Made the road trip from northeast Missouri to St. Louis this past weekend to shoot the NKP 765 and the Norfolk Southern employee appreciation special. I first saw 765 way back in the spring of 1980 when she was on her first run from Peoria Illinois to Keokuk Iowa. The engine was pulled off the train in LaHarpe for servicing and turning. Despite all of the times 765 has been out since, this was my first chance to see an old friend. I originally intended to shoot only on Saturday, but I had so much fun I returned on Sunday.
The folks from NS, the Fort Wayne Railway Historical Society and Mid America Rail Car Leasing deserve more thanks than I can properly express here. Having played a small part in various steam operations over the years as well as helping a friend with private car charters, I know it is not an easy task and is often thankless, especially considering all of the work that goes into it 'behind the scenes'. Mid America has assembled a most impressive roster of passenger cars suited for just such a tasking (Amtrak certified, HEP equipped, toilets work, lights work, etc) ... much like the 261 group and their cars, it is not unusual to see a Mid America car in charter service just about anywhere. The cars look great in a uniform Mid America scheme ... cool thing is that the herald of the car's original railroad is displayed at the upper corner of the car in the red stripe area for all to see. How neat is that?
Again, thanks to everybody for an awesome weekend!
Regards,
Burlington John
THE site for American Freedom Train fans http://www.freedomtrain.org
It was a wonderful weekend, and glad you enjoyed it. I was there with a local RR group helping and we did get one of the rides.
Everyone at NS were very nice and accommodating. Our group was right next to Andy Fletcher, who is also a FB friend, and I finally got to meet him and get an autographed poster. I also know a couple of the crew members from Ft. Wayne group and got to meet them too.
If you were right next to Andy, I purchased one of your prints of AFT 4449 at the foot of the Arch!!Regards,Burlington John
John
Thanks for sharing some wonderful pictures of a great locomotive.
CZ
Yes, our group was next to Andy and the leader of our group did have a #4449 pic at foot of Arch, so you would have bought it from us. I don't remember selling it personally, but someone in our group would have. We are the AAR-Association of American Railroaders, leader is Rich Eichhorst. Web site is
aar-therailroaders.org
Small world. I felt the same way about finally meeting Andy and other crew members there.
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