Emery Trust awards $350,000 in rail preservation grants

The John Emery Rail Heritage Trust has will award 22 grants totaling $350,000, for rail preservation projects in 2022.

The list of grants selected comes from 34 applications requesting more than $1 million. The trust, the largest in the U.S. that makes 100% of its awards solely for rail restoration projects, was founded by long-time Chicago resident and rail enthusiast John Emery. Emery, who rode trains around the world, wanted to help preserve rail equipment and infrastructure that will allow future generations to share his experiences between 1920 and 1960, in what he considered the Golden Age of rail travel.

Grant recipients, listed alphabetically, are:

— Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad Association: $20,000 for track repair to facilitate operation of Santa Fe 4-6-2 No. 3415, built by Baldwin in 1919.

— Black River Railroad Historical Trust: $12,000 for wheel and spring replacement on Central of New Jersey coach No. 1009.

— Cuyahoga Valley Preservation and Scenic Railway Association: $15,000 for interior renovation of former Burlington baggage-coach Silver Salon for ADA accessibility.

— Downeast Rail Heritage Preservation Trust Inc: $9,000 for painting and refinishing the exterior of GE 70-ton diesel locomotive No. 54, built in 1948.

— East Broad Top Foundation Inc.:  $15,500 for truck and traction-motor maintenance for gas-electric car M-1.

— Engine 557 Restoration Co: $ 36,000 for installing flues and tubes on Alaska Railroad No. 557, one of 2,120 2-8-0 locomotives built for the U.S Army Transportation Corp. between 1942 and 1945, but one of only five left in North America.

— Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society Inc.: $10,000.00 for continued work on baggage car No. 3671, built for Santa Fe by American Car & Foundry in 1955.

— Friends of Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites Inc.: $15,500 for repairs and renovations for their lounge and power cars.

— Illinois Railway Museum: $ 1,000 for general repairs.

— Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad: $12,000 to repair wheel sets and side-rod assemblies on locomotive No. 46, a GE 50-ton center cab switcher built in 1946.

— Lake Superior Railroad Museum: $ 15,000 to reupholster seats in two Great Northern coaches.

— Mid-Continent Railway Historical Society Inc.: $15,000 for continued restoration of Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic 10-section sleeping car Duluth, built in 1902 by the Barney & Smith Car Co.

— Midwest Railway Preservation Society: $ 10,000 for further work on 1924 Pullman car Mount Baxter.

— Nashville Steam Preservation Society: $ 29,000 for running-gear work on Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis No. 576, its 1941 Alco 4-8-4.

— New Mexico Steam Locomotive & Railroad Historical Society: $ 10,000 for track work to upgrade a siding to be able to connect its shop facilities with active trackage.

— Pacific Railroad Preservation Association Inc.: $29,000 for jacketing and lagging, and steam chest repair for Spokane, Portland & Seattle No. 700, a 4-8-4 built by Baldwin in 1938.

— Pacific Railroad Society, Inc.: $15,000 for upgrades to Union Pacific Pullman National Forum, a six-roomette, four-double-bedroom, six-open-section sleeper built in 1955.

— Railroad Museum of New England, Inc.: $15,000 for work on New Haven RS3 No. 529.

— Railroading Heritage of Midwest America: $ 31,000 for newly acquired sleeper/lounge car Caritas, built by Pullman-Standard in 1948 as a 14-roomette, 4-bedroom sleeping car for the Frisco and rebuilt in 1982 as an open-platform private car.

— Roanoke Chapter, NRHS: $ 15,000 for work on Norfolk & Western coach No. 512, a “Jim Crow” car built by Pullman-Standard in 1949 for the Powhatan Arrow.

— Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society and Museum: $10,000 for coach No. 539, a 58-seat coach, also built by Pullman-Standard in 1949 for the Powhatan Arrow.

— West Chester Railroad Heritage Association: $10,000.00 for continued renovations of Reading Blueliner coaches.

For more information on the Emery Trust, visit its website. For information on setting up a foundation or to donate to the Emery Rail Heritage Trust, contact the trustee, First Option Bank, directly at 913-294-9222.

Applications for the next round of grants are due Feb. 1, 2023.