Statements

Mission

The mission of the Nashville Steam Preservation Society is to preserve our history by restoring and operating relevant historic railroad equipment for the purpose of education, tourism, and goodwill to and for Metro Nashville and the State of Tennessee.

Background

No. 576 was donated to the city in September 1953 and has sat in Centennial Park for 64 years. The locomotive was outside in the elements for fifty years until a pavilion was constructed to ward off further deterioration in 2004. The Centennial Park Master Plan calls for moving No. 576 to another area in the park. Instead, NSPS proposed a lease agreement that would allow for the relocation, restoration, and operation of locomotive No. 576 which was unanimously approved by the Metro Parks Board and the Metro Council. The 23 year lease agreement will allow NSPS to transform locomotive No. 576 into a mobile, living museum as well as an additional tourist attraction for downtown Nashville while honoring those who built, operated, and saved it so many years ago. In January 2019 No. 576 was moved out of the park and is now located at the Tennessee Central Railway Museum in Nashville. The locomotive is stripped down to the boiler and is now undergoing restoration. The locomotive's drivers and lead and trailing trucks were refurbished and reinstalled under the frame. Boiler work is well underway with a goal of doing static testing by the end of 2023. Restoration is now over 60% complete as of July 2023.

Impact

Once the locomotive is operational, the communities along the Nashville & Eastern Railroad will benefit from the hundreds of people aboard each excursion train. The excursions will commence at the Riverfront Park Commuter Station at the end of Broadway and will go eastward to Watertown. Watertown is very interested in these excursion trains and is already raising funds to install a turntable that was donated by CSX to assist with turning the engine around for return trips back to Nashville. Passengers will be able to achieve a sense of what it was like to travel during the Golden Age of railroading by starting at a major urban setting and traveling to a smaller, rural town. This charismatic town is ideal for a day trip and offer a unique getaway for both locals and visitors.

Needs

The primary objective of the Nashville Steam Preservation Society (NSPS) is to now restore and operate the Nashville, Chattanooga, & St. Louis Railway (NC&StL) steam locomotive No. 576. Better known as the 'Centennial Park Train,' locomotive No. 576 was in Centennial Park since September 1953. The locomotive was moved to the Tennessee Central Railway Museum in March, 2019 for disassembly and restoration. NSPS's current need is to raise $175,000 to complete the restoration that will take another 12 to 18 months to complete. NSPS's volunteers have the knowledge and expertise to perform this work, therefore it is imperative to maintain a consistent revenue stream through fundraising.

Board Chair Statement

There is no limit to which groups or communities will be served by this project. However, the people of Middle Tennessee will see the greatest economic and educational impact of Nashville Steam's project to overhaul No. 576 to an operable condition. Nashville is not widely considered to be a railroad town when, in fact, it was one of Tennessee's first railroad towns. An operational No. 576 will be a physical reminder of Nashville's railroad pastime and spark a passion for trains in a new generation. One of our key goals to guide this project is education. In the months that we have been actively working on the locomotive in Centennial Park, hundreds of people each week have inquired about our efforts, the history of the locomotive, and the basics of steam mechanics. We aim to continue this dialogue with the public at every phase of the locomotive's restoration. In addition to the mechanics and operational education, we want to interpret the history of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway and the railroad's role in the development of Nashville to the city it is today. Additionally, we want to use the opportunity to share the role of the railroad in American music. Every genre of music incorporated the idea of trains and travel into their lyrics. Musicians prided themselves on being able to recreate the sounds of a steam locomotive on their instrument of choice. What better place to tell this story than in Music City, USA! Starting in 2010, I was given the opportunity for a three year leave of absence from Norfolk Southern to manage the steam locomotive projects for use on Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam program at Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. During that time, I successfully led the extensive restorations of Southern's steam locomotives 630 and 4501 back to mainline service. By creating a safe, positive, and educational atmosphere, I was able to recruit and retain volunteers throughout the project which helped to reduce labor costs significantly. I have operated all four steam locomotives currently participating in the Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam program on six of their divisions traversing thousands of miles on mainline track.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Historical Societies & Historic Preservation
Secondary Category:	Education  - Elementary & Secondary Schools
Tertiary Category:	Education  - Vocational & Technical Schools

Areas Served

TN - Davidson

TN - Wilson