NKP 765 Steam Excursion - The "Wabash Cannonball"

Rich, will your hand be on the throttle for these trips?

I hope one of these days you make it down here to N.C

Yes...Good Lord willing.

Did you know that the Wabash Railroad named its express run between Detroit and St Louis as the Wabash Cannon Ball in 1949, in the wake of the song's popularity?  It is the only actual train to bear the name, which it carried until discontinued in 1971. However, the train was named after the song, not the other way around.

The folk song was originally published 1882 as "The Great Rock Island Route" and was rewritten with different lyrics over the years with a rewritten version by William Kindt appearing in 1904 under the title "Wabash Cannon Ball".  If you sing the chorus, you can easily understand why Kindt changed the name to the Wabash Cannon Ball.  It simply sounds better like the Chattanooga Choo Choo.  Not many other names that work that well in that tune either - can you imagine the composer using "Cincinnati Choo Choo"?

Did we hear correctly from Nathan that there will be no Dismals?

The only reason we have used diesels in the past was to stretch the coal mileage. At just over 200 miles round trip, we don't need to do that on this trip.

So...

But,but,but you can't do that, I mean, there HAS to be one everywhere a steam engine goes. 

That "policy" is really only under Amtrak operated excursions. Then there is the Union Pacific!?!

20 years in the making is really not just marketing hyperbole. This is truly a testament to the changes that have come about at NS and the amount of trust FWHS and 765 has earned running for them the past two years. HW nailed the key point, this isn't a Amtrak excursion, this isn't a Class 1 excursion. I would love to know how this will be insured. I didn't think it was possible to get affordable insurance without Amtrak these days. Again congrats to FWHS.

Are you absolutely sure of that?

Nope

I'm not sure what a "Class 1 excursion" is, but this IS an excursion on a Class 1 railroad. So I guess that makes it a "Class 1 Excursion." 

As to the insurance coverage, the same coverage is in effect for these trips as that which covered the Rocky River trips and the Horseshoe Curve trips back in May.

Thinking about this upcoming run, I wonder what the maximum allowable speed will be? Theres a thread over at RYPN about UK excursions running at 90 mph, and some of the pacing shots on the UP seem to approach or exceed this speed. Of course this is out in the middle of nowhere. Just a fantasy, but it would be terrific to run on the NE Corridor, doing what these fast engines were meant to do, haul tonnage at speed.

40 mph max track speed on the excursions.

I would not want to go anywhere near the NE Corridor with the 765!

So the NS trips where insured by a 3rd party, or NS is insuring these trips?

Details like this are confidential and on a "need to know" basis. Therefore I cannot comment.

Sorry, I understand, not trying to pry, just trying to understand how steam operates in this day and age. After a long drought, we are fortunate to so many excursions as of late. Loving every moment of it.

Rich - Do you know where it will cross US31?.....

At the US31 grade crossing. Sorry...I had to say that. 

We'll be running the ex-Wabash through Peru. We'll go over the crossing that is right at the intersection of US31 and US24.

Just west of Peru, IN, US 31 does cross over the NS/exWabash tracks.

EDIT: Behind the McDonalds billboard sign

http://goo.gl/maps/ecFbx

US31 goes over the tracks, but that's the spot.

Great. I know right where that is at..... Thanks. 

Tickets went fast...