Fall 2015 $9.95 TM Nickel Plate in . the “Erie Triangle” ® Welcome aboard the... Get ready. 2015 will be over before you know it! Orders are now being accepted for the society’s fifth-ever full-color calendar Features of the nickel plate road historical & technical society 2016 $12.95 NKPHTS Calendar include: l 14 full-color photos l Diesel, steam, and equipment l Action and roster shots l Systemwide locations l Photos by Willis McCaleb, Jim Boyd, 2016 Calendar J. J. Buckley, and others ® l Descriptive captions by William Powers l Edited and produced by Thos. Cover price: $12.95 plus $2 postage per calendar Gascoigne with the assistance of Bulk vendor pricing available for hobby stores, museums, and authorized organizations. For details, White River Junction Productions l please contact the Special Projects Director at the 100-pound offset enamel-finish paper address below or e-mail at: [email protected] Available for immediate delivery! Visit us at [email protected] to order with PayPal or credit card or send check/money order payable to: CRUISE CONTROL: Berkshire 753 pounds across the Pennsylvania Railroad’s South Chicago & Southern branch at Burnham Tower in Hegewisch, Ill., at 35 m.p.h. with an eastbound freight out of nearby Calumet Yard. In a few miles there is a good chance a stop will be made in Indiana at Osborn Yard to pick up more meat and perishable traffic delivered by the Indiana Harbor Belt. Once out of the Chicago area, What is likely train 56 will get to the 60 m.p.h. road speed and push it all the way to Fort Wayne. This April 1958 shot shows 753 with just two more months of service NKPHTS, Inc. 2016 ® before being laid up at Bellevue. —J.J. Buckley photo, Thos. Gascoigne collection SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 1881: Mainline reaches New Haven, Ind. mail to: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rosh Hashana 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NKPHTS, Inc.—Dept. C Columbus Day Thanksgiving Day (Canada) 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 1964: NYC&StL and N&W merge P.O. Box 9 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 1882: NYC&StL commences operations 1907: Nickel Plate Veteran’s 30 31 Association formed, Cleveland, Ohio. Halloween First of its kind in U.S.A. North Hampton, OH 45349-0009 Welcome aboard the... PUBLISHED BY THE NICKEL PLATE ROAD ® HISTORICAL & TECHNICAL SOCIETY, INC. ™ AN OHIO NOT-FOR-PROFIT 501(C)3 CORPORATION WEBSITE: http://nkphts.org FALL 2015 Vol. XLVIX, No. 4 STAFF Get ready. 2015 will be over before you know it! Publisher: Thos. Gascoigne Editor/Art Director: Mike Schafer Orders are now being accepted for the society’s [email protected] Features Managing Editor: John T. Slater, D.E. An all-issue special feature: fifth-ever full-color calendar [email protected] Associate Editor: Christopher C. Manthey Nickel Plate in the “Erie Triangle” .................4 n i c k e l p l a t e r o a d h i s t o r i c a l & t e c h n i c a l s o c i e t y Modeling Editor: William C. Quick [email protected] Features of the Purchasing Agent: Robert C. Albert Departments $12.95 Production: Bill Navigato, Tom Hooper Car 831 ...............................................................30 Submit editorial and illustrative items for the magazine to: NKPM/Mike Schafer The NICKEL PLATE ROAD MAGAZINE is published by the Nickel Plate Road Historical & P.O. Box 129 Technical Society for its members and historians interested in the former New York, Lee, IL 60530 Chicago & St. Louis Railroad and its predecessor companies. Articles, manuscripts, pho- 2016 E-mail: [email protected] tographs, and other historical data, as well as items of a contemporary nature relating to the Nickel Plate Road, are solicited for publication. No part of this publication may General correspondence to NKPHTS officers should go be reproduced for commercial use without the permission of the Publications Director to the Society’s corporate address at: NKPHTS and the contributor of the material involved. The NKPHTS logo and the name NICKEL NKPHTS PLATE ROAD are registered trademarks of the Nickel Plate Road Historical & Technical P.O. Box 9 Society, Inc. North Hampton, OH 45349-0009 Calendar include: E-mail: [email protected] FRONT AND BACK COVERS: With reefers in tow, westbound Nickel Plate Berkshire 770 appears to be winning a Membership-related correspondence, including new race with a New York Central freight in this sunny day scene near Erie, Pa., in the 1950s. Yes, in the big l memberships and renewals, should go to Dan Hansen, 14 full-color photos Membership Services Administrator: picture of late 20th Century railroading, those NYC F-units and their ilk will win their own “race” as diesel- NKPHTS Membership ization finishes its sweep through North America, but for now these two scenes on both covers of this issue l P.O. Box 138 Diesel, steam, and equipment Bucklin, MO 64631 will recall an era of steam-powered high-speed freight. BOTH PHOTOS, JIM SHEA Members who miss magazines due to failure to notify l the membership office of an address change may order Action and roster shots replacement copies at the back-issue price through the ABOVE RIGHT: At the same location near Erie where the front and back cover photos were recorded, NKP Alco 2016 NKPHTS Company Store. S-4 No. 74 scoots along with a yard job while the crew cools off on the walkway. JIM SHEA l ® Calendar 2016 MEMBERSHIPS Systemwide locations Basic (U.S. & Canada): $35/year Contributing: $60/year (includes calendar) l Photos by Willis McCaleb, Jim Boyd, Patron: $125/year First class mail options: U.S. add $10/year; Canada add $14/year J. J. Buckley, and others The 2015 membership year ended on Oct. 16, 2015. Cover price: $12.95 plus $2 postage per calendar BOARD OF DIRECTORS On My Plate National Director (interim): M. David Vaughn l Descriptive captions by William Powers Asst. National Director (interim): Howard A. Speidel l Associate Director (interim): Wendy Crim s much time as I’ve spent in the “chimney” of Pennsylvania—that little trian- Edited and produced by Thos. Bulk vendor pricing available for hobby stores, Past National Director: William C. Quick National Treasurer: H. Bruce Blonder Agular section in the northwesternmost part of the Keystone State that reaches museums, and authorized organizations. For details, National Secretary: George F. Payne up to Lake Erie—I’ve never heard of that area referenced as the “Erie Triangle.” Gascoigne with the assistance of Information Director: Daniel Meckstroth please contact the Special Projects Director at the Publications Director: Thos. Gascoigne That was, until NKPM Managing Editor John Slater delivered a remarkable piece White River Junction Productions address below or e-mail at: [email protected] Membership Director: Dan L. Merkel of work by co-authors Jerry D’Aurora and Jerry Skrypzak for this issue. Special Projects Director: Brian J. Carlson The Erie reference does not pertain to the railroad of that name, but to Erie, Pa. As l Available for immediate delivery! Internet Services Director: John C. Fryar 100-pound offset enamel-finish paper Development Director: William J. Powers the port on Lake Erie for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Erie became a strategic Associate Directors: James Canter target for Pennsylvania-centric railroads—especially the mighty Pennsylvania Rail- Arthur J. Lemke, Nathan Fries road, which ultimately claimed title to having the most extensive port facilities in the Visit us at [email protected] to order with EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Triangle. But late-comer Nickel Plate had its own role in the Triangle, and Messrs. Resident Agent: Adam Scammahorn PayPal or credit card Directors Emeritus: D’Aurora and Skrypzak have shown us how the NKP fit into the Triangle puzzle, Jon Marx, John T. Slater along with the likes of the New York Central and Bessemer & Lake Erie. Archives & Historical Collections Coordinator: or send check/money order payable to: Howard Speidel I love articles like this that put a favored carrier into the context of the lands, Historic Research Coordinator: (vacant) people, and commerce it served, even if our beloved NKP wasn’t necessarily the big NKPHTS, Inc. Historic Preservation Coordinator: Wendy Crim kid on Triangle block. In this case, it was of special interest to me because I’m also a CRUISE CONTROL: Berkshire 753 pounds across the Pennsylvania Railroad’s South Chicago & Southern branch at Burnham Tower in Hegewisch, Ill., at 35 m.p.h. with an eastbound freight out of nearby Calumet Yard. In a few miles there is a good chance a stop will be made in Indiana at Osborn Yard to pick up more meat and perishable traffic delivered by the Indiana Harbor Belt. Prototype Preservation Coordinator: Once out of the Chicago area, What is likely train 56 will get to the 60 m.p.h. road speed and push it all the way to Fort Wayne. This — AprilJ.J. Buckley 1958 shot photo, shows Thos. 753 Gascoignewith just two collection more months of service Pennsy aficionado as well as a devotee of the Erie/Erie Lackawanna. SATURDAY before being laid up at Bellevue. FRIDAY DAY mail to: 2016 S DAY THUR ® WEDNES Robert C. Albert TUESDAY 1 MONDAY SUNDAY In closing, I would like to wish heartfelt thanks to NKPM Managing Editor John 1881: Mainline reaches New Haven, Ind. Modeling Coordinator: 7 8 5 6 J. Anthony Koester 3 4 NKPHTS, Inc.—Dept. C Slater. John is retiring from this position when this issue goes to press.