As the successor company to the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad where “The Stripe” ran the rails in the 1940s and ‘50s, CSX supported the locomotive’s relocation from Centennial Park to the restoration site, and earlier this year donated a turntable that will facilitate future excursions once the locomotive is hauling passengers again. Now the third-largest railroad in North America has donated two boxcars that will allow the Nashville Steam Preservation Society to secure valuable equipment and key materials throughout the restoration process.
“CSX has been a tremendous partner to the Nashville Steam Preservation Society, and our success to date has been a tribute to that support,” said NSPS President Shane Meador. “From the planning stages through the move across town in January, down CSX rails to Union Station in March, and continuing today through additional contributions that make the restoration possible, our friends at CSX have been generously supportive and willing to help.
We couldn’t be more appreciative of their care and support, for the benefit of future generations.”
Designed at the Nashville headquarters of the NC&StL, No. 576 was built and delivered to Nashville just in time to haul troop and supply trains throughout the southeast as America entered World War II. After the war, The Stripe operated in revenue service for 10 years before being donated to the people of Nashville. Over the years, it became an iconic backdrop for countless childhood memories and photographs in Centennial Park, including a 1960s LIFE Magazine cover featuring Johnny Cash.
The Nashville Steam Preservation Society formed in 2015 to preserve and celebrate the artifacts of Nashville’s rail heritage. NSPS secured an agreement with Metro Nashville in 2016 to lease the locomotive with the intention to restore and operate the steam engine for special excursions out of downtown Nashville. Over the last two years, NSPS has raised more than $800,000 of the approximately $2 million needed for restoration, and thousands of volunteer hours have been dedicated to moving the engine across town and the ongoing restoration.
To learn more and get involved, visit www.nashvillesteam.org.
Source: NSPS press release
Thank you CSX for your generous contributions to this cause!
CSX really isn’t anti-steam per se, their operating philosophy has been “strictly business.” as in they’re in the business of moving “stuff” from Point A to Point B in the most profitable manner possible. That’s what they’re in business for, not entertaining railfans, or the general public, for that matter.
It one of the reasons they haven’t permitted any antique railroad equipment of any kind on their lines. Hey, their ‘road, their rules, I can understand that.
However, does their support of the No. 576 restoration portend a seismic shift in corporate philosophy? Maybe, maybe not. But it IS interesting.
And we should all say “Thank you, CSX!”
Roger; I imagine the answer to your EHH question would be “hell no” although I’m certain Hunter would have phrased his response a bit more colorfully than that.
CSX has been labeled “anti-steam”, but has been helping this project as well as the Kentucky 2716 project in Kentucky. I wonder if all this cooperation would have been offered if EHH were still at the helm?
Great work CSX. One day this will be the best steam ride in the country!