Latest Along the Line column for the Nickel Plate Road Magazine.

1. Along the Line
Information regarding
former Nickel Plate routes and equipment
Compiled by david bender
Nickel Plate 910
on the block
T his past January, Pan Am Rail-
ways announced the retirement
of Springfield Terminal GP35 No. 212.
This locomotive holds a unique place
in the history of the Nickel Plate Road,
as it was the only GP35 the NKP ever
owned. Also of significance is that this
was the last locomotive ever purchased
by the New York, Chicago & St. Louis
Railroad Company prior to the 1964
merger with the Norfolk & Western
Railway Company.
Built in May 1964, the locomotive
was numbered NKP 910 and delivered
in full Nickel Plate Road livery. After
the completion of the purchase of the
NYC&StL by the N&W, the locomotive
was patch-painted and renumbered as
NW 2910. It was later repainted to the
full Norfolk & Western all-black paint
scheme.
Springfield Terminal obtained the lo-
comotive around 1990 and renumbered
it to ST 212. The Springfield Terminal
originally was an electric interurban
upper photo:The 910 is shown in its as-delivered (in 1964) livery.
Note the n.y.c.& st. l. on the side of the nose. nkphts collection
above: This view of the 910—now carrying the N&W number-
ing of 2910—was recorded at Calumet Yard in Chicago on the
spring of 1967. Note that norfolk & western has replaced the
n.y.c.& st.l. lettering. At first glance, it appears that the wide yel-
low side sill stripe is gone, but closer observation revealed that it
was simply covered in grime. mike schafer
right:Springfield Terminal No. 212, shown at an unidentified
location (possibly Deerfield, Mass.), is none other than the cel-
ebrated lone Nickel Plate GP35 No. 910. Pan Am Railways has
retired the 212, and its future remains in doubt. holden baker
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2. NKP GP9 514 moves
railway that ran six miles between 759 to the Steamtown
Springfield, Vt., and Charlestown, N.H. shops on March 8,
Eventually, interurban passenger ser- 2010, prior to her
vice ended, the wire came down, and going into the shops
freight operations were dieselized, with for the removal of
her asbestos lagging.
the shortline then being operated by Credit this scene to
the Boston & Maine, its only connection Dave Crosby, who
(at Charlestown) to the outside world. works for the Delaware
Guilford Transportation Industries Lackawanna at nearby
purchased the Boston & Maine in 1983, Bridge 60 tower. By
chance, he happened
but continued to maintain the Spring- to bring his camera to
field Terminal as a separate company. work that day!
Guilford made big news in March 2006
when it changed its name to Pan Am While the deadline for the sale has come Lake Shore Railway Association
Railways and adopted the old Pan Am and gone, Pan Am has formulated no president Jack Siffert says the group
Airlines logo as its own definitive plan for the final disposition obtained the 384 through a 99-year
Since retiring former NKP 910, Pan of the locomotive, according to Pan Am lease with the Lorain Port Authority.
Am has put the GP35 up for sale, with representative, Bill May. Jack’s goal is to restore the locomotive
an asking price of $125,000. The compa- The 212 is currently residing in stor- to service, and he says the preliminary
ny stated that if it could not find a buyer age at the Maine Central’s Waterville, prognosis is very good. The person do-
for the locomotive, it would be scrapped. Me., facility. ing the inspection has labeled this the
actual “urban legend” park locomotive
New life for an old due to the fact it does appear to actually
0-6-0? have been placed in the park in rebuilt
condition.
W heeling & Lake Erie 0-6-0
No. 3984 was constructed
in Alco’s Schenectady, N.Y., facil-
These optimistic sentiments are
echoed by Nickel Plate Historical &
Technical Society member Mike Fahler.
ity and came on line in June 1944. Mike reports the 384 should be able to
After the Nickel Plate acquired the run again once the flues are overhauled.
W&LE, the B-5 was renumbered An inspection of the cylinders showed
NKP 384 in January 1951. the locomotive was put up well by NKP,
Although the 384 spent most as the interior cylinder walls are shiny
of its life on the W&LE, it was no and coated with grease.
stranger to other portions of the
Nickel Plate network. Howard 759 enters asbestos
Ameling caught the 384 on film abatement program
in Erie, Pa., in October 1951, and
again in Madison, Ohio, in 1955.
The locomotive made its last run
on home territory, making the trip
N ickel Plate 759, which rose to fame
in 1968 after it was restored to ser-
vice following almost a decade of stor-
from Zanesville to Brewster in No- age, has been languishing at Steamtown
vember 1957. in Scranton, Pa., after being pulled from
On June 16, 1961, the Nickel fantrip service several years ago. Now,
Plate donated the 384 to the City however, the celebrated Berk is back in
of Lorain, Ohio. The city displayed the news as the first engine to be run
upper photo: Ex-W&LE 0-6-0 No. 384 is shown working the locomotive in Oakwood Park through Steamtown’s long awaited as-
at Erie, Pa., in October 1951. howard ameling. above: On
until 1988, when it was moved to bestos-abatement program, thanks to
display at Lorain, Ohio, 20 years later in 1971. howard
ameling. below: The 384 as it appears today at Welling- Wellington, Ohio, to the grounds of stimulus funding.
ton, Ohio. Don’t let the missing cab fool you; the 0-6-0 is the Lake Shore Railway Associa- Steamtown has contracted Gary
overall in decent condition. mike fahler tion. The Lake Shore Railway Asso- Bensman and his crew to safely remove
ciation was created in 1979 to pre- asbestos lagging from ten locomotives,
serve and promote the legacy of the with 759 being the first. At the same
Lorain & West Virginia Railway, a time, the locomotive will be cosmetical-
subsidiary of the Wheeling & Lake ly restored; however, Bensman reports
Erie. The L&WV ran from Welling- that the 2-8-4 remains in excellent con-
ton, Ohio, northward to connect with dition and could probably be put back
the Nickel Plate and Lake Terminal in active service with little more than a
railroads in Lorain proper. flue job. Let’s hope.
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