| A pair of New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (better known as Nickel Plate Road) locos are double heading a long string of gondolas in this action shot caught by Wayne Ellis. The lead unit, NKP 2-6-6-2 #960, was originally built as Wheeling and Lake Erie #8001 in August of 1919 but rolled onto the NKP roster in 1949 when the NKP leased the WLE, thus merging the two railroads. Specs - serial #52178, WLE class I-3, 57" drivers, 225 psi boiler pressure, 23x32" high pressure cylinders, 35x32" low pressure cylinders, engine weight of 452,000 lb, tractive effort of 79,336 lb. The loco moved over to the Nickel Plate Road roster after the merger. Wayne Ellis photo |