This show is a nice chronicle of some of the first runs for 765. Shot on super 8 sound movies, the transfer is crisp and the sound is good. We begin with a December 1, 1979 first run of 765 as it travels toward Bellevue on a cold snowy day. Then we begin 1980 with a one- way run with coaches from Bellevue, Ohio back to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and later the train adds some coaches as it continues westward to Illinois.

The engine went to the Toledo, Peoria, and Western for several weeks of break-in runs, including freight and excursions. This was like real steam railroading as 765 did some short stints as a helper, including on the rear of one freight. We also see it on the turntable, and preparing for a freight run to Effner which turned into a 2-day journey. Much of these runs were covered in the rail magazines at the time, as this was huge news for steam fans.

Two excursions were run, but for some reason we do not have a lot of movie coverage of these, but there is some. Afterwards, the engine was sent back to Ft. Wayne, again on a freight train(with no diesels), and we captured some nice running here, including pacing scenes. This was fun stuff to see with a big mainline engine hauling real revenue freight once again. This was a fine beginning for this great locomotive which is still operational today.