Steam Powered: The Nickle Plate Locomotive No. 765 Passes Through Avon, Avon Lake

Avon Lake resident and photographer Bob Quinlan took the initial photo with this article of the historic Nickle Plate steam locomotive No. 765 on its way from Rocky River to Bellevue on Mother's Day.

The train, built in 1944, made its last revenue run in 1958 and then began to deteriorate.

In 1972, the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society (FWRHS) formed and began restorations which were complete in 1979. The train was back on the tracks from 1979 through 1993 pulling 100,000 passengers over about 52,000 miles of special excursions in 16 states. The train enjoyed a period of fame before more work was required for it to run on a mainline.

In 2010, the train became Amtrak certified and in 2011 made numerous trips on the Cuyahoga Valley Line.

The Mother's Day 2013 trip, which began in Rocky River quickly sold out, gave train enthusiasts a chance to watch the train pass by twice on May 12, on both the Avon and Avon Lake sides of the railroad tracks. The train is scheduled to make several "dead head" runs during the rest of the year of non-revenue, non-passenger moves that do not operate on a schedule.

The Rock Pile in Avon took advantage of the train's passing on May 12, setting up a food truck and encouraging visitors to stop by and watch the train's passing in the morning and again in the late afternoon.