Another Nickel Plate Locomotive

The locomotive pictured on the front of this post card was built by Lima in 1944 – very close to the end of the steam era of railroads. Here it is viewed

near Sheldon, Illinois on May 7, 1980 with a freight train of the Toledo, Peoria & Western. It picked up the consist in Effner, Indiana and it is bound for East Peoria, Illinois. But, this is no regular revenue run. This locomotive has been restored. It was on static display and is now operable. Read on…the information below was taken from this website: https://fortwaynerailroad.org/about/ The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, Inc. (FWRHS) is an award-winning, 501(c)3 non-profit corporation founded in 1972. The organization has over 800 members, 100 volunteers, nine board of directors and a number of project managers. In 1974, the Society was successful in removing historic Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive no. 765 from display in Lawton Part in Fort Wayne, Indiana. That is the locomotive whose photo appears on the front of this post card. In 1979, the FWRHS became the first all volunteer, non-profit organization to successfully restore and operate a steam locomotive, writing a significant chapter in the early days of the country’s rail preservation movement. Since 1980, the Society has hosted and administered passenger train excursions, private charters, public exhibitions and education outreach activities with the 765 and a variety of other vintage railroad equipment throughout the Midwest. The locomotive and its train continue to serve as an uncommon cultural attraction with worldwide appeal, offering tourists, passengers and supporters from all 50 states and numerous countries the opportunity to relive a bygone era of innovation in American history. The Society holds regular work sessions and open houses at its restoration facility in New Haven, Indiana during the year and is poised to become a major player in downtown Fort Wayne as part of the Headwaters Junction attraction – all within a mile of the park where the 765 was initially preserved for display.

The post card was published by Mary Jayne’s Railroad Specialties, Inc. I have written about Mary Jayne in the past. I never get tired of telling people what a great correspondence I had with her when I was trying to see if she printed a catalogue of the train post cards that she published. She did; and she sent it to me for free! She only asked that I give some money to charity or to my church. The picture on the front was taken by Russ Porter. My research tells me that he was born on November 5, 1918 and died on October 24, 2001. He was a prolific railroad photographer.