BELLEVUE, Ohio - When it opened 32 years ago, the Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum had little more than a Wheeling & Lake Erie caboose and a 44-ton switching locomotive.

But since its June 25, 1976, opening - an event designed as a local commemoration of the national bicentennial and the role railroads played in building the United States starting in the 19th century - the museum has grown to become the largest of its kind in Ohio, a state that continues to play a vital role in the national rail network.

Tomorrow, the museum will be rededicated in a ceremony honoring William H. "Bill" Fuehring, one of its primary founders, who died in 2006.

"He was a dreamer, refusing to believe anything was impossible when it came to obtaining and preserving the history and lore of railroading for all to enjoy," Chris Beamer, the museum's vice president, wrote in a statement announcing the event.

Today, the Mad River & NKP has more than 30 railroad pieces on display, including a half-dozen locomotives, and has exhibits in five buildings on its grounds just south of downtown Bellevue.

Many of the cars and locomotives once belonged to the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, better known by its nickname, the Nickel Plate Road, from which the NKP in the museum's name is drawn.

Some of the pieces were purchased by the museum's founders, others were donated by outside parties, "and some of them were just given to us because [the previous owner] had no use for them anymore," Mr. Beamer said.

One nationally significant railcar is part of the collection, he said: the Silver Dome, which was the first dome-topped passenger coach built for the California Zephyr streamliner.

The museum's name won't change during the ceremony tomorrow, but a plaque honoring Mr. Fuehring will be unveiled during the 1 p.m. rededication, and later will be mounted in a prominent spot on the museum's grounds.

The Fuehring family, museum leaders, and local dignitaries will ride to the museum beforehand aboard a special train provided by Norfolk Southern Railway, which today operates the former Nickel Plate lines. Nickel Plate became part of the Norfolk & Western Railway in 1964 and that railway combined with the Southern Railway in 1982 to form Norfolk Southern.

Norfolk Southern will provide a special five-car train of business cars pulled by three restored, 1950s-vintage passenger-service diesels for the rededication.

Steven Tobias, who in 1976 was the Norfolk & Western's assistant superintendent for the Bellevue terminal and now is Norfolk Southern's vice chairman and chief operating officer, will give the keynote speech.

Rudy Husband, a Norfolk Southern spokesman, said officials are looking forward to participating in tomorrow's rededication of the museum.

"It is a great organization, and the people involved over the years, led by Bill Fuehring, have done a wonderful job preserving and exhibiting an important aspect of Norfolk Southern's heritage, and of railroading in Ohio generally," Mr. Husband said.

"It's monumental for us" to have Norfolk Southern participating in the rededication, Mr. Beamer said.

The special train will not be open for tours, he said, but will be posed on tracks next to the museum so visitors can take pictures.

The museum's directors have waived normal admission fees for the special event. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., although Mr. Beamer said the festivities tomorrow could run later.

Contact David Patch at:

dpatch@theblade.com

or 419-724-6094.

First Published June 20, 2008, 9:40 a.m.