By Railfan & Railroad Staff
The restoration of Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway 4-8-4 576 took a giant leap forward this week when the Nashville Steam Preservation Society lifted the Northern’s boiler back onto its drivewheels, kicking off the locomotive’s reassembly. If everything goes according to plan, the non-profit hopes to test-fire the locomotive in 2024.
“We’ve now entered the reassembly phase of the restoration,” said NSPS President Shane Meador. “It will start to look like a locomotive again.”
Nashville Steam has been restoring NC&StL 576 at the Tennessee Central since 2019. The locomotive was one of 20 J3 4-8-4s built by Alco for the NC&StL in 1942 and 1943. After it was retired it was put on display in a Nashville park.
Officials said this week the restoration was 60 percent complete. The non-profit behind the effort has raised more than $2.1 million to date toward the restoration and in March kicked off the “Last Mile Campaign” to raise the final $350,000 needed to complete the mechanical restoration. The campaign is boosted by $175,000 in matching funds from the Walter Ferguson Charitable Trust and Right Track Foundation, with every donation of $576 or more being matched dollar-for-dollar. The campaign runs through the end of the year.
Nashville Steam is preparing for two fundraisers on September 16, including a train excursion in partnership with the Tennessee Central Railway Museum. For more information, visit www.nashvillesteam.org.
