Allen County, Indiana Genealogy

January 20, 2010 post by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society on Facebook:

1966 finds Nickel Plate Road locomotive no. 765 illuminated at the corner of 4th and Clinton streets. The numbers "767" were applied in recognition of the original Nickel Plate Berkshire that had opened the railroad elevation on the north side of the city in 1955, a significant area milestone.

Additional photo information pending.

January 8, 2011 post by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society on Facebook:

Former Fort Wayne, Indiana Mayor Paul Mike Burns passed away on Friday, January 7th. In May, 1963 Mayor Burns received steam locomotive no. 765 (re-numbered 767 for display) on behalf of the city for display in Lawton Park from the Nickel Plate Road. Mayor Burns called the society last August and spoke lively and at length to several of our directors about the preservation and operation of the 765 -- 36 years after it had been removed from the corner 4th and Clinton.

This plaque adorned the locomotive while on display: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=259436342882&set=a.256672222882.139884.191711112882 [ this link is to the January 20, 2010 post above ]

December 21, 2014 post by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society on Facebook:

A winter evening with the 765...

Grab a warm drink, watch the snow fall, and imagine Christmas as it sounded 60 years ago in every town in America. Merry Christmas from all of us at the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society.

We've secured a purchase agreement for 1.4 miles of Norfolk Southern Corp right-of-way along Riverfront Fort Wayne and a...

Posted by Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society on Sunday, April 7, 2019

Sunday, April 7, 2019 post by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society on Facebook:

We've secured a purchase agreement for 1.4 miles of Norfolk Southern Corp right-of-way along Riverfront Fort Wayne and a generous donation of rail from Steel Dynamics for Headwaters Junction! Get all the news and details here from The Journal Gazette: Headwaters, railroad strike deal Right of way a piece of North River proposal

Headwaters Junction’s club car arriving.

Posted by Fort Wayne Business Weekly on Saturday, April 30, 2022

Saturday, April 30, 2022 video post by Fort Wayne Business Weekly on Facebook:

Headwaters Junction's club car arriving.

New Headwaters Junction train car being maneuvered into place.

Posted by Fort Wayne Business Weekly on Saturday, April 30, 2022

Saturday, April 30, 2022 post by Fort Wayne Business Weekly on Facebook:

New Headwaters Junction train car being maneuvered into place.

We are proud to partner with the Indiana Northeastern Railroad Company to create the Indiana Rail Experience – a...

Posted by Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society on Thursday, May 5, 2022

Thursday, May 5, 2022 post by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society on Facebook:

We are proud to partner with the Indiana Northeastern Railroad Company to create the Indiana Rail Experience – a multi-year rail tourism program that will bring the sights and sounds of our incredible time machines to the region! A full schedule and tickets are on the way. Click here for details: Regional Short Line and Fort Wayne Railroad Partner for Indiana Rail Experience

September 8, 2023 post by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society on Facebook:

79 years old? Doesn't look a day over 30.

Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive No. 765 departed the Lima Locomotive Works seven decades ago to handle the critical demands of wartime railroad traffic and would eventually become a dual-purpose machine operating fast freight and passenger trains across the Midwest. As we've observed, old habits die hard...

September 23, 2023 post by Northern Indiana Passenger Rail - NIPRA on Facebook:

FULL STEAM AHEAD

Kelly Lynch for the Journal Gazette 9/23/23

More than 10 years ago, the promise of a new regional attraction was lobbed into the conversation around redeveloping Fort Wayne's riverfront.

Through a series of studies, community input sessions, donor support and consistent public bolstering, the concept would be described by placemakers and developers as "catalytic" and hailed in The Journal Gazette as "authentic," "iconic" and "family-friendly." It was recommended by consultants and profiled in the city's conceptual riverfront plan. Renderings were drawn up, endorsements were won, and feasibility studies yielded promising results on the economy and tourist offerings.

There was even some property acquired, but there were lingering and often prosaic complications, such as the potential moving of a levee that would delay construction or competing commercial interests for taxable real estate. Those elements kept this grassroots enterprise paused for fairer seas.

Despite the momentum, the project did not materialize as intended in downtown Fort Wayne. Instead, it has moved 38 miles north into Steuben, DeKalb and LaGrange counties. After its first year of operation, it was named Indiana's Best New Experience by the state tourism association.

The push for locating downtown was nevertheless a rewarding dress rehearsal for this brand-new stage.

The region's railroad attractions, operating under the banner of the Indiana Rail Experience, are now the state's best new attraction. Some 51 years ago, the founders of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society took a derelict 1940s steam locomotive monument out of Lawton Park and have since turned it into an international icon.

Like a rewarding day spent at the zoo, the beguiling atmosphere of a concert at the Embassy or the energy of an evening at Parkview Field, Fort Wayne's very own train has a proven worldwide magnetism that endures five decades after it was restored.

The famous train is part of a package of offerings that include wine and chocolate trains, ice cream trains, fall color trains, cigar trains, Christmas trains, festivals, field trips, living history reenactments (and even trains for dogs and their owners!), proving we can take something special or beloved and put it on a train to make it magical.

Amid these community events and a growing fleet of these midcentury time machines, lifelong memories are made, connections are forged, communities are grown and, ultimately, our unique culture and character are saved.

This is not a theme park attraction, but a place where children take their first train ride, generations converge, and high schoolers learn new trade skills, all against the backdrop of these colorful vintage trains that inspire waves and joy among total strangers.

It's no wonder these train trips are near constant sellouts.

These preserved and celebrated icons from our region's industrial heritage contribute directly and meaningfully to our quality of life.

Trails, waterways, towns, shops, restaurants and schools around western Ohio, Angola, Pleasant Lake and southeastern Michigan are now connected by the only tourist railroad in North America to serve three states.

According to the Steuben County Tourism Bureau, the train spurred more than $300,000 in economic activity in the region in just 10 days last year, and city officials from Hillsdale, Michigan, have commented that the trains are "a significant boost to our local economy."

Northeast Indiana, and by extension the tristate area, is now part of the billion-dollar rail tourism industry. The predictions made so many years ago about a regional rail attraction are coming true.

To meet this great, transformational opportunity, the Fort Wayne Railroad is kicking off a $2 million capital campaign this year to increase its programs and capacity.

If you're a business or individual looking to invest in our region, we'd welcome you to join the ranks of supporters such as Steel Dynamics, Progress Rail, Indiana Historical Society, Cameron Hospital, JICI Construction, Trine University, Indiana Northeastern Railroad Company and our great local foundations like Dekko, Steuben, DeKalb and AWS.

These and others are helping us double the size of this freshly cultivated field of dreams and will triple the impact this humble historic train can have.

In the past few weeks, the rail tourism effort has announced the acquisition of a historic station and eight vintage passenger cars from the golden era of rail travel in America.

The Fort Wayne Railroad and its dedicated volunteers from around the country are stacking the bench to eventually create a one-of-a-kind linear cultural heritage experience right in our own backyard.

In an email received this summer, a passenger told how their family had traveled from Anderson, Indiana, to catch one of our train rides in Angola. They described it as a pleasant experience replete with creature comforts that had their children engaged the entire trip. They decided to make a day of it and stopped at a TinCaps game at Parkview Field on their way home, and committed to returning to ride another train later in the year.

While once upon a time we hoped that these attractions would live within a few blocks of each other to create a vibrant downtown adventure, their ability to serve in the tapestry of northeast Indiana's experiences fulfills the promise these ideas made more than a decade ago.

Instead of railroad tracks leading to just one particular downtown or city, all tracks lead to Indiana now.

For more information, visit indianarailexperience.org and fortwaynerailroad.org. Elements of the original downtown railyard park proposal are now part of the newly formed Pufferbelly Junction at 1010 Cass St, Fort Wayne, IN 46808.

Feb. 19 - Northern Indiana Passenger Rail Association celebrates $500,000 award with hopes of restoring passenger rail service Mary Anne Gates For Business Weekly Feb 19, 2024 Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly

PrimeTime39 - Headwaters Junction - March 13, 2020 Season 2020 Episode 11 | 27m 33s Headwaters Junction. Guests - Don Steininger and Kelley Lynch. This area’s only in-depth, live, weekly news, analysis and cultural update forum, PrimeTime 39 airs Fridays at 7:30pm. This program is hosted by PBS39’s President/General Manager Bruce Haines.

Headwaters Junction looks to combine the appeal of Nickel Plate Railroad coal fired steam locomotive 765 representing our railroading past with the future possibilities of the 21st century utilizing our 3 rivers creating a North River development north of Headwaters Park at the confluence of the 3 rivers in downtown Fort Wayne. Their Tumblr page states: in 2009, 30,000 people bought a ticket in 4 days with a total of 50,000 tickets sold in 16 days of operating the train. Represented in those numbers are people from all 50 states and from 7 countries. Can you imagine the economical impactHeadwaters Junction could have on downtown Fort Wayne? Their About page states: Funding for a feasibility study was approved by City Council in December, 2012 as part of the Legacy Riverfront Development Study.

NKP 765 to be on Let's Talk Trains - Kelly Lynch gave a history of the locomotive as well as discussing its life as an excursion engine on this 120 minute audio for LetsTalkTrains.com on BlogTalkRadio - Saturday March 30, 2013.

Headwaters Junction Proposal Hopes To Redevelop Riverfront posted January 10, 2013 by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Societyon YouTube

October 12, 2023 post by Michigan State Historic Preservation Office on Facebook:

Shoutout to our friends at the Indiana DNR Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology, because we have recently been SHARING a designated historic resource! It's not often that a National Register of Historic Places - NPS-listed resource regularly crosses state lines, but last weekend and this weekend a restored steam locomotive has been doing just that! Nickle Plate Road "Berkshire" locomotive No. 765, based near Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been making scheduled passenger excursions between northeast Indiana and the City of Hillsdale, pulling restored passenger cars and sending the echo of a steam whistle through the countryside. Built in Lima, Ohio in 1944 and retired in 1958, the 765 was restored to operation in 1979 and overhauled again in the early 2000's. It was listed in the National Register in 1996, and a small plaque on the tender frame acknowledges this historic designation!

- with Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society

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