Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 576
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 576 is a 4-8-4 "Dixie" (Northern) type steam locomotive built in August 1942 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York for the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (NC&StL) as a member of the J-3 class. Designed with some of the latest locomotive technological features of the time, the J3 class was used to handle heavy freight and express trains to aid the American war effort during World War II. Faced with dwindling traffic and the onset of dieselization, all of the J3s were  withdrawn from service and scrapped by September 2, 1952 with the exception of No. 576. In September 1953, the locomotive was donated to the City of Nashville, Tennessee and placed on static display at the Centennial Park as the sole surviving steam locomotive of the NC&StL Railway. The No. 576 locomotive is currently being restored to operating condition by the Nashville Steam Preservation Society (N.S.P.S) for use in excursion service on the Nashville and Eastern Railroad and the restoration work was expected to be completed by 2024. History. Design and appearance (1942-1947). During the outbreak of World War II , the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (NC&StL) were not able to order more diesel locomotives that were unavailable for the increased passenger train traffic. They decided to go for steam power with the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) proposing a streamlined 4-8-4 J3 locomotive similar to the Norfolk and Western J class locomotives, but was rejected by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) due to the expensive design cost. The NC&StL's Superintendent of Machinery, C.M. Darden designed ten J3 (Nos. 570-579) locomotives delivered between July and August 1942 from ALCO in a non-streamlined design with  yellow skirting panels, a bullet nose cone, boxpok drivers, and a large semi-Vanderbilt tender holding of coal and of water. Because of the J3s' appearance, the NC&StL crews nicknamed them as the "Yellow Jackets". In 1943, ALCO built ten more J3s (Nos. 580-589) without the yellow skirting panels due to wartime restrictions so their running board edges were painted yellow, giving them the nickname "Stripes". The same treatment was given to the 1942 J3 locomotives when their yellow skirting panels were removed in 1947 for easier maintenance and even the bullet nose cones were removed on all of  the J3s. As oppose to the 4-8-4s nicknamed the "Northerns", the J3s were nicknamed the "Dixies" by the NC&StL. Revenue service and retirement (1942-1952, 1953-2019). No. 576 was built at a cost of US$166,500 and delivered to the NC&StL Railway, where it entered revenue service on August 18, 1942. No. 576 and the other J3s handled the critical war-time material, armament and troop train movements during the rabid buildup and mobilization of the American war effort during World War II. They were only assigned to run between Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee due to the  turntable limitations in Atlanta, Georgia until the 110-feet turntables were eventually installed for the J3s to be turned around in Atlanta. When the war ended in 1945, the J3s were reassigned to dual freight and passenger service. As the NC&StL began to dieselize, all of the J3s were retired and scrapped between 1951 and 1952, with the exception of No. 576, who was chosen for preservation and subsequently donated to the City of Nashville to be on static display at the Centennial Park in September 1953. In 2004, a shelter shed was built over the No. 576 locomotive to  prevent it being exposed to the elements. Restoration (2019-present). In April 2016, the newly formed Nashville Steam Preservation Society (N.S.P.S) made plans to restore No. 576 to operating condition for excursion service. In October 2018, the N.S.P.S. had successfully raised the necessary $500,000 to relocate and transport the locomotive out of the park and into a nearby restoration facility. On January 13, 2019, the locomotive was moved out of the Centennial Park and on to Nashville and Western trackage, where it was prepared to move from the line to CSX and beyond to the Nashville and Eastern Railroad  where it would be restored to operating condition. The locomotive made a final public appearance at Nashville Union Station Hotel on March 9, 2019 and moved to the Tennessee Central Railway Museum's workshop where the restoration work on No. 576 begin. During the restoration work, a new cab was fabricated from scratch due to the locomotive's original cab being deteriorated beyond repair. In March 2021, a storm struck the city of Nashville and the workshop where No. 576 was stored became severely damaged as a result. The locomotive was undamaged with the workshop rebuilt shortly after and the  restoration work has resumed. On June 17, 2021, No. 576's boiler and frame have been lifted up from its wheels, so that its running gear would be taken off to be repaired. The driving wheels were sent to be repaired at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The restoration work of No. 576 was expected to be completed around 2024.