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Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society Acquires Historic Railroad Business Car No. 1, Launches Fundraiser for 1920s-Era Restoration

NORTHEAST INDIANA — The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society has announced the acquisition of Nickel Plate Road Business Car No. 1 — a remarkably intact Pullman-built executive car that once operated at the center of one of the most influential railroad systems in American history.

Constructed in February 1929 by the Pullman Car Works, the car was built for Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen — the architects of a railroad empire that spanned the Midwest and East Coast, shaping the movement of freight, industry, and capital across the nation. The car later operated as Chesapeake & Ohio No. 1 and Norfolk & Western Railway No. 1, tracing a direct line through the consolidation and evolution of American railroading in the mid-20th century.

SUPPORT THIS RESTORATION

A comprehensive overhaul is planned to address deterioration and modernize the car’s critical systems, with restoration costs expected to begin at $300,000. Once complete, Business Car No. 1 will enter service alongside Nickel Plate Road Business Car No. 7, the Kitchi Gammi Club, which the organization acquired in 2025, operating behind restored Nickel Plate steam and diesel locomotives. When preserved, historic railroad equipment is rarely reunited with the same locomotives and companion cars it was built to travel with. Together, this remarkable collection will recreate an authentic Nickel Plate Road train, offering passengers a living experience that few preservation organizations can provide.

Initial relocation costs and seed money to begin the work have been granted by a private donor and the Olive B. Cole Foundation, Inc. Click here to make a gift or contribution online or by mail at NKP 1, Post Office Box 11017, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 46855.

“Opportunities like this are exceptionally rare, and this is one we have pursued for over 10 years,” said Kelly Lynch, Executive Director of the Fort Wayne Railroad. “This car sits at the intersection of multiple major railroads and a defining era of passenger rail travel and locomotive development. Alongside our other Pullman car, it opens a fantastic way for people to experience the craftsmanship and culture of American railroading in motion. We are grateful to Powell Felix for his recent guardianship of the car, and to Nickel Plate Heritage Railroad for providing it a safe harbor after the closure of the Indiana Transportation Museum.”

M.J. and O.P. and Van Sweringen in 1933.

From modest beginnings as office boys, the Van Sweringen brothers rose to command a vast network of railroads and real estate and at one point controlled assets valued in the billions, yet remained secluded, deliberate, and intensely focused on the work itself. Notoriously private, they avoided publicity at nearly every turn. They gave no speeches, granted no interviews, and remained largely absent from the social circles their wealth afforded. Contemporary accounts describe them traveling the rails in their private car, accompanied by secretaries and stenographers, conducting business on the move.

Business Car No. 1 served as a mobile command post where executives conducted inspections, negotiated strategy, and governed a railroad network stretching thousands of miles. If the Van Sweringen empire had a headquarters beyond Terminal Tower in Cleveland, it was aboard this car.

Behind the scenes, the Van Sweringen brothers brought a disciplined, system-wide approach to railroading. Through an internal Advisory Mechanical Committee, they worked to standardize locomotive design, mechanical practices, and operating efficiencies across the railroads under their control, aligning equipment and performance across what had once been independent systems.

The Van Sweringen Empire

Out of that effort came one of the most successful steam locomotive designs of the 20th century: the Berkshire. Developed through this coordinated approach to engineering and operations, the Berkshire-type embodied the balance of speed, power, and efficiency that defined Van Sweringen-era railroading. That legacy remains in motion today through the operation of Nickel Plate Road No. 765, a Berkshire-type locomotive built in 1944 and later acquired and restored by the non-profit in the 1970s, applying many of the same principles of performance, discipline, and mechanical stewardship first shaped under the Van Sweringen system.

Following the death of Oris Van Sweringen in 1936, the car continued in executive service under successive railroad leadership, carrying forward into the era of consolidation that reshaped the American rail industry.

In 1971, the car was acquired from the Norfolk & Western Railway by J. Henry Kegley, a Bristol, Virginia, businessman, at a time when historic railroad equipment was routinely scrapped or dispersed. He maintained the car on a siding at his Tenneva Foods facility in a quiet yet decisive act of preservation, ensuring its survival. Many of the car’s systems today reflect Kegley’s work, with appliances and components dating to that period of caretaking.

Following Kegley’s passing, the car was transferred from his estate in 1999, continuing its preservation. In the decades that followed, the car remained in the care of dedicated private owners, David and Eleanor Wilcox and Steve and Mary DeVoe. During this time, its use was donated to the Indiana Transportation Museum for the enjoyment and education of thousands of passengers through museum train trips, many special dinners, and special events.

Most recently, the car has been owned by Powell Felix, President of Indiana Boxcar Corporation. Through a special arrangement with Felix, the car has now joined the Fort Wayne Railroad’s operating fleet, beginning its next chapter in preservation and public interpretation.

Designed to accommodate up to 16 guests in its original configuration, the all-steel car includes private quarters for staff, a full kitchen, a dining room, and a lounge. Inside, polished wood interiors and period details reflect the environment in which railroad leaders operated — a space where business, hospitality, and mobility were seamlessly combined.

While the car remains remarkably intact and retains its original fixtures, furnishings, and much of its historic mechanical fabric, its mechanical, electrical, and HVAC systems date to the 1970s, and years of moisture intrusion have taken a toll on portions of the lounge and private suites, where ceiling and window seal repairs are now necessary.

A comprehensive overhaul is planned to modernize critical systems and address deterioration. The car has recently been trucked over 109-miles to the Fort Wayne Railroad’s restoration shop in New Haven, Indiana.

The acquisition supports the Fort Wayne Railroad’s long-term vision to reconstruct an authentic passenger experience evocative of the Golden Age of Railroading, showcasing an immersive, operating environment that connects visitors directly to the transportation culture that once powered American commerce. The car will carry the markers on future trips on the Indiana Rail Experience, and travel behind the same Nickel Plate Road locomotives that it would have traveled behind in its original service life.

DONATE TO NKP 1

Only five Nickel Plate Road business cars are known to survive, with others located in Lima, Ohio; New Bremen, Ohio; and Los Angeles, California. With this acquisition, the Fort Wayne Railroad now stewards one of the most significant collections of Nickel Plate executive equipment in existence, reinforcing its leadership in preserving and interpreting Midwestern railroad history.

Arrival completes second phase of campus development and creates a new space for education and community events

PLEASANT LAKE, Indiana. — A vintage passenger car built for military medical service during the Korean War arrived at the Pleasant Lake Railyard on Wednesday, July 29, marking the completion of the second phase of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s campus development.

The car traveled from Fort Wayne’s downtown riverfront, where it had been incorporated into Pufferbelly Ice Cream, to its new home at the growing railroad destination in Steuben County. It will serve as a classroom, meeting room, and event space in partnership with nearby Camp Chief Little Turtle.

A NEW COMMUNITY ASSET

With support from local philanthropist Don Steininger, the once-dilapidated display car was renovated into a lounge car. It was originally envisioned as part of a downtown Fort Wayne railroad attraction before being adapted for use by the riverfront eatery.

That larger railroad attraction ultimately found a new path forward at Pleasant Lake’s historic depot. Since shifting its focus to Steuben County, the Fort Wayne Railroad, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and its partners have transformed the once-neglected property into a destination for passenger excursions, railroad education and community events. The attraction continues to serve Fort Wayne and the wider Northeast Indiana and Tri-State region while welcoming visitors from all 50 states and several countries.

In a fitting connection, the car traveled from Fort Wayne Outfitters’ own historic depot, which was once linked to Pleasant Lake by the same railroad corridor used by the heritage railroad today.

DEVELOPING THE PLEASANT LAKE RAILYARD

The car’s arrival complements newly finished site improvements, which also included a new stamped-concrete passenger platform, signage, security, and landscaping. This work was supported by a $250,000 grant awarded to the Fort Wayne Railroad by the Indiana Destination Development Corporation in 2024.

The milestone builds on the restoration of the historic Pleasant Lake depot. Completed in partnership with 3rd Street Construction, the project included extensive exterior and structural improvements to the 1882 building, including foundation and flooring repairs, restored woodwork, new windows and transoms, electrical and security upgrades, and the return of the depot’s original Pleasant Lake sign.

The final campus project currently planned is the restoration of the former New York Central depot’s historic passenger waiting room. That work will be supported by a $15,000 grant from the Steuben County Community Foundation.

The historic depot before restoration.

MORE THAN $470,000 INVESTED IN PLEASANT LAKE

More than $470,000 has been raised to bring the Pleasant Lake campus to life. The project has been made possible by local volunteers, private donors and strategic partners, including Visit Indiana, Norfolk Southern, the Indiana Historical Society, the M.E. Raker Foundation, the Olive B. Cole Foundation, the Steuben County Tourism Bureau and Indiana Michigan Power.

This investment has helped transform a once-endangered historic site into an active center for tourism, education and community engagement.

The Fort Wayne Railroad also recognizes Steel Dynamics, and the volunteer community leaders and supporters behind Pufferbelly Junction — the organization behind the original Headwaters Junction concept — as well as Steininger Development for their support of the car’s rehabilitation and original placement along Fort Wayne’s downtown riverfront. Their early investment helped preserve and renovate the car, preparing it for its next chapter of public service. Plans call for the car to be repainted and incorporated more fully into the campus through additional landscaping.

FROM MILITARY SERVICE TO PUBLIC SERVICE

Originally constructed as Car No. 89552 for military medical service during the Korean War, the car found various uses throughout its life, including on the Minuteman Mobility Test Train, a 1960 U.S. Air Force project that evaluated deploying intercontinental ballistic missiles on railroad networks to reduce vulnerability to surprise attacks.

On Amtrak, the car was converted to head-end-power and renumbered No. 1614, where it was assigned to the railroad’s modern incarnation of the Broadway Limited, which operated through Fort Wayne, and later used on the Tennessee Bicentennial Train. It was acquired by the organization in the mid-2000s after storage by the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan. The group donated the car to Headwaters Junction around 2018.

Although it had successfully acquired a mile of railroad right-of-way from Norfolk Southern in Fort Wayne in 2019, delays involving floodwall relocation and other development provisions made Pleasant Lake a more immediate path toward establishing an operating regional attraction and the all-volunteer organization shifted its focus north, approximately 38 rail miles north of downtown.

Since that pivot, volunteers have restored the historic depot, rebuilt railroad infrastructure, improved the surrounding property, and assembled and renovated a complete vintage passenger train set. Through the Indiana Rail Experience, the Fort Wayne Railroad now operates excursions over more than 100 miles of the privately owned Indiana Northeastern Railroad in a special partnership.

A GROWING REGIONAL ATTRACTION

To date, the Indiana Rail Experience has operated on more than 140 days, welcomed approximately 80,000 visitors and generated an estimated $5 million in economic impact across the tri-state region, according to the Steuben County Tourism Bureau.

“The last few years have proven what we had always known: a rail tourist attraction would become a meaningful destination in Northeast Indiana,” said Kelly Lynch, executive director of the Fort Wayne Railroad. “Our partnership with the Indiana Northeastern and the surrounding communities has allowed this vision to flourish.”

Though reserved for static use, the hospital car will complement programs including fall color excursions, Christmas trains and Indiana Railroad Camp. Members of the 2026 Rail Camp class watched Wednesday as Fruchey Construction and Buchanan Hauling unloaded the car.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Pleasant Lake depot was constructed in 1882 for the Fort Wayne & Jackson Railroad and later became part of the New York Central system, one of several rail networks connecting Fort Wayne to the nation. Pleasant Lake was once a popular vacation destination for Fort Wayne residents, served by as many as six passenger trains a day on weekends.

For more information, visit fortwaynerailroad.org or indianarailexperience.org.

ABOUT THE FORT WAYNE RAILROAD

Since 1972, the Fort Wayne Railroad has worked to restore and transform historic railroad equipment into operating attractions, including most notably Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive no. 765. For over 40 years, its dedicated volunteers have exhibited vintage rail attractions throughout the Midwest and Eastern United States.

In association with the Indiana Northeastern Railroad, the organization created the Indiana Rail Experience in 2022 and now routinely operates tourist trains between Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. With growing attendance numbers and an economic impact of over 5 million dollars, the 100-mile-long route was named Indiana’s Best New Experience in 2023.

Its operations are made possible entirely through volunteers and funded by ticket sales, memberships, donations, grants, and sponsorships. For more information, visit fortwaynerailroad.org.