Mainline steam returned to the Empire State in 2015, thanks to a partnership between Norfolk Southern and the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society. As part of a lengthy eastern tour, Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 #765 visited western New York for the first time since the late 1980's. During the first weekend of August, she operated a series of excursions over the former Erie Railroad between Buffalo and Corning, NY. Then in September, #765 was in Scranton, PA for the first time, operating over the former Lackawanna mainline through the Pocono Mountains.

The first half of this program covers the "Erie Limited" excursions in western New York. Operating over the NS Southern Tier Line, #765 pulled a couple of 260-mile roundtrips between Buffalo and Corning on August 1st and 2nd. #765 put on a grand show, easily pulling a 20-car train on this scenic line. In addition to the 2 public excursions, you'll see the August 3rd ferry move from Buffalo to Binghamton as #765 traveled to eastern Pennsylvania for trips later in the month.

The second half of this program chronicles #765's first visit to Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, PA. During the annual Railfest, #765 pulled a couple of trips over the former Delaware, Lackawanna, & Western mainline. You'll see both the September 5th trip to the Delaware Water Gap and the September 7th trip to East Stroudsburg, as #765 climbed the long steep grades on both sides of the Pocono plateau. Finally, this program concludes with the September 8th ferry move back to Buffalo, as #765 crossed the famous Tunkhannock Viaduct in Nicholson, PA.

Filmed entirely in HD, this program features high speed running and great scenery, as #765 gets to stretch her legs on the mainline in New York. There's also lots of great stack talk, as #765 battles two major mountain grades while in Pennsylvania. This program has minimal narration (with the option to turn it on or off) and no distracting music.