Today marks our 42nd anniversary.
On November 5th, 1972, a vision to return life to a rusting park monument took hold. That vision has become all that and much more. Enjoy this reflection on 42 years of preserving and making railroad history from our documentary, LISTEN FOR THE WHISTLE, now available on DVD and Blu-Ray.
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.
An example of a #Why765 post on Facebook.
• 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.
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.
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.
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.
Like 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.
Press coverage of steam locomotive no. 765 in her hometown was at an all-time high during the Wabash Cannonball trips, with multiple newspapers and television stations covering the historic journey of the locomotive and train.
The locomotive appeared on the front page Fort Wayne’s two local newspapers, a daily paper in neighboring Auburn, Indiana, and each major television news station spent time spreading the news of the sell-out excursion train, and covered the impact of the train on its passengers and in the towns near the route. For links to stories and videos, read on.
The Journal Gazette’s columnist Frank Gray writes in this September 7th piece:
“I wondered, though, how did ticket sales go for the October trips for the city? Usually, tickets for the train’s excursions sell out in a couple of days.
Well, in Fort http://www.snortrescue.org/buy/ Wayne, tickets went on sale Sunday and sold out in an hour and a half.
Four hundred people are on a waiting list if more cars are added to the train. Passengers include people from as far away as Florida, Texas and New Jersey. Right now, there’s some talk of running excursions to Chicago and other cities next year.
One inconvenient aspect, though, is that there is no suitable boarding spot in Fort Wayne. For the October excursions, for example, passengers will have to board at the Do it Best headquarters between Fort Wayne and New Haven.
There is a push to establish a home for the train near downtown Fort Wayne, possibly using some of the Legacy money. The train would have access to all possible routes.
The train, after all, is permitted to use all 22,000 miles of Norfolk-Southern track.
The problem is that creating a new base for the train would be expensive, upward of $15 million.
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Fort Wayne is always looking for new ideas that will draw people into the city and get them to stay in the hotels and eat in the restaurants and see the sights.
This train is unique, and it’s proved its ability to draw crowds.
“We have an amazing zoo,” Lynch said. The train, he said, is like having the last tyrannosaurus rex and no zoo to put it in.