Passengers awed by Nickel Plate Road No. 765 steam-powered locomotive

July 25, 2015 at 7:29p.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

The whistling, smoking, steam-powered 1944 Nickel Plate Road No. 765 locomotive is a magnificent machine from the past.

People stood at crossings of the Norfolk Southern Railroad to see and take pictures of No. 765 as it came by pulling an excursion train from Youngstown to Ashtabula and back Saturday, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The 600 to 700 riders in 19-car train came from all over the area and the eastern part of the United States to see and ride behind and feel the power of what Paul Radcliffe of Simpsonville, S.C., described as a “magnificent machine, an impressive piece of machinery.”

Radcliffe and his wife, Faith, and his cousin, Brian Licht of Cleveland, who rode in the New York Central 43 tavern lounge car, said everything was first class on the trip.

Radcliffe said he has ridden on other trains pulled by steam locomotives, but being pulled by No. 765 was “on his bucket list.”