Rich Melvin's NKP 765 Book

GREAT book and price!

Book Ordered. 

When/where will I be able to get it autographed?

@GregM posted:

Book Ordered. 

When/where will I be able to get it autographed?

I'd be happy to do that, but you don't have your correct address in your profile, so I don't know where you live.

Update your profile and remove the old OGR office address and replace it with your real address. Then maybe we can make a plan.

I just ordered a copy as well and look forward to reading it!

Thanks, Rich!

Hi Rich!

I received my copy just a few days ago, and the book is FANTASTIC! I'm enjoying getting to know No. 765 so well, and I appreciate you tying the history of the NKP Berkshires from their creation to 765's new career in the 21st century. Additionally, the photos are wonderful, and I got a good chuckle at the chapter, "Step into my office, please."

When traveling near Ft. Wayne for work in November 2019, I called the FWRHS to see if I could stop by for a brief, private appointment. I was honored and humbled to meet Steve Winicker there early in the morning, and he not only let me see the engine, but climb into the cab with him as well. It was a wonderful hour-long visit with him and tour of the engine shed, and I'm forever grateful to have been given that opportunity.

Many thanks for writing about this storied locomotive, as well as for sharing your years of experience from the cab point-of-view! All the best wishes to you and your family from Davenport, IA.

Patrick

I received mine a couple of weeks ago.  A GREAT read.  I highly recommend it.  I sat by the fire pit while reading it and having a cold one.  It was like Rich was sitting there telling me the stories in person.  The photography alone is worth the price of the book.

Great job, Rich.  Keep'em coming!

Tom

@Rich Melvin posted:

I'd be happy to do that, but .........

I didn’t expect that answer.  

Let me rephrase my question regarding getting the book autographed.  Do you have any plans to do public autograph sessions, perhaps at the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society facilities sometime in the future?  The opportunity to have the book signed would provide strong incentive to visit the facilities and provide additional support to FWRHS.

It's a win-win for everyone.....

Ordered. Thank you for taking the time to put this book together! Looking forward to reading your take on the 765.

@GregM posted:

I didn’t expect that answer. 

Let me rephrase my question regarding getting the book autographed.  Do you have any plans to do public autograph sessions, perhaps at the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society facilities sometime in the future?  The opportunity to have the book signed would provide strong incentive to visit the facilities and provide additional support to FWRHS.

The misunderstanding is my fault...allow me to explain.

These books are printed on demand at Ingram Publishing. The book is printed at Ingram and then shipped directly to you. I don't see it before it is shipped to you. So I have no way to sign it before you get it.

I will be attending the Fort Wayne Open House in August. If you plan to attend, I'd be happy to sign it there.

Just bought one!  Hope to be able to get it Autographed sometime in the future. 

Just bought mine in hardcover and cant wait to get it and rread it. Hopefully I too will be able to get mine signed by the author someday!

Rich,

I just had to chime in and compliment you on the book.  I received a hardcopy of it a week or so ago, and actually ordered it for my Dad as a Fathers Day gift.  I've read through it in the meantime and have thoroughly enjoyed it.  All of the photos are fantastic, and I really enjoyed the full history presented from how the Berkshires came to be in the first place, their original regular service, and of course your stories of some of the adventures you've had with the 765 as well as the initial and more recent overhauls.  You're a good story teller for sure and I'd highly recommend the book to anyone that is a fan of Lima Super Power and the Berks in particular!

Derek

I'll make sure to spread the word! Absolutely buying! Hope I can get it signed one of these days.

2 copies ordered - one for me and now I know what my best friend is getting for Christmas.  Most of the time I have to read his gifts before I wrap them.  Not this time.  Hope to see Rich somewhere to collect an autograph some time.

Rich 

          Just ordered one , hope you explained in detail how to lashup locomotives .BEST OF LUCK TECHMAN

Awesome Rich! Ft Wayne is just 15 mins north of me . I’ll have to grab a copy and an autograph would be great too!

Received it last week and love it.

@Lancer posted:

Awesome Rich! Ft Wayne is just 15 mins north of me . I’ll have to grab a copy and an autograph would be great too!

Lance, I will be attending the FWRHS Members Day on August 22nd. This is part of the annual Open House event scheduled for August 21-23 this year. I would be happy to sign your book there.

Get more info about the Open House here.

Rich, I want to thank you for this great opportunity to get some great reading and pictures(just ordered). I am always looking for more train books to stick my eyes into, especially about a train I have never had the pleasure of seeing in person(unfortunately). I really wish I had got a chance to get out there before your retirement, but at least I did get to see you at York. I won't be able to get out there in August, but I can just imagine. I still have to see about acquiring NPR #765 with your voice on it, one of the things on the list. Sort of makes me wonder, how many other engines are out there with your voice on?

Thanks, Dave. I hope you enjoy the book.

My voice is used in the Lionel NKP (not NPR) Berkshire, but I don’t know if my voice has been used in other locomotives.

Smacks head. Only I would mess that up Rich. Yeah, NKP, that's what I meant. Leave it to me to continue making mistakes like that.

I'll have to see if I can ask Ryan about that next time I email him. Thanks again Rich, hope you're doing okay.

I’m guessing the chapter mentioning 700 talks about 765’s whistle?

For what it's worth, sometime around 1973 my wife and I went to Steamtown in Bellows Fall for the inaugural run of NKP 765 after her re-tube. There were 7 engines under steam that weekend including a very unique fireless switcher. My wife won the lottery for the first official whistle blow. Boy let me tell you a lot of men were seriously ticked off. I forget their names but all the old-timers from the BF museum were there . A very memorable weekend indeed. 

GameBreaker64, you guessed wrong... 

The chapter entitled "The Born Again 700"  by Wayne York tells the story of how the 765 was saved from the scrappers torch and restored the first time, back in the 70s. There is no mention of the whistle in that or any other chapter. The NKP Berks all carried the same whistle.

Fastman, in 1973 the 765 (numbered 767) was still on display in Lawton Park in Fort Wayne.

She has never been to Bellows Falls, Vermont. You saw NKP 759, not the 765.

All of it will be a great read. It is interesting how some engines managed to get lucky by either crews hiding them or just plain luck by getting picked up by someone buying an old engine. This should be quite a tale.

759. You well know the history here, more so than me.I stand corrected.

@fastman posted:

759. You well know the history here, more so than me.I stand corrected.

No problem. After all, the Berks all looked alike, other than the numbers.  It would be easy to confuse one with another, especially that long ago!

From page 167...photo by Casey Thomason.

Rich, in that picture is that from Steamtown? I know 759 is up there, but no idea how long it has been. Only been up there a few times and last year did the trolley museum and never got the chance to get in. I know you had made a trip up to Steamtown with 765 from a post elsewhere here as well as seeing some pictures in one of the buildings. Do you know if 759 is/was working or if it just is stuck in static display?

@Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:

Rich, in that picture is that from Steamtown? I know 759 is up there, but no idea how long it has been. Only been up there a few times and last year did the trolley museum and never got the chance to get in. I know you had made a trip up to Steamtown with 765 from a post elsewhere here as well as seeing some pictures in one of the buildings. Do you know if 759 is/was working or if it just is stuck in static display?

The 759 ran for the last time four years before the 765 ran for the first time. She is not currently operational and she's likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future.

The photo is at Steamtown's current home in Scranton, taken in 2015 when 765 paid a visit there. The 759 is one of the original engines that Nelson Blount acquired in the 1960s at the start of his collection, and it has remained at Steamtown since.

NKP 759 at Steamtown is not operable. Static display only.

Here's another Casey Thomason photo, from page 175. Casey is the Norfolk Southern corporate photographer.

Glad Rich has made a record of his experiences.  My favorite, “The Ruling Grade.”

Larry

Received mine today, it is absolutely incredible. The last chapter with his grandsons brought tears to my eyes. This is exactly what I needed during these crazy times. 
Thanks for doing this Rich.

Brad

Oh wow...that is so kind of you to say that, Brad. I'm glad you enjoyed the book.

Here's a glimpse of what he's talking about, from page 191...

Get your copy here.

From page 34 in the book, here's a photo taken in the month I was born, October 1946.

The subject of the "2765" was mentioned on another forum, and I posted a picture in response to it. Here's the story...

In 1993 we made some cosmetic changes to NKP 765 to make it look like a C&O Kanawha (pronounced kuh-NAW) which was the C&O's version of a 2-8-4. The two types were essentially identical. We renumbered the engine to "2765" which was a real Kanawha number. There is a chapter in my book about this special year, with a lot of good pictures, like this one by F. J. Ahern.

This was taken on October 23, 1993 on the old C&O in West Virginia. Passing under a classic C&O cantilevered signal bridge, the "2765" is on the point of the New River Train.

According to tracking, mine should get delivered today. 1946, you're a year younger than my Uncle Dick who is the biggest train fan in the family, maybe second to me but I doubt that. He knows way more about almost everything (toy train) than I could possibly know.

Ordered my copy last Wednesday, received it today.

Great photos, great stories. Lots to read and look at.

And, the author is pretty good, too!! 

The e-mail I got Friday said they'd be here Tuesday but mine arrived today, Monday.  So far I've only had a chance to "thumb" through mine but it looks like I'm going to be spending a few evenings away from the computer.  Best part is I now have 6 months to remind my friend that I know what he's getting for Christmas but that I can't tell him.  Yup, he finds it annoying.