GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - A steam engine that Great Britain gave to the United States after World War II has garnered plenty of support from rail buffs here and abroad.
The Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived at the National Railroad Museum outside Green Bay in 1964, according to Press-Gazette Media (https://gbpg.net/1eEVvTG ). The engine was returned to the U.K. in 2012 and spent two years in a museum in England as part of a national celebration of steam engine history.
An engine of the same class set the world speed record in 1938 and the Dwight D. Eisenhower is one of only six of that class remaining in the world.
Train fans in England liked it so much that an anonymous businessman sent the American museum a million-dollar check to keep the restored locomotive overseas. The check was returned to the donor.
“It means something to us, too,” said former museum board president Paul Koch. “I don’t think we would ever sell it.”
Former President Eisenhower traveled in one of the trains as a Supreme Commander during the war.
“They just wanted to keep it there,” museum director Jaqueline Frank said of the British rail enthusiasts. “It’s just not going to happen.”
The train will be returned in accordance with the 2012 loan agreement.
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