Nickel Plate Road 587

No. 587 was originally built for the Lake Erie & Western Railroad (LE&W) in September 1918 and originally numbered as 5541.[3] LE&W was bought by Nickel Plate Road (NKP) in 1922, which spent the next two years consolidating and standardizing the locomotive number system. In 1924, LE&W 5541 was renumbered as NKP 587. Its cylinders were replaced with Lima Locomotive Works castings during a late 1943 overhaul.[1]

NKP No. 587 served on the NKP railroad for thirty-seven years on the route from Indianapolis to Michigan City. The locomotive remained relatively unchanged from its original design, when it pulled its final revenue train in March 1955 before was retired from revenue service.[4]

On September 9, 1955, NKP 587 was donated to the city of Indianapolis and put on display in Broad Ripple Park.[4] Prior to being put on display, the locomotive's original tender was swapped with another NKP 2-8-2, No. 639, because the tender on No. 639 was in need of repair and 587's original tender was in good mechanical condition.[5] No. 587 was originally equipped with the 16-ton, 10,000-gallon tender used behind USRA 2-8-2s, but in the 1930s, it received a larger 16RA tender that carries 20 tons of coal and 20,000 gallons of water.

In 1934, Lima Locomotive Works delivered twenty-five 22RA tenders to the NKP for Mikados. These tenders were nearly identical to those behind the 2-8-4 "Berkshires", which were also built by Lima.

In 1955, another Mikado, No. 639 was shopped with a 22RA tender on which the stoker was inoperable, and the railroad switched tenders to keep the No. 639 running. No. 587 was displayed in Indianapolis's Broad Ripple Park with the larger 22RA tender in 1955. No. 639 was retired in 1957 and displayed in Bloomington, Illinois with No. 587's 16RA tender.[6]

NKP No. 587 remained in Broad Ripple Park until October 1983.[4] At that time the city of Indianapolis was interested in building a new public library in the park, but the only available location was where No. 587 was displayed.

A group of people, called "Friends of 587", did a feasibility study and determined that the locomotive was a good candidate for restoration. The locomotive was then leased by the Indianapolis Parks Department to the Indiana Transportation Museum (ITM). After restoration was completed, the engine made a successful test run on August 29, 1988.

From October 1983 to September 1988, the ITM leased a work area at Amtrak's Beech Grove Shops. During restoration, the museum was surprised to find that when the welds holding the fire box doors closed (for safety purposes) were removed there were still ashes in the ashpan. This indicated that the locomotive was simply pulled from active service and stored until being donated to the city of Indianapolis.

Restoration consumed many thousands of volunteer hours and nearly $250,000 in donated money and materials. NKP No. 587 made its first excursion run on September 17, 1988 by pulling an excursion train from Indianapolis to Logansport, Indiana.[4]

No. 587 leads an excursion train near Tipton, Indiana in June 1991

No. 587 was operated by the ITM and was considered its main attraction. It was used primarily to pull the museum's fair train from Fishers, IN to the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis, IN and other special events.

In 1989, No. 587 performed a doubleheader with Norfolk and Western 611 to pull the annual Independence Limited from Rocky River, Ohio to Roanoke, Virginia over a four-day period from June 17–20, with 587 being added at Bellevue, Ohio. On July 16, 1989, 587 joined 611 and Norfolk and Western 1218 to led a tripleheader from Roanoke to Lynchburg, Virginia for the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) Convention held in Asheville, North Carolina. The 587 led two excursions for the Convention, one of them with 1218. In October 1988-89 and 1993, No. 587 made runs down to Bloomington, Indiana along with a side trip over Tulip Trestle, 20 miles west of Bloomington.

In 1993, No. 587 led a doubleheader with NKP 2-8-4 locomotive No. 765 on an excursion from Fort Wayne to Chicago, Illinois, as part of that year's NRHS Convention.[7] This marked the first time No. 587 visited Chicago since its restoration.[7] In 1997, No. 587, along with a tool car in tow, deadheaded to the Monticello Railway Museum (MRM) to receive necessary repairs. With repair work to the wheels completed, No. 587 made a few runs on the MRM to benefit the restoration of Southern Railway 401. On November 11, 2002, with the locomotive's Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)-mandated rebuild approaching within a few months, No. 587 made its final runs at the ITM; an all day excursion over the museum's entire thirty-eight-mile line from Tipton to Indianapolis. In early 2003, No. 587's operating permit expired. This was due to FRA's requirements to have all boiler tubes and flues from steam locomotives to be replaced every fifteen years, or 1,472 days of operation.

The disassembled No. 587 at the Indiana Transportation Museum's restoration shops in 2005

No. 587 is undergoing its second overhaul dependent on funding and available volunteer efforts. The tubes, flues, dry pipe, super-heater and many other pieces have been removed. The dry pipe was worn too thin to support the steam pressures necessary to operate the locomotive. A new dry pipe has been formed and is awaiting installation into the boiler. The air pump has been removed and rebuilt and is in storage awaiting re-installation. Several sections of the firebox have been cut away and replaced as well as a section of the rear tube sheet that was worn too thin to support the operating steam pressure. A new tube sheet section has been cut and using the heat and beat method has been molded into place. It is now in the contractor's shop to have the new holes drilled in it. New tubes have been swaged, which is a process of reducing the diameter on one end while not cutting away any material. They have been transported to the museum in Noblesville and are currently stored until they are needed. Riveting of the firebox is nearly complete with only the front section and several rivets in the corners needing to be replaced. This will require the rear driver of 587 to be dropped into a shallow pit to allow for the riveting to take place.

The locomotive was inside the ITM's shop undergoing additional work. It was lifted several inches off its supporting trucks and running gear to allow access to the leaf springs and bushings without the need to drop all the drivers. The bushings will be removed and replaced as most have worn thin from years of use. In 2008, the ownership of No. 587 was officially transferred from the Indianapolis Parks Department to the ITM.

On June 28, 2018, a court order required ITM to vacate its former location. The Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation (KSHCO) made a deal with the museum to relocate 587 before the deadline. Plans are for the locomotive to be moved to Ravenna, Kentucky and have it stored alongside Chesapeake and Ohio 2716 until the ITM could raise enough funds for restoration, and they wanted to eventually return the locomotive back to Indiana once the restoration is complete. On July 7, most of the main components of the 587 left museum's grounds, except for the tender body, which left the grounds on July 12 and was fully unloaded on July 14. On March 5, 2021, the ownership of No. 587 was transferred from the ITM to a private individual who is working with KSHCO regarding the future of the locomotive. No. 587 will be remaining in Ravenna until a solid plan can be attained.[8]