The Nashville Steam Preservation Society, the non-profit restoring Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway 4-8-4 576, has fired up the locomotive for the first time since 1952. The group conducted a steam test this week, and by all accounts, it was a success. 

The Nashville Steam Preservation Society has been restoring NC&StL 576 at the Tennessee Central Railroad Museum 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 displayed in a Nashville park. 

Photo Courtesy of FMW Solutions.

“From the moment No. 576 was placed in Centennial Park and the rails were removed behind it, generations of Nashville citizens dreamed of seeing it steam again,” said NSPS President Shane Meador. “When our organization was formed in 2016, that dream became our mission.”

Officials said they expect the locomotive to run in 2027. 

For more information, visit www.nashvillesteam.org. 

—Justin Franz