Michigan Steam Railroading Institute Home of Pere Marquette 2-8-4 #1225

New - CADILLAC FALL COLOR STEAM LIMITED ANNOUNCED
behind Pere Marquette 1225 & Nickel Plate Road 765 - Click for more info

 

Steam Railroading Institute News

From the Desk of the Executive Director

On behalf of the Steam Railroading Institute, our employees, volunteers and donors, I wish to welcome you to our website. What started back in 1969 as a group of Michigan State University college students and railroad retirees trying to get a rusty, tired locomotive back into operation has grown into a true economic force of tourism and rail preservation in Mid-Michigan. On this website, you will find our story and the story of #1225 and her sisters --- from their construction and arrival just in time to help the World War II war effort, to her eventual restoration and use in the movie Polar ExpressTM. Please take some time to learn why all of us have come to love “our” locomotive --- and everything she pulls behind her.

2009 represents the 40th anniversary of a grand idea --- one that few if any who began the journey to restore #1225 in 1969 could have ever imagined would develop into what we have now become. Think of it: PM #1225 has now been in operating condition now for nearly 25 years, nearly three times what she did in regular service. We have grown from a small 30 x 110 foot fenced-in area we didn’t own on MSU’s campus in East Lansing to being two payments away from owning over seven acres of our own property outright. We have put nearly 4000 miles behind #1225 in the last two years, more than we had in the previous ten, and are embarking on the sixth season of our North Pole Express operation, poised to carry our 40,000th NPE passenger in 2009. We own and operate several pieces of restored historical equipment beyond the original #1225. And last but not least, we will be hosting the largest event we ever have undertaken, Trainfestival 2009, bringing nearly 30,000 to Owosso and Shiawassee County, and pairing the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s Nickle Plate #765 and #1225 together for the first time in over 18 years.

With the exception of three full-time and one part-time staff, nearly everyone you see when you visit us at SRI today are VOLUNTEERS. These wonderful individuals take time out of their busy schedules to try and give you as memorable an experience as they can --- and by doing so in turn helping to keep the steel wheels on #1225 turning. You too, can help us do this --- and become part of a family of individuals who cherish and understand the values of what has made the State of Michigan and America great, by helping to keep #1225 a LIVING, BREATHING history experience for our future generations to enjoy.

Sincerely,

T.J. Gaffney
Executive Director
Steam Railroading Institute

TrainFestival 2009

America's Largest Celebration of Railroading is Coming in July

Click here for the official website

 

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