OWOSSO, Mich. – More than 36,000 people from 50 states and 14 countries made the Steam Railroading Institute’s Train Festival 2009 a success, organizers of the Owosso, Mich., railroad event said Monday. While accounting for the event won’t wrap up until after Southern Pacific 4-8-4 No. 4449 completes its westbound trip home to Portland, Ore., in late October, the feeling is that the event will end up in the black with a modest profit. All proceeds will go toward the 15-year inspection and rebuild of the institute’s own Pere Marquette 2-8-4 No. 1225, says Executive Director T.J. Gaffney.
Exact figures will be known later, but Gaffney says the nonprofit group stands to make in the “low six figures,” an amount that could cover or just be a down payment on expensive boiler work on such a large engine.
Underscoring the need for that rebuild, No. 1225 went down early Friday morning when a boiler tube snapped, sidelining it for its own party and causing the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 to pinch-hit on a July 25 excursion.
Rain hampered crowds on Thursday, limiting them to 6,000, but Friday, Saturday, and Sunday each saw upwards of 10,000 visitors. All-day trips to Alma, Mich., sold out, as did most one-hour trips with Little River Railroad 4-6-2 No. 110. The only significant problems were water on the grounds that left huge puddles. Eight steam locomotives, the largest gathering in 10 years, were the headliners. The replica 4-4-0 Leviathan from 1868 made its debut.
Will there be another such festival again soon? Gaffney says a smaller event could happen again next year with a much larger event possible after 1225’s rebuild is complete to celebrate that milestone. “On some very real levels, I think it will be tough to top; 4449 is pretty special, and the debut of the Leviathan turned out to be bigger than any of us figured. In many ways, it stole the show,” Gaffney says. - Jim Wrinn
Photos from TrainFestival2009: http://www.railfan.com/trainfest2009.html
