1953 -- #576 was moved into Centennial Park.
Will you be in the picture when she's moved out?

Are you just sitting back and waiting for the City of Nashville to hand over the engine? Did it ever occur to you that your involvement right now might make the difference in the City's decision? We do have the ability, working together, to bring forth a more positive outcome than seeing the engine scrapped. If you are seriously interested in seeing 576 restored to full running power, there are several things each of you can do to help:

1. Join NCPS.

There's strength in numbers. Annual Membership is $20/single and $25/family. Obviously the restoration will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and every dollar we can collect from membership fees is that much less we have to fundraise.

Print out the brochure in pdf format, or a membership application in text format, and mail a check.

Or use your credit card online via PayPal.

If $20 is too steep for your wallet, contributions of any size are always welcome.

Do what you can, but do something.

2. Offer to help.

Whether you join NCPS or not, send an email stating your intent to provide elbow grease to assist in the restoration for however many hours each month you feel you can contribute. It may be as little as 2-3 hours per month, or 10 hours, or more. Include some details if you have experience restoring other engines in other parts of the county. All work will be supervised by qualified personnel, so even if you know nothing about trains, we can still use your help.

For those who live out of town, offer to spend a week of your vacation in Nashville. If all you can do is support NCPS with membership fees, state it in a letter. Even if all you want to do is ride the train after restoration, put it in writing. All of these are levels of support.

These "letters of intent" will be used to show that NCPS has sufficient public interest in the project and qualified, able-bodied volunteers ready to pick up wrenches and get to work on 576.

3. Look for sponsors.

We are actively seeking corporate sponsors to commit in writing for some kind of contribution to 576's restoration, exhibition and operation. We need more Nashville private individuals contributors as well. No contributor is being asked to put up any real money until we have possession of the engine. Nobody, nor any company, will actually be on the hook to fulfill their proposed donation or contribution until if and when the city enters into a lease with NCPS for the engine. But it is important that we have these committment letters to be able to include in our business plan.

4. Pass out brochures

Print out the membership brochure, have some copies made, and pass them out to people you know who may be interested. Or send them a link to this web site.

You may not be able to do much to help just now, but that's okay. You may live, like many of us, hundreds of miles away from Nashville, but there are still things you can do to help. Just be willing to do something now and let us know that you really care enough about 576 to make a commitment. Because without these things, no one will be getting grease on themselves. Without proof that we can pull all of this off, that engine will continue to die in that park. Together, we can accomplish this dream, and make the picture complete.