Does the FWRHS have a plan?
Two years ago I was elated that the Nickel Plate Road's Berkshire 765 was finally finished with her 13-year restoration. To be frank, many of those years were spent with no action until, that is, the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society
got serious about fund-raising and discovered the ISTEA grant. Still, late fall of 2005 the 765 was re-introduced to the public and little has been seen of her since.
I know, I can still go out to the shop and see the big berk any weekend, but I just old enough to remember her running the mainline after her first restoration and that is exactly what I want to see now!
FWRHS was hush on plans during that last months of 2005 as rumors began to fly. Many of us were expecting some wonderful break-in runs on the TP&W actually pulling freight; that would have been a great photo-op. As 2006 began to warm, though, we got a fairly secret
break-in run that was highlighted on the local news sometime after the fact. (view it here)
Well, a break-in run, whether hidden from the public or not, was at least a step forward. A few efforts were made to ferret-out the plans for summer 2006, but no information was forthcoming. About the only thing I heard was to "keep checking the web site" for details. Still, there was always a hint of something in the wings that kept fans hungry.
Here it is in the middle of summer 2007 and FWRHS still doesn't have anything on the calendar for the big Berkshire. I know there are a TON of issues to deal with in setting up an excursion trip, but perhaps FWRHS could attempt to keep the fans in the loop a little. And if it just isn't going to happen, just tell us it isn't.
I haven't lost faith in the FWRHS even though this is rare criticism from TRKneller; I know what they can do because they've done it twice now, as an organization. I just think FWRHS should be more open about their attempts to organize trips, whether they are trying to or not. It might just be that a non-member could also have influential ties that might possibly open a door or two. Whatever the situation, I would just like to be hearing a little more from the Society through their web site or another official source. As it stands, the FWARailfan.net message boards are about the best source of relavant info going for 765, but that usually has a thread a mile long filled with a bunch of, "well, I heard..."'s. WE WANT TO KNOW! Don't get me wrong, I am not moving to an "anti-FWRHS" position. The Society, once it gets rolling, does a superb job of anything it touches; I'm just getting impatient! [I mean, really, if you've seen the 765 pounding the mainline at 60+ mph, you will understand my impatience!]
Okay, here it is, if I join the Society again, what kind of jobs could I jump on? What's the plan with ol' No. 1? What's the plan for the bay-window cab? What's it's pedigree? Hey, really, I know I need to participate, so sell me on it!! And in the meantime, I'll be getting a little more info...
Contact TRKneller
In case you want to get your glimpse of the NKP 765, check out the FWRHS Open House this August 18th, 10am to 4pm, or August 19th, noon to 4pm. After all, it will probably be your only chance for '07.
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