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News & Information
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February 15
Latest News
Frankfort-Midwest Rail Heritage Trust Posts New Web Site - Help Preserve Frankfort Roundhouse
The Frankfort-Midwest Rail Heritage Trust, that was founded to preserve American Railroad Equipment, Appliances and Structures focusing on the Nickel Plate Road Roundhouse of Frankfort, Indiana, has a new web site at http://www.raisetheroundhouse.com/. Please visit the site to learn more about how you can help preserve the roundhouse. Click on "Learn more >>" at the bottom of the home page.
You may also download a PDF version of their brochure by clicking here. The brochure provides information and history on the roundhouse and rail heritage of the area, and a form which you may use to contribute to the preservation effort.
Nickel Plate Road GP-30 #901 To Be Restored To Original NKP Lettering
Plans are to restore Nickel Plate Road GP-30 #901, currently owned by the Cincinnati Railway Company and in Indiana and Ohio Railroad colors, back to NKP paint, but help is needed to make this possible. Please read the flyer found here for information on the project and how you can help.
Event Calendar
We now have an Event Calendar on which you may post any railroad related events such as train shows and swap meets, museum events, throttle time, excursions, etc. Please click here to post your event or read what others have posted.
Convention Information
Preservation Information and Nickel Plate Equipment Rosters
- NKPHTS Preservation List Existing NKP equipment and buildings.
- NKPHTS Preservation Pictures
- Nickel Plate Equipment Rosters and Rolling Stock Acquisition Year by Year
- Our Links Page
- Ohio Railroad Stations Past & Present (off site)
Museum News
Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum
Dedication of Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum
The Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum in Bellevue, Ohio will be dedicated to the memory of Bill Fuehring on June 21, 2008.
Bill was one of the primary founders of this museum, which was opened June 25, 1976 as one of Bellevue's lasting Bicentennial projects and is now the largest railroad museum in Ohio. Bill was a dreamer, refusing to believe anything was impossible when it came to obtaining and preserving the history and lore of railroading for future generations.
After Bill's passing in October, 2006, the officers and Board of Directors decided to honor his memory and devotion to the museum with this dedication. The ceremony will take place at 1pm on June 21, 2008 at the museum. The public is invited to attend. This ceremony will occur just 4 days short of 32 years from the time Bill officiated at the original opening of the museum. Following the ceremony, musical entertainment will be provided by Steve Jeffris from Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a friend to Bill and the museum.
The Mad River & NKP Railroad Society is a non-profit, public-supported organization which owns and operates this hands-on museum, where you can see examples of many facets of railroad history. Learn how the railroads helped develop our country, see how military troops traveled by rail in World War II, see how a railway post office worked, sit in a coach that traveled through Bellevue daily, see the first dome car ever built and a dining car where you would have partaken in a delicious, freshly prepared meal. Volunteer members restore and renovate historic equipment and buildings and staff the museum.
If you would like to download a flyer about the dedication, please click here for a Word file and here for a PDF file.
Genealogy/Former Railroad Employee Information and Sources
We have received numerous requests as to where to find information on former Nickel Plate employees. Unfortunately, when the Norfolk & Western Railway took over the Nickel Plate Road in October of 1964, they moved all records to Roanoke, VA, or destroyed them on site to help bury the Nickel Plate name. Many records, if not most, including those of former employees, were destroyed. Some of our historical society members personally saved a few records that were scheduled to be destroyed just before they were loaded into a garbage truck or incinerator, but rarely have individual employee records turned up.
However, the Railroad Retirement Board is a Federal agency and the pensions paid by employees are literally "Federal" pensions. No railroad, especially the Norfolk and Western, could simply dispose of personnel records that would have anything to do with railroad retirement benefits. All during the course of an employee's career, they paid a portion of their pay to the RRB and it was administered by the employing railroad.
The Railroad Retirement Board provides a genealogical search service and links to other sources that may turn up information on previous employees of any railroad. Their specific web page that deals with this type of search is at:
You may also contact the RRB by phone at one of their field offices or by email. Contact information links can be found on their home page at http://www.rrb.gov/.
In addition, George G. Morgan has written some excellent articles about Social Security and Railroad Retirement and Railroad Genealogical information. His articles can be found at Ancestry.com through the following links. Please click on:
- Social Security and Railroad Retirement
- More About Social Security and Railroad Retirement Efforts
- Even More About Social Security Records
- Researching Old Railroads
- More Railroad Lines and Resources
Many thanks to Jon Marx for making the NKPHTS aware of Mr. Morgan's articles.
Government Railroad Research Sites
- The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society Guide to Railroad Records at the National Archives
- Railroad Maps 1828-1900 US Library of Congress Railroad Maps Site
- DOT Investigations Of Railroad Accidents 1911 - 1966 Click on "I.C.C. Historical Railroad Investigation Reports (1911-1966)"
Railroad Safety Information
- Operation Lifesaver
- Angels on Track
- National Transportation Safety Board
- Federal Railroad Administration
- North American Railway Foundation
The NKPHTS logo and the name "Nickel Plate Road" are registered trademarks of the NKPHTS, Inc.