Help save steam in 2018!

Jason Sobczynski is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

OUR IMMEDIATE MISSION HAS EVOLVED: Since 503 has been saved from imminent scrapping, we've decided to focus our efforts on relocating Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive no. 587 from Noblesville, Indiana to the shop complex of the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp in Ravenna, Kentucky.

OUR PLAN:
1) help fund the relocation of 587.

2) help fund the relocation of Chesapeake & Ohio steam locomotive no. 2716.

3.) help fund the purchase and relocation of an auxilliary water tender and tool car

REGARDING 503:

If you wish your money to NOT be used for this amazing initiative, please email me at [email redacted] and I will refund your contribution. Otherwise, we will proceed with utilizing the generous donation to give another TWO steam locomotives a certain future.

UPDATE JULY 1st, 2018:

I wanted to let you know that everyone who donated to the Save the 503 campaign were successful. The 503 was saved from eminent scrapping! This was an historic fundraising event, and each of you should be thanked for coming out and championing a project that literally kept a steam locomotive from being scrapped.

The awareness raised through the fundraiser and the nationwide attention, but since we cannot use themoney raised for 503, we can now turn to an equally important and even more urgent matter: aide in the saving of Nickel Plate Road 2-8-2 no. 587

As you may have noticed, the Indiana Transportation Museum, owners and operators of the historic mikado, have been given until July 12th to completely vacate their museum grounds. After a long battle with the city of Noblesville, they have been court ordered to leave, and anything left on the property will be repossessed by the county sheriff.

NKP 587 is on the national register, and was famously operated over a span of three decades until it required a rebuild as of 2003. Since then she has remained silent.

Due to an eviction notice, unless the engine is moved before July 12th, its future is extremely uncertain! Without immediate action, 587 will eventually be tied up in a legal battle or even put back on display, outdoors, in Acadia, IN. This peril also applies to the entirety of the museum’s collection! We're also saving a toolcar and auxiliary water tender for future use behind the 2716.

As of Sunday, July 1st, the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp - a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (we call it KSHCO for short) has stepped up to help save the engine and eventually restore it at their new facility in Ravenna, KY. I know these guys well - in fact, I’m their chief mechanical officer and am charged with the full rebuild of the restoration of C&O 2716.

I propose that we use the money raised for the 503 and reallocate it to a project that we actually have control over: assist in moving the 587 out of harm’s way and help getting C&O 2716 ready to move via rail to Ravenna. Your contributions could help another engine from an uncertain fate - 587- AND help move C&O 2716 to finish her rebuild!

For more details, be sure to watch the video provided with this post.

Once it’s allocated to KSHCO from gofundme, all of the money you contributed will be considered a tax deductible charitable contribution to the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. All the funds will go towards saving and moving 587 and its tool car, auxiliary water tender and to help getting C&O 2716 ready to move on her own wheels! What’s more, the money you already contributed will qualify for a hefty 400% grant match from the Appalachian Regional Commission, which KSHCO will submit a strongly-supported application for in August. That means every $1 contributed then becomes $5.

If you’d like to read the press release about 587 and everything good going on with Kentucky Steam, please do visit our web page at www.kentuckysteam.org

If you wish your money to NOT be used for this amazing initiative, please email me and I will refund your contribution. Otherwise, we will proceed with utilizing the generous donation to give another TWO steam locomotives a certain future.

Funding is always critical in preservation, but especially now. Please visit the KSHCO contribution page, MAKE HISTORY BY BEING A PART OF SAVING IT!

https://www.kentuckysteam.org/contribute