by ‘the Repaint the Locomotive team’

Engine #2546 has lived at Ripley Park in Marceline since 1955. Walt and Roy Disney took photos on the locomotive when they visited Marceline in 1956. Marceline also added a red ATSF caboose years later. These historic pieces of rolling stock remind us and our visitors of Marceline’s great railroad heritage as a former Missouri division headquarters for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.

As with any retired railroad equipment, some maintenance is still required – especially if it’s a focal point. In this case, it’s time to repaint the locomotive and the caboose. Unfortunately, there’s never enough money to do all of the projects everyone would like to do, so the ‘Repaint the Locomotive team‘ is asking railroad fans, Marceline fans, Walt Disney fans, and history fans to purchase a personalized brick for $103. The proceeds from the brick sales will pay for the project and give renewed life to our stationary railroad exhibits for years to come.

Before painting can begin, the equipment must be pressure blasted to remove decades of dust and dirt, as well as removing as much old paint as possible. Then, thanks to a wonderful donation from Sherwin Williams of the paint, the pieces will be painted. Once the paint is dry, new lettering is needed to show the engine number and text that has been visible for so many years.

The personalized bricks will outline a new walkway around the locomotive to give visitors a smoother path to see Marceline’s rail giants. The red bricks will beautifully highlight the route and be visible to the tens-of-thousands of visitors that Marceline receives each year.

Click the button below to donate $103 to the Downtown Marceline organization, the 501(c)3 nonprofit focused on Walt Disney’s hometown of Marceline, Missouri. Each brick has space for up to 3 lines, with up to 14 characters per line.