The sale of Nickel Plate Road 2-8-2 587 has been halted. In January, Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp., announced that the 1918 built locomotive would be sold at auction after the owner failed to pay the non-profit storage fees. Bids were due on February 25, and the winning bidder was to be notified on March 3. But instead, the group announced that the sale had been withdrawn. 

“The sale of Nickel Plate 587 has been withdrawn as Kentucky Steam and the locomotive’s owner are in talks for resolution through a settlement agreement.  More details will be made available when a resolution is reached,” a message from Kentucky Steam read. 

No further details were released. 

This is not the first time the locomotive has been in limbo, an unfortunate situation for an engine that was leading excursions in the late 1980s and 1990s. In 2018, the locomotive’s owner, the Indiana Transportation Museum, was evicted from its long-time home in Noblesville, Indiana. The locomotive was purchased by an anonymous buyer and moved to Kentucky. In 2021, it was announced that the buyer was working with Jason Sobczynski, KSHC chief mechanical officer and CEO of Next Generation Rail Solutions, to come up with a restoration plan for the locomotive. Those plans never came to fruition and the owner has apparently not been paying their bills to keep the engine at KSHC. As a result, a judge ruled it would be auctioned off to pay for the storage fees.