Article: http://www.journalgazette.net/news/loca ... ource-site
FWRHS to Restore NKP no. 624Acquiring the land with an environmental indemnification would clear the way for the city to sell the property to one of several interested suitors. One of those suitors is the Headwaters Junction railroad museum and roundhouse, which hopes to house the Nickel Plate 765 steam locomotive at that location. Original plans for Headwaters Junction placed the facility at a site on Harrison Street currently occupied by Pepsi.
“We've shifted focus from the Pepsi site as it was on the Riverfront Master Plan back to North River, which is where the project was originally conceived,” said Kelly Lynch, vice president of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society. “We are in the process of obtaining property and right-of-way from Norfolk Southern to reach the riverfront district.”
Although there is interest in using the North River site for Headwaters Junction, several other prospective buyers have expressed interest, Lynch said.
Video and story: http://www.wpta21.com/story/36833587/fw ... locomotive
Headwaters Junction, Inc. is currently engaged with Norfolk Southern to acquire and develop West Wayne and the remainder of the Fort Wayne & Jackson right-of-way to 4th Street. While "North River" has always been the first choice, West Wayne is an alternate.The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society is working on restoring a Nickel Plate Road 624 steam locomotive that was originally built in 1922.
The train was retired and put on display in Hammond, Indiana in 1955 and was there until 2016 when the FWRHS, backed by a private donor, made a deal to move it to Wabash and begin work to restore it.
"A lot of people will ask 'Why? What's so important about a steam engine?' Walt Disney has a great quote that 'a modern train is just a train, but with a steam engine it's a happening," said Vice President of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, Kelly Lynch.
He says they plan to make it look like it originally did in 1922, and potentially restore it to be fully operational.
Then, it will most likely move to its new home, Headwaters Junction. It's the proposed re-created rail yard that was adopted as part of the city's riverfront development plan.
Our study shows an additional 140,000 visitors downtown each year for the rail-yard park, tourist railroad, roundhouse and interpretive center. Steel Dyanmics, the Community Foundation and PNC Bank all donated over $70,000k in 2015 and 2016 to explore, study and market the attraction.
We think we can, we think we can...