IRVINE, Ky. — An auction by Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. to sell former Nickel Plate Road 2-8-2 No. 587 has been halted on the day the auction’s winner was to be announced.
Kentucky Steam said in a brief post on its Facebook page today (March 3, 2025) that the sale has been withdrawn because the organization and its former owner are in settlement talks. More details will be made available when a resolution is reached, according to the post.
The organization had announced in January that it was selling the locomotive as part of a judgment against the former owner for unpaid storage fees [see “Kentucky Steam to auction off …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 23, 2025]. The 2-8-2, built by Baldwin in 1918, was operated by the Indiana Transportation Museum from 1988 to 2003. It has been at Kentucky Steam’s Irvine facility since 2021 after an earlier restoration effort fell apart.
