DULUTH, Minn. – Southern Pacific 4-8-4 No. 4449 won’t make an appearance in Duluth, Minn., the National Railway Historical Society has confirmed to TRAINS News Wire. The society announced it would appear last week, but the group said it had to cancel the appearance after Train Festival 2009 asked for $25,000 as part of the deal.

No. 4449 is making its cross-country trek to appear at Train Festival in Owosso, Mich., in July. Train Festival’s backers are paying $400,000 to bring the engine eastward, and as a result, asked the society to contribute $25,000 to help defray that cost. But Carl Jensen, chairman of the society’s national convention committee, said his group can’t afford to pay that cost. He noted the trips were announced before 4449 became part of the picture as diesel-powered excursions, and said it was too late to adjust ticket prices.

Jensen said the current trips will run as scheduled, but with diesel power as originally planned. He said the group hasn’t yet discussed whether to refund ticket prices to passengers who bought tickets in response to the 4449 appearance.

Fundamentally, Jensen said the society didn’t know it would have to pay Train Festival as part of using the engine at the time it announced the engine would appear.

For those looking to ride behind 4449 in Minnesota this fall, plans remain in place for it to pull fall color excursions from Minneapolis to Winona, Minn., Oct. 10-11. Sources indicate the group behind those excursions, the Friends of the 261, did pay Train Festival’s fee.

For more information on Train Festival, visit www.trainfestival2009.com. For more information on the society’s convention in Duluth, visit www.steamontherange.com. For more information on SP 4449, visit www.sp4449.com.