Good Evening Everyone:

My name is Kenneth Cotton, and I am President of the Texas Railway Preservation Association, a non-profit formed to save Southern Pacific 982. We have tried for almost two years to work with the City Of Houston to lease or buy the locomotive from the city, with no success. We have a place to store the locomotive and overhaul her, but the sticking point is the City is not willing to do anything with the locomotive until we have come up with a permanent display site. Despite giving them a comprehensive business plan in regards to the overhaul and operation of the locomotive, plus giving them contact information with FWRHS and ORHF and how they operated and their planning for enginehouse/museum hybrids, the City not only has not followed up on those contacts, but are barely talking at this stage.

We have found another tender, Vanderbilt style,six axle, which has been promised to us.

The locomotive currently sits on land which is about to be sold, but the City has no place to move the locomotive to. The sale is purported to be IMMINENT. Other plans the city has are to place the locomotive in the center of a themed restaurant currently under developement.

This is no ghost story folks. We'll keep working on it until either we save the engine, the City ruin her, or make her totally inacessible. If you wish to express your support for what we are attempting to do, please go to our Go Fund Me Page and give a donation. If you wish to express your support and/or outrage, here are the folks to send an e-mail to:

tom.davis@houstontx.gov
832-393-1044

andy.icken@houstontx.gov

sylvester.turner@houstontx.gov

Thank you for your interest, and your support.

Sincerely,

Kenneth Cotton

President

Texas Railway Preservation Association