Steam & Excursion > Van Sweringen Private Car to New Home (NKP 1, C&O 1, N&W 1)

Link, history, details, additional photos: https://fortwaynerailroad.org/2026/08/van-sweringen-nickel-plate-car-acquired/

The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society has announced the acquisition of Nickel Plate Road Business Car No. 1, a remarkably intact Pullman-built executive car that once operated at the center of one of the most influential railroad systems in American history. Constructed in February 1929 by the Pullman Company at Calumet, the car was built for Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen — the architects of a railroad empire that spanned the Midwest and East Coast, shaping the movement of freight, industry, and capital across the nation. The car later operated as Chesapeake & Ohio No. 1 and Norfolk & Western Railway No. 1, tracing a direct line through the consolidation and evolution of American railroading in the mid-20th century.

A comprehensive overhaul is planned to address deterioration and modernize the car’s critical systems, with restoration costs expected to begin at $300,000. Once complete, Business Car No. 1 will enter service alongside Nickel Plate Road Business Car No. 7, the Kitchi Gammi Club, which the organization acquired in 2025, operating behind restored Nickel Plate steam and diesel locomotives. When preserved, historic railroad equipment is rarely reunited with the same locomotives and companion cars it was built to travel with. Together, this remarkable collection will recreate an authentic Nickel Plate Road train, offering passengers a living experience that few preservation organizations can provide.

Initial relocation costs and seed money to begin the work have been granted by a private donor and the Olive B. Cole Foundation, Inc. Click here to make a gift or contribution online or by mail at NKP 1, Post Office Box 11017, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 46855.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/26 15:22 by nathansixchime.

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NKP 1 en route to Fort Wayne, likely traveling the fastest it has in 40 years.

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Yes !!
Great news !!!

A beauty!

Amazing news-!  Glad to see this gem getting back on the rails with the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society.  Where did you locate this car-?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/26 04:18 by cozephyr.

Wow!

When can I ride it?

sf1010 Wrote:
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> Wow!
>
> When can I ride it?

If fundraising tracks well, in a year or two would be ideal. HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems all need to be renewed, with notable water intrusion and rot around the windows on one side; the entire kitchen floor needs to be replaced, and attention is needed to address some recently repaired roof leaks. About 23% of the $300,000 fundraising goal has already been reached before the car arrived in Fort Wayne this week, but it's all for the "unsexy" stuff that will make the car reliable and hospitable. Every system is over 40 years old, and the car hasn't been on power or regularly serviced in over a decade.

cozephyr Wrote:
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> Amazing news-!  Glad to see this gem getting back
> on the rails with the Fort Wayne Railroad
> Historical Society.  Where did you locate this
> car-?

Noblesville, Indiana, where it has been in residence for 20-30 years or so.

 

Hopefully, someday the FWRHS will have a resplendent home similar to Sugar Creek, Ohio, incliding shops to store all the pieces it has been acquiring. But, I know, it all costs $$$. Unless something has changed, a lot of equipment sits outside at Casod.

Victor Baird

Posted from Android

wabash2800 Wrote:
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> Hopefully, someday the FWRHS will have a
> resplendent home similar to Sugar Creek, Ohio,
> incliding shops to store all the pieces it has
> been acquiring. But, I know, it all costs $$$.
> Unless something has changed, a lot of equipment
> sits outside at Casod.
>
> Victor Baird
>
> Posted from Android

Victor, I have been preaching for years that museums and such need to concentrate on being able to properly shelter their acquisitions before they start taking in more stuff. Fund raising for car barns isn't sexy or exciting, but necessary. Just like people that leave their project cars sitting in dirt floor barns or out in the field, the extra money spent repairing all the damage will likely exceed the cost of dry shelter. Penny wise and pound foolish.

Posted from iPhone

But in this case, we aren't a museum. Most of everything we own is destined to operate in very regular service. Not even the Reading & Northern has had a facility to keep a half dozen or more cars in its fleet under any kind of cover.

In either case, we have a $450,000 grant to build a car barn, a potential matching grant for that, and will be announcing an expansion to our indoor facilities soon, thanks to another benefactor.

Just a few years ago, we had zero passenger cars. We now have a growing fleet of nine serviceable ones, including three that were restored and placed into service in 2024.

It wouldn't have made any sense to build a car barn for zero cars five years ago, but we've been planning and fundraising for one for the last 2.5 years. Any kind of facility like this would improve not just displays/storage but routine operations and servicing. 

junctiontower Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> wabash2800 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Hopefully, someday the FWRHS will have a
> > resplendent home similar to Sugar Creek, Ohio,
> > incliding shops to store all the pieces it has
> > been acquiring. But, I know, it all costs $$$.
> > Unless something has changed, a lot of
> equipment
> > sits outside at Casod.
> >
> > Victor Baird
> >
> > Posted from Android
>
> Victor, I have been preaching for years that
> museums and such need to concentrate on being able
> to properly shelter their acquisitions before they
> start taking in more stuff. Fund raising for car
> barns isn't sexy or exciting, but necessary. Just
> like people that leave their project cars sitting
> in dirt floor barns or out in the field, the extra
> money spent repairing all the damage will likely
> exceed the cost of dry shelter. Penny wise and
> pound foolish.
>
> Posted from iPhone



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/26 10:09 by nathansixchime.

Very good, Kelly. I was concerned you were collecting goodies at the expense of a place to store and maintain them out of the weather.

Victor Baird