Steam & Excursion > 765 Fall Colors Excursions

Here's an edit of several scenes of Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 #765 pulling fall colors excursions on the Indiana Northeastern between Pleasant Lake, Indiana, and Hillsdale, Michigan.  These scenes were shot on Friday and Saturday, October 18th and 19th, 2025.

Catch the last scene where the 765 blows a single perfect smoke ring.  The shot runs long at the end, but this is how I shot it while standing next to the camera and enjoying the sound of the whistle drifting back as the train eased through downtown Angola.  It seemed the perfect end to the day.

Enjoy!

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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Super nice, Mary...great sound and video! Thanks for posting.

•Tom (Seattle)

That's a great video.  Thanks, Mary.  It brings back a lot of memories.

Jim

Awesome!  Thank you very much.

-John
 

Thanks for sharing, Mary. That certainly is a fine train. .The Berks were not only good looking but very accomplished machines.

Yes, a smoke ring. I never saw that before. In that sequence, I  wonder why that pickup backed up at the crossing. He/she wasn't that close. Were they intimidated by the steam loco? <G> Was that Gale Schultz on the  back platform?

Victor Baird



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/25 18:33 by wabash2800.

Excellent video!

That black smoke ring was something else...  Was Gandolf at the throttle?

Thanks for posting the video.

jkh2cpu Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That black smoke ring was something else...  Was
> Gandolf at the throttle?
>
> Thanks for posting the video.

I agree as well not very common to see one like that.

Really like how all those leaves are forced loose from overhanging tree branches first scene, then that smoke ring is amazing, and that whistle just WOW last parting shot!

Posted from Android

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

Very nice ,thanks for sharing it with us Mary !

I agree Jim. I thought the falling leaves in the begining was magical. It was almost like something done on a movie set.

Victor Baird

RailRat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Really like how all those leaves are forced loose
> from overhanging tree branches first scene, then
> that smoke ring is amazing, and that whistle just
> WOW last parting shot!
>
> Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/25 08:28 by wabash2800.

Outstanding!
Thank you!!!

Thankyou! We had very muted color change this year, so having skilfully shot video plus color is twice as good.

Rebecca Morgan
Jacobsburg, OH

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for sharing, Mary. That certainly is a fine
> train. .The Berks were not only good looking but
> very accomplished machines.
>
> Yes, a smoke ring. I never saw that before. In
> that sequence, I  wonder why that pickup backed
> up at the crossing. He/she wasn't that close. Were
> they intimidated by the steam loco? Was that Gale
> Schultz on the  back platform?
>
> Victor Baird

I can't really speak for steam engines but old fashioned "hit and miss" engines blow smoke rings very frequently. Not really sure what causes that phenomenon.

Posted from iPhone

Your usual excellent work Mary & Kurt! I've watched you grow from Newbies and getting better equipment over the years and today you are a serious participant, setting the bar high.
Smoke ring was neat. 1522 was good for doing that. Means the stack and nozzle are in line perfectly.

NICE Video! Nozzle and the stack are perfectly aligned after the big rebuild! I've seen her blow smoke rings many times since then.

Posted from Android

Great video and nicely done using a tripod and very professional looking. Love the whistle too.

Nice video!!