A long-storied relic and community artifact, the last-known Cadiz Railroad locomotive is on the move — thanks to the generosity of a Hopkinsville man and his passion for trains.
According to Trigg County Historical Society President Bob Brame, Gary Marsh has purchased the 120,000-pound engine for an undisclosed amount — with full plans for a full restoration and reattachment to a rail car and a caboose for complete effect.
For the last three years at least, Brame and the Historical Society have been searching out answers for the train and its location in Montgomery. Over time, its deteriorated state, chipping paint and rotting wood has become a liability for the non-profit organization — so much so, that insurance prices were continuing to increase with its age.
Brame notes the location has long been a welcome place for families and children to visit, take photos and climb upon, but those days were waning.
Marsh entered the picture within the last few months. Having grown up near the Cadiz-Gracey Railway and eventually into a railroad enthusiast, Brame said there was a quick mutual interest for this exchange.
With Marsh’s donation, Brame said work is already underway on a significant Cadiz-Gracey Railroad exhibit for the second floor of the museum on Jefferson Street — one that will have extreme, minute detail.
It doesn’t stop there, either. Beloved west Kentucky historian William Turner also has a part in this exhibit — which Brame hopes is complete by the late summer or early fall of this year.
This specific locomotive and its long-forgotten path through Trigg County has a deep history. Brame states that Johnson Controls was the final owner of the railway, using it to ship its materials and production in and out of the area.
When its management switch to truck and interstate transfer, the railway shutdown — and later became the “Rail-to-Trail” project that runs all the way from Genesis Express to Fortner Gas and parallel to Lafayette Street.
Pending weather, the locomotive will be moved to Marsh’s property in Christian County by Thursday afternoon.
No data found.
