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Here we will cover the Nickel Plate Road as it evolved into one of the merger partners that transformed the Norfolk and Western Railway from a Pocahontas Region coal hauling railroad into a major Midwestern railroad of significent size. Freight and passenger operations will be covered here as will long time ties to the Lackawanna Railroad, its major connection east of Buffalo.

1963 Profile of the Nickel Plate Road

Mileage: 2170

Locomotives: 408

Passenger Cars: 60

Freight cars: 22,305

Company Service Cars: 700

The Nickel Plate Road's operating department was organized into the following districts, which were equal to regions by today's standards: Nickel Plate,Lake Erie and Western,Clover Leave, and Wheeling Districts in which the operating divisions were organized as follows:

Nickel Plate District

1.Buffalo Division 115.4 miles

2.Cleveland Division 132.2 miles

3.Fort Wayne Division 126.5 miles

4.Chicago Division 156.6 miles

Total Nickel Plate District: 530.7 miles

Lake Erie and Western District

1.Sandusky Division 245.0 miles

2.New Castle Division 132.9 miles

3.Indianapolis Division 158.2 miles

Total LE&W District 435.1 miles

Clover Leaf District

1.Toledo Division 207.5 miles

2.St.Louis Division 248.7 miles

Total Clover Leaf District: 456.2 miles

Wheeling District 400.3 miles

Total mileage owned: 1632.2 miles

DIESELS OF THE NICKEL PLATE ROAD
EMD NW2 1000 hp 11-22 12 units
Alco S4 1000 hp 49-83 34 units
EMD SW8 800 hp 107-114 8 units
EMD SW1 600 hp 105-106 2 units
FM H12-44 1200 hp 139-155 17 units
EMD SW7 1200 hp 230-232 3 units
EMD SW9 1200 hp 233-244 12 units
Alco RSD12 1800 hp 250-258 9 units
EMD SD9 1750 hp 340-359 20 units
EMD GP7 1500 hp 400-447 48 units
EMD GP9 1750 hp 448-534 86 units
Alco RS3 1600 hp 541-557 16 units
Alco RS11 1800 hp 563-577 15 units
EMD GP18 1800 hp 700-709 10 units
EMD GP9 psgr 1750 hp 800-814 15 units
Alco RS36 1800 hp 850-864 15 units
EMD GP30 2250 hp 900-909 10 units
EMD GP35 2500 hp 910-918 9 units
The Nickel Plate Road is best remembered for its  high speed freight service, which was handled by Berkshire class   steam locomotives right into 1960 at about which time the last one was  retired. NKP High Speed freight  service was characterized by short,fast, and frequent trains,many of which made  few, if   any intermediate stops between terminalls they were scheduled to serice. Schedules of a few of these trains are  shown in the  supporting text section  down below. Like its neighbors, the Nickel Plate road got into  piggyback  service as part of a  widerange of service products.Among the commodities handled included meat, frozen foods, vegitables and fruits,forest  products, coal, and chemicals, to name  most  of the.The railroad did not rely on any one commodity to provide the  bulk  of its revenues.Some of those fruits and vegitables to deliver in the New York area were  set off    at   Marion,Ohio  to connect with Erie    Train No. 74, Other connections for New York were  made at Buffalo with the Lackawanna, Erie, Lehigh Valley, and  Reading.

Sample Nickel Plate Road Freight Schedules
Table 1.CB-12 Chicago to Buffalo
Lv Calumet............0830     CT
Lv Osborn..............0945     CT
Ar Fort Wayne.......1315     CT
Lv Fort Wayne........1345
Ar Bellevue.............1700
Lv Bellevue.............1900     ET
Ar Conneaut...........2300
Lv Conneaut...........2315
Ar Buffalo...............0245
Table 2.CB2. Chicago to Buffalo
Lv Calumet....................1930 CT
Lv Osborn......................2030
Ar Fort Wayne...............0005
Lv Fort Wayne...............0035
Ar Bellevue....................0355 CT
Lv Bellevue....................0555 ET
Ar Conneaut..................1100
Lv Conneaut..................1135
Ar Buffalo......................1530
Table 3. CD54 Cleveland to Buffalo
Lv Cleveland (E.55th St.)..........2300
Ar Conneaut............................0200
Lv Conneaut............................0300
Ar Erie....................................0500
Ar Buffalo................................0700
Most eastbound NKP freights made connections with the  following trains at Buffalo,NY:
DL&W: BH8,NE4,NE6,BH2
LVRR: BNE2,BP2
NYC: SLD6
Erie: 84,78
PRR:  BNY16,BF14,BF4.
Table 4. MB98. East St. Louis to Buffalo
Lv Madison..................1100 CT
Ar Charleston...............1420
Lv Charleston................1440
Ar Fraonkfort................1800
Lv Frankfort...................1925
Ar  Lima........................0020
Lv Lima.........................0050
Ar  Bellevue...................0400
Lv Bellevue....................0600
Ar Conneaut..................1106
Lv Conneaut...................1120
Ar Buffalo.......................1530 connect to  Erie 98 at   Lima,Ohio.
Table 5. BC3. Buffalo to Bellevue
Lv Buffalo......................1500
ar Erie..........................1800
ArConneaut..................2000
Lv Conneaut.................2100
Ar Bellevue...................0300
Table 6.NS-1 Buffalo to St. Louis
Lv Buffalo......................2130
Ar Conneaut.................0130
Lv Conneaut.................0200
Ar Bellevue..................0730
Lv Bellevue..................0830
Ar Lima......................1150
Lv Lima......................1250
Ar Frankfort................1750
Lv Frankfort................1825
Ar Charleston.............2300
Lv Chaleston..............2315
Ar Madison                0400
Table 7.  NC3 Buffalo to Chicago
Lv Buffalo...................2345
Ar Conneaut...............0400
Lv Conneaut...............0420
Ar Bellevue................0845
Lv Bellevue................1030
Ar Fort Wayne...........1600
Lv Fort Wayne............1630
Ar Calumet.................2300
1955 Passenger Train Schedules(condensed, only scheduled stops shown)
Table1. Chicago-Fort Wayne-Cleveland-Buffalo
8.................6.................Stations...............7.............5
0920.......2235......Lv Chicago..........Ar..1440.........0630
0935.......2249..........Englewood...........1427.........0612
1014.......2313..........Hammond.............1352........0522
1110.......0013..........Knox....................1245........0411
1123.......c...............Hibbard.................1228........0352
1230.......0146..........Fort Wayne...........1109........0235
1235.......0201......Lv Fort Wayne.......Ar.1102........0220
1416........u..............Continental............1107.........0221
1452.......0424..........North Findlay.........1028........0137
1512.......0445..........Fostoria................1013.........0118
1551.......0525.......ArBellevue..........Lv...0934........0037
1554......0530........LvBellevue..........Ar...0930........0032
1643......0620...........Lorain...................0848........2345
1730......0705.........Ar Cleveland......Lv...0805........2255
1745......0725.........Lv Cleveland......Ar...0750........2230
1826......0819..........Painesville.............0710.........2230
1853......0852.........Ashtabula..............0644..........2115
1912.....0912......Ar Conneaut.........Lv..0626...........2056
1917.....0917......Lv Conneaut.........ar..0622...........2051
-------.....1011..........Northeast..............------...........-------
2023.....1027..........Westfield..............-------..........-------
-------......1046.........Dunkirk...............--------...........1920
2135.....1140     Ar Buffalo,NY.....Lv...0420.............1830
Table2. Cleveland-St. Louis (condensed Schedule)
10..............Stations...................9
1800....L ...St.Louis.......A.....0645
1830....East St.Louis............0610
2340....A Frankfort..........L....0055
2350....L Frankfort...........A...0045
0115......Muncie...................2308
0152......Portland.................2224
0435.....South Lima.............2200
0500........Lima....................2145
0600.......Findlay..................2045
0700.......Bellevue................1928
0746.......Lorain...................1842
0830  A  Cleveland..........L...1800