Through a $10,000 grant from Trains magazine, matched by CSX Corp., Atlantic Coast Line steam locomotive No. 1504 is in line for some much-needed maintenance.
Displayed at the Prime Osborn Convention Center since 1986, the locomotive was built in 1919 and remained in service pulling passenger trains for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad until it was retired in 1952.
Built for the U.S. Railway Administration, it is considered the last USRA locomotive in existence in as-built condition.
When ACL finished its new headquarters building along the St. Johns River in Jacksonville in 1960, the locomotive became a symbol of the company and a Downtown landmark.
When the former Jacksonville Union Terminal was converted into the convention center, the locomotive was moved to its present site.
"Our engineers laid panel track from Water Street to Bay Street and then to the convention center. They started the project on a Saturday morning and worked around the clock until Sunday afternoon," said Gary Sease, CSX spokesman.
The magazine selected the North Florida Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society for its annual Preservation Award to fund the cosmetic restoration of the steam engine. Locomotive No. 1504 was listed in April on the national organization's 2013 "Most at Risk" list of endangered railroad landmarks.
The railroad donated the locomotive to the city in recognition of the new convention center being named after Prime F. Osborn III, CSX's first chairman of the board. Sease said matching the Trains magazine grant is a way to recognize the contributions made over the decades by the railroad and its employees.
"We are proud to do it and look forward to seeing the 1504 in much better condition," he said.
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