Kentucky Steam and C&O 2716 get big boosts
NOT ONLY DID Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4
No. 2716 arrive as planned on July 28 at its
new home in the former Louisville & Nash-
ville shop in Ravenna, Ky., but it was greeted
with an outpouring of gifts, including a die-
sel shop switcher from CSX.
The three-day move of the Kanawha type
from Kentucky Railway Museum in New
Haven, Ky., to Kentucky Steam Heritage
Corp.’s headquarters in Ravenna was made
behind Southern Appalachian Railway Mu-
seum’s Clinchfield Railroad F7 No. 800. In
the consist with two tool cars was restored
C&O caboose No. 3203, which was donated
to Kentucky Steam by CSX. R.J. Corman
Railroad moved the train across the former
C&O Old Road Subdivision from Louisville
to Frankfort. A modified CSX boxcar logo
with wheels in the 2-8-4 configuration and
outline of the steam locomotive was applied
to the side of the tender.
Awaiting the move upon arrival in
Ravenna were a host of surprises. Model
railroad manufacturer ScaleTrains presentedKentucky Steam with a check for $6,000, a
donation from the proceeds for the sale of
HO- and N-scale models of CSX ET44AH
No. 3440, “The Spirit of Ravenna,” which
also wears the Kentucky Steam logo. CSX
Director of Network Planning Eric Hen-
drickson, after receiving a proclamation
from the city and county governments in
Ravenna declaring July 28 as CSX Railroad
Heritage Day, thanked Kentucky Steam vol-
unteers for their efficiency and safety.
He said CSX will donate SW1500 switch-
er No. 1100, former Louisville & Nashville
No. 5000, to serve as a shop switcher. (The
railroad also donated another ex-L&N
SW1500 to Kentucky Railway Museum.) A
family that volunteers for Kentucky Steam
also donated a van to the organization. Ear-
lier this year, the John H. Emery Rail Heri-
tage Trust had donated $46,000.
Kentucky Steam President Chris Camp-
bell said the weekend was emotional for all
those involved in prepping No. 2716 for the
move and for the volunteers who helpedmove it. He said the donations made to
Kentucky Steam, as well as the reception the
locomotive got upon its arrival in Ravenna,
were overwhelming.
“We’ve known from the beginning that
this is a worthwhile project, and we con-
tinue to see that others recognize that as
well,” Campbell said. “It’s not just the
monetary donations, but it’s the volunteer
hours and the resources that so many
people and entities have kicked in to not
only move the 2716, but to welcome it into
Ravenna and celebrate its potential as a
key piece to an economic turnaround in
Eastern Kentucky. We couldn’t thank these
people enough; we couldn’t thank CSX
and R.J. Corman enough.”
The locomotive’s restoration is expected
to take about a year and a half. The work
will be done mostly at the shop in the for-
mer CSX Ravenna Yard, which Kentucky
Steam purchased last year. For more infor-
mation, visit http://www.kentuckysteam.org. —
Chris AndersonTrainsMag.com 53The crew and public mingle around No. 2716 at Midway, Ky., during a
street festival that featured a long stop for the locomotive.Louisville & Nashville SW1500 No. 5000 will become Kentucky Steam’s
shop switcher thanks to a donation from CSX. L&NHS: Bill Folsom, L. MarreClinchfield F7 No. 800, C&O No. 2716 with a modified CSX logo on its tender, and a C&O caboose roll near New Haven, Ky. Two photos, Kevin Gilliam