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Join us for 2015

By News

The start of a new year represents many things to us at the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society. Foremost, it is a season of planning as we look forward to creating a variety of memorable events and activities with our beloved steam locomotive no. 765. The time also allows us to catch our breath after another busy year and reflect on its challenges and successes. As members will read in our upcoming newsletter and the 2014 Annual Report, the work of preserving and making railroad history continues to hit its stride.

Membership is not only crucial to the ongoing preservation and business activities of the railroad historical society, but critical to demonstrating the power and significance of railroad preservation. We are showcasing an important era in American industry and innovation to an audience now 70 years removed from it.

With $150,000 committed to no. 765’s federally mandated inspection and overhaul work, our highest membership levels in decades, and important progress on new ventures, the railroad historical society continues to knuckle down, work hard, and make tremendous progress. The reach of no. 765, the work of our volunteers, and your membership are our greatest assets. This great journey continues in 2015 and we are confident you won’t want to miss a second. Will you join us this year?

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Santa Train carries on local railroad traditions

By News, Press Coverage

UPDATED 12/9/12: The Santa Train has enjoyed additional news coverage.

WANE-15’s coverage of the 2014 Santa Train underscores its long tradition in the community.

The Journal Gazette followed up on its original December 5th report with this story and video:

A chance to have a chat with Santa Claus in a big, red caboose while chugging down the railroad tracks continues to be one of the hottest holiday season events around Fort Wayne. For 16 years, the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society has been arranging the short trips at its headquarters on Edgerton Road in New Haven, but the society has made it a little more convenient this year. In the past, people wanting to take the trips, which last from 20 minutes to half an hour and take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the three Saturdays before Christmas, have ridden on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
The result was sometimes incredibly long lines and long waits.This year, though, the public was able to make reservations online for specific times, dramatically shortening lines and waiting time. The public response was strong. In just 16 hours, the society sold out all the seats on all three Saturdays, said Kelly Lynch, a member of the society.
 
The society did set aside about 20 tickets an hour to accommodate walk-ins without reservations. There were a handful of walk-ins who managed to grab spots in line and take the ride after a short wait.
 
“We still get 3,000 people in the middle of a cornfield,” Lynch said of the spot where the rides take place.There is a proposal to relocate some of the society’s engines downtown. “These are 3,000 people that could be downtown,” Lynch said.

The Journal Gazette reported on our improvements to the Santa Train:

If there’s one thing that the Santa Train has been known for – outside of being a local holiday favorite – it has to be the wait time. Last year, 3,000 passengers lined up on a first-come, first-served basis over three consecutive Saturdays. Kelly Lynch, communications director for the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, says at its most severe, the wait was about three hours.
 
This year, the organization introduced an online ticketing system to cut that down. Lynch says 75 tickets are sold online for each hour of operation, plus 30 to 40 tickets sold for each hour to walk-in customers. “We felt like we could control the experience a little bit better for passengers if they could select their time versus showing up whenever,” he says…It’s really important to us that people have a good experience – and that they have a pleasant experience, even with the anticipation of the train and getting on board.”…
 
Even at the New Haven warehouse where the locomotive is stored, and where the Santa Train takes off on a quarter-mile excursion, the organization has been able to draw attention to Headwaters Junction, Lynch’s proposal for the city’s Legacy Fund. It would be a rail-themed attraction that could connect the city’s riverfront, trails and railways together with the historic steam locomotive as a key aspect.
 
Lynch says the Headwaters Junction team is waiting for the riverfront master plan to be released in February before announcing anything major, but if the train is moved downtown, he says that one idea would be to push the concept of Santa Train into a larger experience as Fort Wayne’s own “Polar Express” steam locomotive rolling through downtown for the holidays.
 
“I think the Santa Train proves that with our limited resources, our limited track and our limited accessibility in New Haven, we’re still able to put 3,000 people on a train in 16 hours,” he says.
 
“There’s a tourist railroad in Connersville, Indiana, and they’re about to do 10,000 people in the next couple of days. With a few more passenger cars, a little longer route and a better location, we could easily do twice as much or three times as much as that,” he says.
 
“That’s 10,000 to 20,000 people downtown that may not normally be there.”

 

#Why765 Campaign

By News

We all have them: The first experience. The exciting train ride. The all-day adventure. Hearing the whistle in the middle of the night. These are memories of the steam locomotive. We want to hear them and learn why you love this 765.

On October 28th, the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society will honor “Engine no. 765 Day” in Fort Wayne and Allen County and mark the start of the #Why765 Campaign.

Following another successful year operating historic, 1944-built steam locomotive no. 765, the railroad historical society is inviting its passengers, supporters, and members of the general public to share what the famous train means to them and why. Submissions will be eligible to win prizes, including first class accommodations on an excursion of their choice in 2015.

“The 765 is a one-of-a-kind teaching tool that educates and inspires thousands each year,” said Kelly Lynch, Communications Director for the railroad historical society. “We want to showcase the way this special train weaves through so many lives.”

Participants in the #Why765 Campaign can enter online. Submissions must be of a personal story or memory and preferably include a photo. Submissions can be made via an online form and the story and image should also be shared on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using the hashtag “#Why765.” Winning submissions will be chosen based on their content, imagery, and relevance on social media.

Why 765 Sample Cropped

An example of a #Why765 post on Facebook.

[quote style=”boxed”]How to Enter #Why765[/quote]

• Think of a personal story or recall a memory related to the 765.

• Submit your story and respond to our survey questions by clicking the button below.

• Share your story on our Facebook page, or on your personal Twitter or Instagram account and use #Why765 in your post. An example would be: “I love the 765 because it brings my family together. #Why765” or “They cancelled school to let us out to see the train. #Why765”

• If you’re not on social media, you can still participate by completing the survey.

• Submissions should be made via the online form as well as on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Submissions are encouraged to include a related photo.

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Declared “Engine no. 765 Day” in 2005, October 28th marked the end of a major overhaul and rebuilding effort that breathed new life into the locomotive after a 12-year slumber. Between 2001 and 2005, no. 765 was rebuilt from the wheels up, having accumulated over 50,000 miles operating on passenger excursion trips between 1979 and 1993.

Originally built in 1944 for the Nickel Plate Road, it was retired in 1958 and put on display in Lawton Park to commemorate the elevation of the railroad through downtown. In 1974, no. 765 was removed from the park and by 1979 was restored to operating condition. The initial rehabilitation effort was the first all-volunteer effort in the world to successfully restore and operate a mainline steam locomotive. The FWRHS boasts a membership of just under 1000 supporters and 100 full and part time volunteers from around the country.

Since 2011, no. 765 has featured prominently as part of 21st Century Steam, a public relations program and partnership between Norfolk Southern Corp. and the railroad historical society. The program has featured the locomotive operating sold-out trips and earning an international following. No. 765 and the collection and operations of the FWRHS are featured prominently in preliminary riverfront development plans as part of Headwaters Junction.

 

Listen for the Whistle: Now Available

By News, video

From a city park in Fort Wayne, Indiana to the world-famous Horseshoe Curve, ride along with the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society and its incredible time machine as it inspires and educates thousands throughout the Midwest.

Created from over 4,000 hours of footage from 42 years of railroad preservation, LISTEN FOR THE WHISTLE is the first installment in a new series of videos from the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, featuring exclusive on-board and behind-the-scenes access to steam locomotive no. 765.

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“This is not just another train video,” said Bill Otter, president of the railroad historical society. “This is a multimedia experience for train and history lovers, but especially those with a connection to the 765.”

Produced in part with a grant from the Dailey Foundation, LISTEN FOR THE WHISTLE takes viewers through the history of the 765, starting with its construction in 1944, the railroad elevation project that sealed the engine’s fate, the 765’s original restoration in the 1970s, and its dramatic climb over Horseshoe Curve in 2012. With never-before-seen footage of the 765’s original restoration, to on-board cameras and interviews with the 765’s crew, LISTEN FOR THE WHISTLE is one of the most modern and in-depth films ever produced on a steam locomotive.

“The story of the 765 is incredibly compelling,” explained Kelly Lynch, Communications Director for the society and the film’s director. “It’s about a force that continues to weave through so many lives each year, exiting and enriching thousands along the way. This project is just a glimpse at what this theatrical machine is capable of and an example of how we hope to produce more engaging multimedia to help tell this story to a 21st Century audience.”

LISTEN FOR THE WHISTLE also features the railroad historical society’s short film Travel Refreshed and the Blu-Ray edition features 20 extra minutes of behind the scenes footage from the 765’s first moves in 1979.

In addition, the railroad historical society is offering a brand-new audio project CD entitled LISTEN FOR THE WHISTLE: THE SOUNDTRACK. Available on CD or digital download, it features over 40 minutes of historic steam locomotive sounds and original songs about steam locomotive no. 765. Using audio of the 765 and vintage whistles from long-scrapped locomotives, the sounds of a historic era in railroading come back to life.

Travel Refreshed

By News, video

To celebrate the upcoming release of Listen for the Whistle, we’re premiering Travel Refreshed, a special short film that brings a classic, vintage advertisement to life with the power of the 765.

Travel Refreshed represents an era when the railroad was the country’s icon of industry and innovation; ubiquitous in advertisements as much as they were in daily life as they quarterbacked an entire economy through the Great Depression, two wars, and into the present day.

The drink that keeps you feeling fitLike many companies during the railroad’s golden era, Coca-Cola often used railroad iconography in their advertising.

Travel Refreshed is what is called a speculative or “spec” project — which is to say, it’s not a real commercial. It’s a platform for an idea that this machine is capable of more than what her creators in 1944 intended. She is our goodwill ambassador and we’d welcome support from a corporate sponsor to help share the magic of this machine even further.

Sit back and listen for the whistle through your bedroom window and enjoy like so many still do, not only a pause that refreshes, but one that inspires.

If you’d like to support these incredible sights and sounds, consider joining as a member or making a donation.

Special thanks to the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum, Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, and Lynchpin Creative for their assistance in filming.

Click here for our behind the scenes photos on Flickr and learn more about the making of it here.