en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Nashville Steam Preservation Society (NSPS) announced via a 10-second social media video that the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway 4-8-4 No. 576 steam locomotive has successfully fired up for the first time in over 70 years, with smoke rising from the chimney marking the payoff of over a decade of effort and $3 million in investment.

The nonprofit organization announced the successful steam test on July 16, marking the beginning of a series of commissioning tests over the coming months. This milestone was achieved after the installation of a new superheater unit was completed in the first half of this year. Project foreman Stephen Hook said the remaining work is just tuning the instruments to prepare the orchestra for its official performance.

Additional testing and fine-tuning of the locomotive will continue for the remainder of the year. The goal is to have No. 576 ready by 2027 to operate passenger excursions on the Nashville & Eastern Railroad in partnership with the Tennessee Central Railway Museum. According to NSPS's preliminary economic study, this operation could generate over $5 million in annual economic impact for Middle Tennessee through tourism, lodging, dining, and related spending. NSPS President Shane Meador said giving this Nashville native a second chance will be wonderful, as this locomotive reminds people of Nashville's origins.

The project still needs to raise $500,000 to complete the restoration and equip operational facilities. Work is underway to prepare coal storage for the base at the Tennessee Central Railway Museum, and one of the planned excursion destinations—Watertown, Tennessee—is preparing for the installation of a turntable donated by CSX. As the "Steam Stripe" campaign continues, Trains magazine named Nashville Steam a 2021–2022 Conservation Partner. Once returned to service, the locomotive is planned to pull excursion trains on the Nashville & Eastern Railroad, owned by the R.J. Corman railroad group.

The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway No. 576, nicknamed "The Stripe," was built by Alco in 1942 as one of 20 J3-class locomotives, designed to handle heavy wartime traffic on NC&StL's mountainous and winding lines. The railroad retired it in 1952 and donated it to the City of Nashville the following year, which placed it on display in Centennial Park, making it the first modern steam locomotive installed as a permanent exhibit in a U.S. city park. After sitting idle in the park for over six decades, the locomotive was trucked out by the Nashville Steam Preservation Society in 2019 and transported via CSX tracks to the Tennessee Central Railway Museum for restoration.