Hi,

The Joliet Rocket excursion is just a week away! However, 765 is still in New Haven. My dad and I are planning to go see it somewhere in Northwest Indiana when it deadheads to Joliet, but we don't know what line it will take place on. I've heard rumors that it will be traveling over at least part of the ex-EJ&E, but I've never heard of 765 running over CN trackage. Can anyone clarify what Joliet-bound route she will take?

Thanks,
Thomas Dyrek

a little digging revealed it might be now going to Cleveland, my hunch is about right because Lasalle Depot where it will originate was used by the NYC. Now the NS has the NYC trackage, the obvious route in is on NYC track to Lasalle. It would be a very rare shot because the South Shore parallels the NYC west of South Bend a whiles. So if you can get a south shore train and 765 on the same shot thats a historical moment.

I have no clues on scheduling, but like many fans of this biz it gets around the grapevine, but FWRHS has a habit of not revealing various things.

Trains will originate in Joliet, making 2 RTs each day to LaSalle St from there. 765's route to Joliet has not been disclosed or leaked as yet. Ex-NYC trackage no longer goes to LaSalle St. in any event--it ends in Whiting, IN where NS track shifts to the ex-PRR right-of-way just east of the Hammond-Whiting Amtrak station.

How about this? NKP to Hammond, north on the Kankakee, west at Gibson on the IHB to Blue Island, reverse move up the hill onto the Metra Rock Island, Metra pulls train backward to Joliet, which correct me if I'm wrong, keeps the engine facing the correct way without turning it at any point. Coming home of course, 765 would need to be turned or wyed somewhere. Does IHB have rights to the whole wye at 136th street in Blue island? How about the turntable up by 123rd street in Blue Island? Just idle thoughts and Google Maps.

4,000 feet of that Blue Island connection is CSX owned. Deal killer. We tried last year.

The struggle to get steam locomotives in and out of Chicago will become the stuff of legends, but in the meanwhile it's greatly increased my bar tab.

Well, so much for THAT idea. Hard to know exactly what the ownership of certain segments are from the resources I have. I was hoping that the IHB had enough of an umbrella over that area to give you guys cover. When I've been at the Island, I've seen such a hodgepodge of equipment on different tracks that sometimes you have no idea who's train you are actually seeing.

If the IHB won't work, how about going up the CN through Kankakee, Peotone, Homewood, etc. to the Metra Electric's Blue Island line that splits off a couple stations south of their Chicago terminal at Millennium Station, and then connect to the Rock Island there. Of course, a diesel would have to be called in to lead the train over the electric line since it would have to make at least one reverse move on it. Perhaps one of those SW1's--that would be a railfan's dream catch!

No matter how it gets there, I'm just hoping that it WILL get there.

the 765 twitter hints the engine is in Georgia and basically confirmed down there doing testing, so its route up may be variable according to traffic, and predictable timing could be impossible. someone following the engine would have to report in.

Stop for a second and think about it. How would 765 have been moved, completely sight unseen by the modern railfan/public, from Indiana to Georgia, without a trace? Honestly?!!?!

I imagine that the GPS tracker is currently with someone in Georgia (not attached to the engine) and is being tested that way, or something similar...

We can make the tracker say the engine is in Alaska, but yeah, it's still in test mode.

http://fortwaynerailroad.org/track-765/

Nope, I personally saw them push 765 into the back of a C17 Globemaster at Baer Field err, Fort Wayne International Airport and fly it out of town. :)

ROFL

so its in Pittsanglesago

Move this to "railfanning"? The preservation content is weak at best and is not the primary topic.

Bob Milhaupt

765 is a preserved engine which I helped restore and filmogrphed the original restoration from Lawton park to its first move on its own.