Sunday, July 19, 2015
YOUNGSTOWN
A 1944-vintage steam-powered locomotive will pull an excursion train from Youngstown to Ashtabula and back in two separate one-day trips Saturday and next Sunday.
The 19-car train, pulled by Nickel Plate Road No. 765, will leave the Covelli Centre, 229 E. Front St., Youngstown, at 8:30 a.m. each day and travel over a Norfolk Southern route that saw its last passenger train more than 60 years ago.
Some 650 to 700 passengers per trip will ride in 1920s to 1950s vintage cars, with each trip returning to the Covelli Centre about 5 p.m.
“It’s an opportunity to share a piece of American history with the people of the Valley,” said Rich Melvin of Struthers, who will operate the Saturday excursion train.
“These passenger trains were the airliners of the ’20 and ’30s,” said Melvin, who is operations manager for the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Historical Society, which owns the 404-ton, 4,500-horsepower locomotive.
After leaving Youngstown, the train will go through a sparsely populated area without passing through any towns until it reaches Ashtabula.
Lunch will be provided to all passengers under a tent near the train after it arrives in Ashtabula.
Excursion prices range from $79 to $449, with most lower-priced tickets already sold out for both days.
No. 765 pulled passenger and freight trains from 1944 to 1958, undergoing restoration in 1979 and a major overhaul in 2005. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The all-volunteer, nonprofit Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society is dedicated to the preservation, display and operation of historical steam-driven railroad equipment.
“We are thrilled to team up with Norfolk-Southern again to offer people unique and exciting opportunities to enjoy the 765,” said Bill Otter, society president.
No. 765’s last excursion origination in Youngstown was in 1986, when it operated a trip to Pittsburgh.
Besides the Youngstown-Ashtabula trips, No. 765’s forthcoming excursions this year will be: Buffalo to Corning, N.Y., Aug. 1 and 2; Allentown to Pittston, Pa., Aug. 8 and 9; Scranton, Pa., to Binghamton, N.Y., Aug. 15 and 16; and Scranton to Nicholson, Pa., Sept. 12 and 13.
For excursion tickets, visit 765.org or fortwaynerailroad.org or call 888-718-4253.