The route through this town is now part of the Indiana Northeastern Railroad. The NKP 765 steam locomotive is operated by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society
Craig Jon Berndt posted two photos with the comment:
PLEASANT LAKE. Steam power!! The attached photos were looking north and south in or before the mid-1950s.The 1st view was looking north from the granary at a mixed freight train crossing Main St. The yard tracks on the left side of the train served the then long-gone gravel quarry trains at the now Boy Scout Camp north of Long Lake. The local freight was delivering parcel freight to the depot.The south view shows the depot, granary and silo where they burned corn husks. A diesel locomotive is parked on the left side of the mainline.
David Buell: My grandfather worked at the grainery as a teenager. He delivered corn still on the cob to people with livestock. He delivered it with a horse and a wagon and used a stick with a bushel basket on the end to measure the amount he was delivering. He had a deferment from WWII because he was the only male child in the family and had a mother and sister to care for. One day he said the boss upset him, so he took his deferment to the draft office and joined the Navy and saw action in the Philippines island hopping.
Keith Chrysler: I remember helping load some of the last box cars at the CO-OP with wheat. Penn Central discontinued service to P Lake soon afterward. I'm happy that INE has rescued portions of the FWJ&S line and they have lots of business!
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| Craig Jon Berndt commented on Keith's comment Keith Chrysler: Craig Jon Berndt I'm not sure but I didn't have my driver's license yet so, prior to 1970. |
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| Mark Frazier commented on Craig's post Steam action Pleasant Lake June 2022 |
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| AR1VOG000010083, 1958-10-31, 1:24,000 |
In the street views, I noticed there was a gondola car setting on a siding. When I noticed different cars setting on that siding on a satellite image, I fired up Google Earth. The cars don't change frequently, but they do change some.
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| Google Earth, Apr 2022 |
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| Jim Pearson Photography posted The conductor of the American History Train, being led by Nickel Plate Road (NKP) steam locomotive 765, heads to his train on September 24th, 2022, at Pleasant Lake, Indiana. NKP 765 was pulling the American History Train between Pleasant Lake from Angola, Indiana during the annual American History Days Festival. It took guests back to the 1940s for a living history experience. The passengers then got a 45-minute layover at Pleasant Lake where they visited with WWII reenactors, listened to live music and much more. According to Wikipedia: Pleasant Lake depot is also known as the New York Central Railroad Depot and is a historic train station located at Pleasant Lake, Steuben Township, Steuben County, Indiana. It was built in 1882 by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, and is a one-story, rectangular, Gothic Revival style frame building. It has a gable roof and is clad in board and batten siding. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 as the Pleasant Lake Depot. Nickel Plate Road 765 is a class "S-2" 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road". No. 765 continues to operate in mainline excursion service and is owned and maintained by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society and was also added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 12, 1996. Tech Info: DJI Mavic Air 2S Drone, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 100. |
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| Bryan Burton Photography posted Nickel Plate Road 765 leads the Tri-State Scenic Excursion past the Pleasant Lake Depot. 06/2024 |
Adding the guy with a suitcase was a nice touch.
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| Pennsy Productions posted |
Jul 23, 2025: Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society posted 10 photos with the comment:
The first phase of the Pleasant Lake railroad depot restoration is complete!To celebrate, the public is invited to a free open house on Saturday, August 9, along with a chance to climb aboard special ticketed Ice Cream Train rides that afternoon during the community’s annual Pleasant Lake Days festival. Visit the depot, tour our vintage train, enjoy live music — and don’t miss your chance to ride the rails on a summer afternoon! It’s a celebration of small-town pride, local history, and a shared investment in Pleasant Lake.Originally built in 1882, the station has been thoughtfully renewed with restored woodwork, fresh paint, vintage signage, and authentic architectural details that honor its past — all made possible thanks to generous supporters, volunteers, and community partners. Our next phase will focus on landscaping and developing the property around the station and restoring the interior. For more details on the restoration, open house, and ice cream train, check below for our link.Underwriting and support for the project has come from Visit Indiana, Norfolk Southern, Indiana Historical Society, the M.E. Raker Foundation, the Olive B. Cole Foundation, Steuben County Tourism Bureau, and Indiana Michigan Power, among others, in a partnership with 3rd Street Construction. [This paragraph has several hot links. Please use the "posted" link above to access them.]We'll see you at the Pleasant Lake Days Ice Cream Train and Depot Open House!
Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society: 🛠️🎟️ See more restoration photos and get event information here: https://fortwaynerailroad.org/.../first-phase-of.../
Ethan Benson: The Depot looks amazingly beautiful and I really like the color. Only thing missing from the old classic photos is the train order signals and if it were possible the water tower. But who knows what the future holds. I look forward to the day when New York Central 3001 will stop by that classic Michigan Central station. [If he meant this station, it was LS&MS, not MC.]
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"Even the incorporation of an original Lake Shore & Michigan Southern coal stove for the passenger station." [FortWayneRailroad]
Fort Wayne Railroad posted five photos with the comment:
As winter has broken, Pleasant Lake is starting to look a little different, and in some ways, a little more like it once did.In collaboration with the Indiana Northeastern Railroad Company, the original railroad siding has been restored and extended through an area that historically included as many as six tracks in the days of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. As this work concluded, our carpentry gang began rebuilding the deck at the station, and we've added a new ramp in the footprint of the original. This is just the start of springtime investments.Thanks to a heads-up from our neighbors, we were also able to acquire a distressed property at the opposite end of the siding. Over the past three weeks, our volunteers have removed more than 9,000 pounds of garbage and debris from the site as part of a major remediation effort that also eliminated some incredibly hazardous materials and unsanitary conditions from the neighborhood.Work is far from over, and cleanup is ongoing. While future use of the new parcel is still being considered, we couldn't have gotten this far without support from our donors and supporters.
Ethan Benson: Well I must say I am very happy and impressed with how much has changed at pleasant Lake. In the last number of years I had no idea. At one time there were six tracks in pleasant Lake back in the Glory Days of railroading. Don't know if it'll ever look like that again, but it's starting to look pretty close. With all the passenger cars you are adding to your roster as well as restoring, I imagine that somewhere was going to be needed to accommodate space for the growing passenger fleet and maybe restored freight cars in the future. I look forward to getting down there again and seeing the progress as well as seeing my favorite Berkshire, 765 and 358. There is one thing I wonder. I know back in the day there was a water tank at Pleasant Lake are there any plans maybe in the future to bring a water tank back or is it really not necessary?
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Fort Wayne Railroad posted five photos with the comment:
THEN ➡️ NOW 🚂 WOWWe recently welcomed more than 121 supporters, volunteers, and family members (representing 30% of our membership) for our annual Members Weekend. Our closest friends enjoyed an exclusive excursion, social hour, and special experiences with our locomotives and train.The weekend also gave us a chance to celebrate Pleasant Lake’s remarkable transformation, including our beautiful new passenger platform, made possible with help from Visit Indiana. In the four years since our 50th anniversary and the beginning of our partnership with the Indiana Northeastern Railroad, our railroad family has:• Stabilized the historic Pleasant Lake depot• Restored and returned six passenger cars to service• Restored and returned a 1950s diesel locomotive to operation• Welcomed more than 80,000 visitors to Northeast Indiana (an average of 571 guests per operating day!)• Generated more than $5 million in economic impact for the regionUpcoming improvements include completing the interior restoration of the station waiting room, upgrading the parking lot, restoring additional passenger cars, and investing in infrastructure with the railroad. We have a growing list of projects large and small. If you're interested in adopting or shepherding a project, you can volunteer with us at the link below!Along the way, we’ve partnered with local businesses, created local jobs, hosted railroad camps, celebrated wedding proposals and anniversaries, supported festivals and community-improvement projects, and made countless memories.We’re awed to take in everything this group of professionals, hobbyists, neighbors, and friends has accomplished over 54 years of preserving and making railroad history. Thank you to every member, volunteer, partner, and supporter who makes it possible.Visit us next month during our Pleasant Lake Days Open House to see it all in person!
Fort Wayne Railroad shared with the comment: "A look at the four year transformation in Pleasant Lake."
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| 2 — with Jim Pearson Photography. |
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| 4 — with Jim Pearson Photography. |
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Fort Wayne Railroad posted six photos with the comment:
🚂🏗️ A vintage passenger car built for military medical service during the Korean War arrived at the Pleasant Lake Railyard on Wednesday, July 29, marking the completion of the second phase of our campus development.Since shifting its focus to Steuben County, the Fort Wayne Railroad and its partners have transformed the once-neglected property into a destination for passenger excursions, railroad education and community events. The attraction continues to serve Fort Wayne and the wider Northeast Indiana and Tri-State region while welcoming visitors from throughout the country.In a fitting connection, the car traveled from Pufferbelly Ice Cream at Cass Street, which was once linked to Pleasant Lake by the same rail corridor used by the heritage railroad today. Plans call for the car to be shared with the neighboring Camp Chief Little Turtle as a classroom and meeting space, and to support events on site.The car’s arrival complements newly finished site improvements, which include a new stamped-concrete passenger platform, signage, security, and landscaping. This work was supported by a $250,000 grant awarded to the Fort Wayne Railroad by Visit Indiana in 2024.The milestone builds on the restoration of the historic Pleasant Lake depot. Privately funded and completed in partnership with 3rd Street Construction, the project included extensive exterior and structural improvements to the 1882 building, including foundation and flooring repairs, restored woodwork, new windows and transoms, electrical and security upgrades, and the return of the depot’s original Pleasant Lake sign.The final campus project currently planned is the restoration of the depot’s historic passenger waiting room. That work will be supported by a $15,000 grant from the Steuben County Community Foundation.More than $470,000 has been raised to bring the Pleasant Lake campus to life. The effort has been made possible by local volunteers, private donors and strategic partners, including Visit Indiana, Norfolk Southern, Indiana Historical Society, M.E. Raker Foundation, the Olive B. Cole Foundation, Steuben County Tourism Bureau and Indiana Michigan Power.The Fort Wayne Railroad also recognizes Steel Dynamics and the volunteer community leaders behind the original effort to locate and develop downtown, as well as Steininger Development, for their support of the car’s rehabilitation and original placement along Fort Wayne’s downtown riverfront.Originally constructed as Car No. 89552 for military medical service during the Korean War, the car found various uses throughout its life, including on the Minuteman Mobility Test Train, a 1960 U.S. Air Force project that evaluated deploying intercontinental ballistic missiles on railroad networks to reduce vulnerability to surprise attacks.On Amtrak, the car was converted to head-end-power and renumbered No. 1614, where it was assigned to the railroad’s modern incarnation of the Broadway Limited, which operated through Fort Wayne, and later used on the Tennessee Bicentennial Train.Although it had successfully acquired a mile of railroad right-of-way from Norfolk Southern in Fort Wayne, delays involving floodwall relocation and other development provisions made Pleasant Lake a more immediate path toward establishing an operating regional attraction in 2022.Since that decision, volunteers have restored the historic depot, rebuilt railroad infrastructure, improved the surrounding property, and assembled and renovated a complete vintage passenger train set. Through its tourism program, the Indiana Rail Experience, the non-profit now operates excursions over more than 100 miles of the privately owned Indiana Northeastern Railroad in a special partnership.
Fort Wayne Railroad: For our entire press release and additional photos, click here: https://fortwaynerailroad.org/.../historic-passenger-car.../
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| FortWayneRailroad |
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