When the NKP 765 was in Pennsylvania recently, it was scheduled to go home via
Norfolk Southern's Cleveland Line, which runs right past my house. I told my
parents about it, and my mother said, "I want to see it!" Unfortunately, its
route changed and she couldn't, but there was a second chance.

My parents are over eighty years old, and they celebrated their 60th wedding
anniversary in June of 2012. My father has been in failing health for several months,
and lately, my mother has been spending most of her time at the hospital, by his
bedside. I suggested that we could see another steam engine, the former CP
1293, which was running on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad in September.
She jumped at the chance.

On Saturday the 15th, the CVSR ran an excursion beginning at their station in
Brecksville, to be preceded by a photo run-by. We got to the station in plenty
of time. I helped my mother to a picnic table well back from the tracks, and
went to join the photo line. In due course, the locomotive came into view,
chugging and puffing loudly enough to drown out the clicking of a couple of
hundred cameras. It pulled down to the station, then backed up out of sight for
another runby as I moved to a different spot for wide-angle shots. Finally, it
pulled to its boarding location. As the passengers were climbing onto the
coaches, I was taking my fill of detail shots. When the train was ready to
depart, the engineer blew a long blast on the whistle to make sure nobody was
near the tracks. I was about thirty feet away from the locomotive, and just
about jumped out of my skin. I had no idea just how loud a steam whistle is!

I rejoined my mother. With a huge grin, she said that she had a wonderful time
watching all the people, and all the dogs, and the train!


My father, Niel Richardson, died on September 21, 2012, six days after these pictures were taken.