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Nashville Steam Receives $50,000 Matching Grant, Launches “75 for 75” Campaign

By September 19, 2017Fundraising, Press Release

The Nashville Steam Preservation Society (NSPS) announced today that it has received a $50,000 “challenge” matching grant from the Candelaria Fund, whereby any donation the group receives through the end of 2017 will be matched one-for-one. In honor of that matching grant coinciding with the 75th Birthday of Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway No. 576, the last remaining J-3 ‘Stripe’ steam locomotive, NSPS is launching the “75 for 75” Campaign.

“We are absolutely honored to have received this generous pledge of support to help put No. 576 back on the rails,” said NSPS President Shane Meador. “While we wanted to recognize the 75th birthday of No. 576, that donation amount is merely a recommendation – any donation, large or small, will help us with this project. Not to mention, each dollar will be matched one-for-one!”

Today, the 576 eagerly sits at Nashville’s Centennial Park in the hopes that it will one day return to service pulling excursion trains and teaching younger generations Tennessee’s rich railroad history and the science behind steam technology. Once the funds for its relocation and restoration are secured, the iconic locomotive will be moved to the Tennessee Central Railway Museum for a complete tear-down, inspection and restoration.

“The 576 is a beloved icon that traveled throughout the South from Memphis over to Nashville and down to Chattanooga and Atlanta,” said NSPS Historian Joey Bryan. “Restoring the last remaining Stripe will serve as a visceral link to the history of the region”

Donations to NSPS will be matched by the Candelara Fund dollar-to-dollar up to $50,000 until December 31, 2017. The NSPS has already raised more than $250,000 of the $500,000 it needs to relocate the locomotive for the tear-down, inspection and restoration. To make a donation, click here.

The ‘Stripe’ No. 576

August 2017 marked the 75th anniversary of No. 576’s construction at the American Locomotive Company’s Schenectady Shops. To mark the occasion, Nashville Steam is launching the “75 for 75” campaign. “The fact that there is still a J-3 in existence is remarkable,” said Joey Bryan, Historian & Preservation Officer for Nashville Steam, “we’re asking anyone that wants to see No. 576 thunder down the high iron once more to donate $75 or one dollar for every year the locomotive has been around. And with the matching grant, any donation will help ensure that the locomotive is around for another 75 years.” Donations will be matched between now and the end of the year. The Candelaria Fund is 501(c)(3) based out of California. They frequently donate to rail preservation efforts across the United States.