This Legendary Steam Locomotive Is Rolling Through Michigan For A Limited Time

There is something about a steam locomotive that stops you in your tracks and not because it is quiet because it is anything but that.

The whistle carries for miles across open farmland and the plume of black smoke rises against the sky like a signal from another century and that is exactly what it is.

Nickel Plate Road Number 765 is one of the last operating Berkshire-type steam locomotives in the country.

For a handful of days it rolls through the Michigan countryside pulling excursion cars full of passengers who paid for the chance to feel the floor vibrate under their feet and watch the landscape unspool through an open window at a speed the interstate forgot.

You can stand at a crossing and watch it pass or buy a ticket and ride it yourself and either way the experience does not last long enough which is exactly what makes it worth chasing. Michigan has a long rail history and for a few days you can watch a piece of it breathe fire back into life.

Check The Official Schedule First

The first surprise is how specific this appearance is. Nickel Plate Road No. 765 is scheduled to enter Michigan on Friday, June 19, and Saturday, June 20, 2026, as part of the Indiana Rail Experience’s Tri-State Scenic Steam Excursion.

The all-day round trip begins at 9 a.m. at 206 South Michigan Street in Edon, Ohio, travels through northeastern Indiana, and reaches Hillsdale, Michigan, at approximately 11:30 a.m.

Passengers will have a three-hour layover to eat and explore downtown Hillsdale before the train departs at 2:30 p.m. The return journey includes a planned photo runby at approximately 4 p.m., with arrival back in Edon scheduled for 6 p.m.

Because passengers board in Ohio rather than Michigan, anyone hoping to ride behind No. 765 should plan accordingly and confirm the latest ticketing and operational details through the official Indiana Rail Experience schedule before traveling.

Book Early If Hillsdale Is Your Goal

Tickets for No. 765 excursions have a habit of moving faster than casual planners expect. That makes sense once you see the locomotive in person: this is one of the few operating mainline steam engines in North America, maintained by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, and people travel for it.

If Hillsdale is the destination you care about, waiting politely until the last minute is not a strategy.

The practical fix is simple. Watch the excursion announcements, choose your date early, and book as soon as the trip that includes Hillsdale opens.

Some itineraries reach Hillsdale, some go to Jonesville, and some are seasonal, so the town itself should guide your ticket decision rather than the broad idea of catching the train somewhere in the region.

Choose Your Car With Honest Expectations

One of the quieter decisions is also one of the most important: pick the accommodation tier that actually suits your day. Indiana Rail Experience trips have offered options ranging from Deluxe Coach to First Class and Pullman Class, and the difference is not abstract when you are spending hours aboard.

Comfort, legroom, onboard atmosphere, and the general rhythm of the trip all change with that choice.

If your main thrill is hearing the locomotive work and leaning into the historic feel, coach may be perfectly satisfying. If you know you enjoy a little more space and a calmer ride, it is worth studying the descriptions before you click purchase.

No. 765 provides the drama either way, but your car determines how comfortably you absorb it for the long haul.

Understand Why The Locomotive Matters

Before the whistle even starts rearranging your pulse, it helps to know what you are looking at. Nickel Plate Road No. 765 is an S-2 class 2-8-4 Berkshire built by Lima Locomotive Works in 1944 for the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, better known as the Nickel Plate Road.

It was designed for fast freight and passenger service, which gives the machine a certain muscular elegance instead of mere bulk.

That history changes the experience in Hillsdale. You are not watching a decorative museum piece trundle out for nostalgia duty, but a locomotive type built to work hard and move efficiently.

Standing near the line, I found that useful context sharpened every impression, from the wheel arrangement to the sheer confidence of the engine under steam.

Use The Hillsdale Layover Well

The Tri-State Scenic format is especially appealing because it gives Hillsdale time instead of just a fleeting pass through. On excursions that run from Edon, Ohio, to Hillsdale, the schedule has included an approximately three-hour layover, which is long enough to breathe, walk, and notice the town rather than treating it as a backdrop.

That unhurried interval is part of the charm.

Hillsdale feels manageable on foot, and that matters after several hours of rail travel. You can step away from the platform energy, look around downtown, and return without sprinting or second guessing every block.

My advice is to resist overplanning. Leave yourself room to watch the locomotive, absorb the station area, and enjoy the odd pleasure of a famous steam engine briefly becoming part of an ordinary Michigan afternoon.

Arrive Ready For Sound, Soot, And Scale

Photographs prepare you for the shape of No. 765, but not really for its presence. The whistle cuts through town with a seriousness that feels almost architectural, and the exhaust has a chest-level force that reminds you steam is both spectacle and machinery.

Even before the locomotive moves, the heat, odor, and small flecks that come with coal-fired operation create a different sensory world.

That means a few simple practical choices pay off. Wear something you do not mind bringing home with a faint railroad memory on it, keep your phone lens clear, and stay aware of where the wind is pushing the plume.

Children usually notice the sound first; adults tend to register the scale a second later. Either way, Hillsdale becomes memorable very quickly once the engine starts speaking.

Look For Open-Air Viewing Opportunities

Some of the best moments happen where the trip feels least sealed off. Indiana Rail Experience excursions have often included open vestibules and open-air souvenir cars, and that slight exposure to wind, cinders, sound, and changing light makes the journey feel dramatically more alive.

Through a standard window you observe the train. In open air, you participate in it.

If that option is available on your run, use it early and often, especially as the train settles into a steady pace. The countryside around southern Michigan and nearby Indiana reads differently when accompanied by the locomotive’s beat and the slipstream off the cars.

I would still keep a seat inside for the longer stretches, but those open sections are where the historic illusion becomes wonderfully convincing.

Bring A Camera, But Expect Patience

No. 765 is almost unfairly photogenic. The proportions of a Berkshire, the dark finish, and the emphatic steam effects do half the work for you, which is handy because the other half still requires patience.

Some excursions include planned photo runbys, and if yours does, treat it as a chance to prepare thoughtfully rather than a guarantee that every frame will look heroic.

Steam photography is a game of timing, weather, smoke drift, and the sometimes comic unpredictability of crowds shifting at once. Choose a spot early, keep your settings simple, and leave yourself a few seconds to just watch the train instead of chasing perfection.

My favorite images are usually the ones that preserve context too: trackside grass, waiting passengers, and the locomotive belonging briefly to the landscape.

Plan Around Local Street Closures And Safety Zones

A steam event like this changes the normal shape of a small town day.

In places such as Hillsdale, temporary street closures and controlled crossing access may be used to manage crowds and keep everyone safe, which is entirely sensible once you see how many people a locomotive of this stature can attract.

The key is to build that possibility into your timing.

Do not assume you can drive right up to the perfect viewing point at the last second. Park with a short walk in mind, wear shoes that handle pavement and ballast-adjacent areas sensibly, and follow barriers without trying to outsmart them.

The mood is festive, but the railroad environment is still serious. A little extra walking is a small price for a calmer day and a much better chance of seeing No. 765 well.

Treat Your Ticket As Preservation Support

There is something grounding about remembering that No. 765 runs because people keep showing up to care for it. The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society is an all-volunteer organization, and that fact lends the whole experience a different moral texture.

You are not only buying passage behind a famous locomotive; you are helping sustain the labor, expertise, and long patience required to keep mainline steam alive.

That support is visible in the engine’s condition and in how coherently the excursions are presented. Preservation can sound abstract until you are standing beside hot steel that was built in 1944 and is still operating convincingly in the present tense.

I left with the pleasant sense that a ticket here does more than purchase entertainment. It directly reinforces a living piece of railroad history.

Watch For Seasonal And Future Michigan Appearances

If you miss one run, that is disappointing, but it does not always mean the opportunity has vanished for good.

In addition to summer Tri-State Scenic operations, the 2024 calendar included Fall Color Train excursions to Hillsdale on October 19 and 20, showing how the locomotive’s Michigan appearances can take on a different character with the season.

Autumn gives the Berkshire a particularly handsome stage.

It is also worth keeping an eye on future schedules, since mentions of 2025 Tri-State Steam Scenic trips suggest the partnership’s reach may continue. The sensible habit is to think in windows, not one-off miracles.

Hillsdale works especially well when you match the trip to your own preferences, whether that means longer daylight, cooler weather, or simply the pleasure of seeing steam against a corridor of changing leaves.