steam locomotives pulling passenger excursions along Norfolk Southern rails in the eastern United States. The last train was to be Southern 4501's Piedmont Limited excursion trip from Atlanta, Georgia, to Toccoa, Georgia, but cancelled on October 1 due to Hurricane Joaquin.
The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society (FWRHS) is a non-profit group in New Haven, Indiana that is dedicated to the restoration and operation of the ex-Nickel Plate Railroad's steam locomotive no. 765 and other vintage railroad equipment. Since restoration, the 765 was added to the National Register of Historic Places as no. 96001010 on September 12, 1996 and has operated excursion trains across the Eastern United States. In 2012, the FWRHS's steam locomotive no. 765 was added to the Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam program.
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway 2716 is a class "K-4" 2-8-4 "Kanawha" (Berkshire) type steam locomotive built in 1943 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O). While most railroads referred to these 2-8-4 type locomotives as Berkshires, the C&O referred to them as Kanawhas after the Kanawha River, which flows through West Virginia. Used as a dual service locomotive, No. 2716 and its classmates served the C&O in a variety of duties until being retired from revenue service in 1956.
Nickel Plate Road 763 is a S-2 class 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive. It was built in August 1944 by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio, as the ninth engine of its class. It is a high powered fast freight locomotive that carried perishables between Chicago and Buffalo, New York.
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway's K-4 class were a group of ninety 2-8-4 steam locomotives purchased during and shortly after World War II. Unlike many other railroads in the United States, the C&O chose to nickname this class "Kanawha", after the river in West Virginia, rather than "Berkshire", after the region in New England.
The Louisville and Nashville M-1 was a class of forty-two 2-8-4 steam locomotives built during and after World War II as dual-service locomotives. They were nicknamed "Big Emmas" by crews and were built in three batches between 1942 and 1949.
Wabash Railroad No. 534, also known as Nancy, is the sole survivor of the B-7 class 0-6-0 switcher steam locomotive that was built by the American Locomotive Company in 1906. It was used by the Wabash as a yard switcher, until it was sold in 1954 to the Lake Erie and Fort Wayne Railroad as No. 1. After being retired in 1957, it was donated to Swinny Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana for static display. In 1984, it was purchased by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, which removed the locomotive from the park and relocated it to their locomotive shop in New Haven. The locomotive is undergoing restoration to operational condition while serving as an educational tool for the younger FWRHS members, as of 2023.
The Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation (KSHCO) is a nonprofit organization based on the border between Irvine and Ravenna, Kentucky. The organization mainly focuses on the restoration of Chesapeake and Ohio K-4 2-8-4 steam locomotive No. 2716 along with other vintage railroad equipment. The organization has plans of turning the surrounding area into its own tourist attraction called the Kentucky Rail Heritage Center through a partnership with the R.J. Corman Railroad Group and CSX Transportation.
Grand Trunk Western 5629 was a 4-6-2 K-4-a steam locomotive, which was a copy of the United States Railroad Administration's (USRA) Light Pacific design, built by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1924, for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. It was used to haul commuter passenger trains in Michigan until 1960, when it was purchased by Chicago-based railfan Richard Jensen, who used No. 5629 to pull several excursion trains in the Chicago area throughout the 1960s.