Historic steam train turning point changed

7/27/2012

Steam trains that Norfolk Southern and the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society will run this weekend for railroad employees will go to Maumee instead of a South Toledo rail yard to turn around, the historical society has announced.

The trains, led by historic Nickel Plate Road engine 765, will be based at Homestead Yard in Oregon and run through East Toledo, cross the Maumee River near the Toledo grain elevators, and then use the track that crosses over the Anthony Wayne Trail near the Toledo Zoo and passes the east end of the Lucas County fairgrounds before reaching the railroad yard in Maumee.

The train’s western turning point had previously been announced as being at Air Line Junction in South Toledo.

Tickets are not available to the public for the trains, but the historical society has publicized them as an opportunity for the public to see the 68-year old steam engine in operation. The Toledo stop is part of a tour that included trips between Bellevue and Bucyrus, Ohio last weekend.

Two roundtrips are planned Saturday and Sunday between Oregon and Maumee, leaving Oregon at about 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day. The special train, which NS is running for employees to celebrate its 30th corporate anniversary, is scheduled to leave Oregon early Monday, headed back to Bellevue and eventually its next stop in Williamson, W.Va.