The railroads built America. They won wars, built cities, and carried citizens from coast to coast.

Steam locomotives were utilized for 150 years. They were built to be stronger and faster, and to better perform their duties, but they were replaced by more efficient, modern machines.

Why are they important now? Why do they matter?

These were precision machines forged and crafted from solid steel. They meant something to those who worked in their shadow. Make no mistake, however, these iron horses, so often romanticized, take hard, unwieldy work to corral and maintain. They lived and breathed, had voices and moods, and hummed with an audible heartbeat; they were the most human of all our inventions.

The 765 is one of a famous class of steam locomotives called the Berkshire; one known for its “superpower” technology and aesthetic charm.

The men and women of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society saved the 765 from becoming a rusting monument in a city park and restored it to operating condition in 1979.

For fourteen years after, the 765 would run special excursion trains around the country to the delight of 100,000 passengers. From 1993 to 2005, the 765 was completely rebuilt, and is now more than ready to reach another hundred thousand people.