L&N Historical Society makes donation to Corbin Tourism

The L&N Historical Society Board of Directors recently presented the Corbin Tourism Commission with a $5,000 donation to help fund the restoration of the L&N 2132 locomotive, its coal tender and caboose on display on Depot Street.

The Corbin Tourism Commission received some financial help Saturday in its on-going effort to return the L&N 2132 locomotive, along with its coal tender and caboose to their former glory.

The board of directors of the L&N Historical Society, which held its quarterly meeting over the weekend in Corbin, presented the tourism commission with a check for $5,000 to go toward the restoration efforts.

Sid Johnson, president of the historical society, said when he initially heard of the plans for the museum, he was skeptical, especially because those plans included returning 2132 to Corbin to serve as a centerpiece.

“I didn’t have a lot of hope for it,” Johnson said.

“We are very proud that it has gone this far.”

Ron Flannery, a railroad historian and expert on the history of the L&N Railroad, said adding L&N 2132 is one of the things that will separate the Corbin Railroad Museum from others.

“With all due respect, there are railroad museums that are just piles of junk and there are railroad museums that are world class,” Flannery said.

Flannery explained that of the three surviving L&N Railroad steam locomotives, 2132 is the only one that was built in-house.

L&N built more than 400 locomotives at its South Louisville shops,” Flannery said. “If you are looking for the South Louisville shops today, it is under the 50-yardline at Papa John’s Stadium.

“There was no chance of sending this engine back to where it was built,” Flannery said. “So it made more sense to bring it to a place where it used to work and it used to work in Corbin.”

While the pieces are in disrepair and the locomotive is missing many of its unique accessories, Flannery said that would be changing as officials have found gauges, number plates, a headlight, whistle and bell.

“We have all of the pieces necessary to put that engine back together,” Flannery said.

Corbin Tourism Director Maggy Kriebel had previously estimated the cost to restore the rolling stock and build the museum at between $800,000 and $1 million.

At its April meeting, the tourism commission approved a motion to use a combination of cash reserves and loans to finance the entire project with the goal of completing it as soon as possible.

Kriebel said she is in the process of putting together the request for proposal, which is the next step in securing the loans to fund the design and construction of the museum.

In addition, donations such as the one made Saturday by the L&N Historical Society and any other private donations are welcome and encouraged.

Donations to the non-profit “Friends of the Corbin Rail Museum, Inc. may be brought to the Corbin Tourism Commission Office at The Corbin Center.

Additional information is available by contacting the tourism commission at 528-8860.

“The journey has just begun,” Kriebel said.