The mission of the Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation, also doing business as the Steam Railroading Institute, is to educate the public about steam-era railroading in Michigan and the impact those railroads had on the history, economy, and culture of the entire Great Lakes region. We do this by safely operating, restoring, exhibiting, and interpreting historic railroad equipment.
Our organization was founded in 1969 by a group of students at Michigan State University, who intended to restore a steam locomotive to operating condition so that it could carry trainloads of football fans to away games. Today, more than 50 years later, we own a 7-acre site in Owosso, Michigan; we continue to operate steam locomotive Pere Marquette 1225, which was made famous in "The Polar Express" motion picture; we carry over 15,000 people per year to the Village of Ashley's "Country Christmas" with our "North Pole Express" excursion trains; we maintain and restore a growing fleet of passenger cars and historic freight cars; and someday, we may even show up at a football stadium near you.
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