A DREAM COME TRUE... SORT OF I Derailed 765 BY ELIOT SCHER/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR
THERE ARE LOTS OF FOLKS WHO DREAM about being the engineer on a giant steam locomotive. For most of us, dreaming is about all we will ever get to do. Dreaming is the source of all of our endeavors, but I’m a realist, too. Dreams are essential for young hearts to follow, but I’m 62 years old and I don’t have an engineer’s license. I re- tired from the classroom at age 55 and followed middle age dreams. Photogra- phy called me and, with grit and deter- mination, I forged a small business cre- ating fine art photographs. I travel America and abroad and I love to pho- tograph surviving steam locomotives. I know there are very few of them and the folks who care for these remaining
behemoths are loath to turn them over to the “train nuts” who want to live out some fantasy. So it was last February when I saw
an announcement on one of my favorite online discussion forums. In bold let- ters the invitation from the Hoosier Valley Railroad Society screamed, “Run the 765 Berkshire Class Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive for one hour!” I had to read the words two or three times. My heart raced and my hands shook. I waved the iPad at my wife as my fingers fumbled to get more details. I quickly learned the an- nouncement had just been made hours before and there were only a few spots left — they were selling that quickly.
For $765 I could be the engineer on the largest steam locomotive east of the Mississippi and all I had to do was take out my credit card and make the call. “Do it,” my wife urged. “You’ll never
forget the experience.” I knew she was right but I didn’t know if I would be up to the task and $765 was a lot of mon- ey. “What are you waiting for?” she asked me. “It’s the opportunity of a life- time. I will give it to you as a Valen- tine’s Day present.” How much encouragement does a
man need? My wife reached for the telephone and asked me for the contact information. Within minutes I had one of the few spots left. In just four short months, I would be off to North Judson,
OPPOSITE: Without a doubt, author Eliot Scher looks the part of steam locomotive engineer as he prepares to spend some time at the throttle of Nickel Plate Road 765 at the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in South Judson, Ind. ABOVE: Only a few short moments after assuming the right-hand seat, rails spread under the 765 causing a minor derailment, and prematurely ending the author’s brief career.
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