Nickel Plate Road 587

Nickel Plate Road 587
Company type	Steam locomotive
Industry	Rail transport
Predecessor	Lake Erie and Western Railroad (as No. 5541)
Founded	September 1918
Fate	Preserved, currently stored awaiting restoration
Headquarters	Ravenna, United States
Owner	Private individual (as of 2021)

Nickel Plate Road 587 is a preserved steam locomotive of the H-6o category, classified as a "USRA Light Mikado". It was originally constructed by Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Lake Erie and Western Railroad (LE&W) and bore the number 5541. Following the LE&W's 1923 merger into the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (commonly known as the Nickel Plate Road), the locomotive was renumbered to 587 in 1924.

After serving both LE&W and Nickel Plate Road for many years, No. 587 was retired in the mid-1950s and placed on static display at Broad Ripple Park in Indianapolis. It underwent a restoration during the 1980s, returning to operational status and running public excursion trips for over a decade.

Between 2003 and 2018, the Indiana Transportation Museum (ITMZ) located in Noblesville, Indiana, took on extensive restoration efforts. When ITMZ moved to Logansport in 2018, No. 587 was transferred to Ravenna, Kentucky, where it came under the stewardship of the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation. The locomotive was subsequently sold to a private individual intending further restoration work; however, the timeline for this remains undetermined. Although it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, it was removed from the list in November 2021. A scheduled auction in 2025 due to unpaid storage charges was canceled following a settlement with its previous owner.

Revenue service

Constructed in September 1918 for the Lake Erie & Western Railroad (LE&W), this locomotive initially carried the number 5541. After LE&W’s acquisition by Nickel Plate Road (NKP) in 1922, it was renumbered as 587 two years later. During an overhaul in 1943, its cylinders were replaced with castings produced by Lima Locomotive Works.

No. 587 operated along the Indianapolis to Michigan City corridor for 37 years, maintaining much of its original configuration until its final revenue service run in March 1955, when it was officially retired.

Retirement

On September 9, 1955, NKP No. 587 was donated to the city of Indianapolis and placed on exhibit at Broad Ripple Park. Prior to display, its original tender was exchanged with that from NKP 2-8-2 No. 639 due to differing mechanical conditions between the two units. Initially outfitted with a tender holding 16 tons of coal and 10,000 gallons of water, No. 587 had been upgraded during the 1930s with a larger 16RA tender capable of carrying 20 tons of coal and doubling water capacity to 20,000 gallons.

In 1934, Lima supplied NKP with twenty-five tenders of the 22RA type for Mikado locomotives—similar designs used on Lima-built NKP "Berkshires" (2-8-4). In 1955, after a stoker failure on No. 639’s larger tender occurred, a tender swap took place allowing No. 639 to continue operating briefly while No. 587 received that larger tender for display purposes. No. 639 was retired two years later in 1957 and exhibited alongside No. 587's original smaller tender.

By 1976, concerns about No. 587’s condition prompted the Indiana Transportation Museum (then known as IMOTAC) to request custody; however, this request was declined by Indianapolis Parks authorities.

The locomotive remained at Broad Ripple Park until October of 1983, when plans for constructing a new public library necessitated relocating it from its display location.

Restoration

A dedicated group named "Friends of 587" carried out a study assessing restoration feasibility and concluded that No. 587 was an excellent candidate for revival. The Indiana Transportation Museum (ITM) negotiated a twenty-five-year lease agreement with Indianapolis Parks Department for stewardship of the locomotive and secured workshop space at Amtrak’s Beech Grove Shops to facilitate restoration work. The locomotive was removed from Broad Ripple Park on October 10, 1983, marking the start of restoration activities. During disassembly, inspectors discovered ashes still present in the ashpan, indicating that rather than being fully scrapped, it had been withdrawn from active service and stored intact.

The restoration required thousands of volunteer hours alongside nearly $250,000 contributed through donations of funds and materials. Upon completion, No. 587 successfully completed its first test run on August 29, 1988, followed by its inaugural excursion trip on September 17 from Indianapolis to Logansport.

Excursion service

As the premier attraction managed by ITM, No. 587 mainly pulled the museum's Fair Train between Fishers and the Indiana State Fair, along with other special events.

From 1988 through 1994, No. 587 conducted numerous excursions to Bloomington, Indiana, including journeys across the Tulip Trestle. In 1989, it operated in tandem with Norfolk and Western 611 on the "Independence Limited," a four-day trip spanning Ohio to Virginia. That July, it participated in a tripleheader alongside N&W engines 611 and 1218 at the National Railway Historical Society Convention held in Asheville, North Carolina. Subsequently, a legal disagreement developed between Friends of 587 and ITM over locomotive ownership, resulting in nearly two years of inactivity while stored. The conflict was settled in 1991 when ITM regained control and resumed excursion operations that spring.

In 1993, No. 587 teamed up with NKP No. 765 for an excursion from Fort Wayne to Chicago during the NRHS Convention—marking its first post-restoration appearance in Chicago. On August 30, 1994, it was moved to the Monticello Railway Museum (MRM) for repairs totaling $250,000 over a three-year period. Following these repairs, it operated benefit excursions at MRM in 1997 to support the restoration of Southern Railway 401.

No. 587’s last mainline excursion occurred in August 1998, traveling from Indianapolis to Worthington via Indiana Southern Railroad tracks. Later that year, it hauled a round-trip excursion between Indianapolis and Atlanta for the NKP Historical and Technical Society’s annual meeting, featuring photo runbys alongside vintage freight cars.

On November 2, 2002, anticipating an FRA-mandated rebuild, No. 587 completed its final runs for ITM on a full-day excursion covering the museum’s entire 38-mile route from Tipton to Indianapolis. Its operating certificate expired in January 2003 due to FRA regulations requiring replacement of boiler tubes and flues every fifteen years or after accumulating 1,472 service days.

Downtime

The locomotive entered a second overhaul phase dependent on funding and volunteer support. Critical parts such as tubes, flues, dry pipe, and superheater were removed. The dry pipe showed excessive wear preventing it from maintaining necessary steam pressure; a replacement was fabricated and is awaiting installation. The air pump was rebuilt and set aside for reassembly. Worn sections of the firebox and rear tube sheet were replaced—the new tube sheet segment was formed through heating and hammering techniques and prepared for drilling. New tubes were swaged (reducing diameter without material loss) and stored at the museum’s Noblesville facility for future installation. Firebox riveting was nearly finished but required lowering the rear driver into a pit to complete rivet replacement.

The locomotive remained housed within ITM’s workshop for ongoing repairs, slightly elevated off its trucks to allow access to leaf springs and bushings without removing all drivers. Most bushings exhibited wear and were scheduled for replacement. In 2008, ownership of No. 587 officially transferred from the Indianapolis Parks Department to ITM. The smokebox was determined to be too thin and was subsequently replaced.

Locomotive Storage in Kentucky and the 2025 Auction

Following a court mandate on June 28, 2018, ITM was compelled to leave its previous premises. The Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation (KSHCO) facilitated the transfer of locomotive 587 to Ravenna, Kentucky, where it was stored alongside Chesapeake and Ohio 2716. This arrangement was intended to hold the engine until ITM secured sufficient funds for its restoration, with intentions to eventually return it to Indiana after completion. By July 14, 2018, all primary parts had been relocated. On March 5, 2021, ownership of No. 587 shifted from ITM to a private party working in partnership with KSHCO on its prospective future; the locomotive continues to be housed in Ravenna while a definitive restoration plan is developed.

Nickel Plate Road 587 was slated for public auction on January 23, 2025, due to outstanding storage charges at KSHCO’s Irvine, Kentucky facility. The sealed-bid auction was set to close on February 25, with the successful bidder required to remove the locomotive within sixty days. Nevertheless, the auction was canceled on March 3, 2025, as KSHCO and the former owner entered negotiations aimed at resolving the dispute.

In Popular Culture

In 1991, No. 587 was among five prominent mainline steam engines selected for filming on the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway near Chicago for the action film Night Ride Down. The lineup included NKP 765, Reading 2100, Canadian Pacific 1238, and 1286. The movie’s narrative centered around a labor union strike during the 1930s but was ultimately abandoned due to the early-1990s economic downturn and lead actor Harrison Ford withdrawing over script revisions.

The following year, in 1992, No. 587 featured in an episode titled Railroads, Rebels & Robbers from the Discovery Channel series Rediscovering America.

In 1998, No. 587 took a starring role in the children’s film Old 587: The Great Train Robbery, which depicted a group of children rescuing the locomotive from a scrapyard with assistance from its former engineer before donating it to the Steam City Railroad museum.