Two Ohio Non-Profits Collaborate on Benefit Excursion Tickets for American Freedom Train No. 250
Nick Stewart | May 7, 2025
WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — The American Steam Railroad Preservation Association (ASR) and the Cincinnati Scenic Railway (CSR) are collaborating to offer 50 fundraiser tickets aboard the Ohio Rail Experience’s Spirit of Urbana excursion on June 14, 2025. Ticket proceeds will benefit the restoration of Reading Company T-1 steam locomotive No. 2100 as American Freedom Train No. 250 in Cleveland.
50 open-window coach tickets are being sold for the fundraiser and will be available for $85.00 each. Ticketholders will also be automatically entered into several different raffles: Two cab ride raffles, two first-class upgrade raffles, one AFT 250 Club raffle, two AFT 250 apparel kits (includes T-shirt, hat and pin) and one five-pack of $21,000 raffle tickets. Tickets are being sold on American Steam Railroad’s website: www.americansteamrailroad.org/shop/p/spirit-of-urbana-benefit-excursion
Ray Kammer Jr., President of Cincinnati Scenic Railway, emphasized the importance of the partnership and its connection to Cleveland’s railroad legacy.
“The collaboration of these two non-profit organizations is a natural fit and something that will help generate much-needed awareness of railway preservation,” Kammer Jr. said. “I’ve always been a huge supporter of mainline steam projects, especially those with ties to the city of Cleveland. My father was responsible for saving another prominent Cleveland steam locomotive, C&O No. 2707, from the scrapper’s torch by purchasing it from the city of Cleveland back in 1981 and removing it from Brook Park.”
The excursion will board at 8:00 AM in Washington Court House, Ohio, for a 100-mile round-trip journey over the rails of three historic railroads: the Detroit Toledo & Ironton, New York Central, and Erie.
The train will stop for a 2-hour layover in Urbana, Ohio, where passengers will have the opportunity to enjoy downtown Urbana’s Second Saturday Festival, which includes food trucks, local vendors and live entertainment. The excursion will arrive back in Washington Court House at 6:00 PM.
In 2005, a group of engineers, businessmen, and railroaders came together to start the American Steam Railroad Preservation Association, a 501c3 non-profit organization. In 2015, ASR surprised the railroad preservation industry by signing a multi-year lease for Reading Company steam locomotive No. 2100 and completing a 2,200-mile railroad move to Cleveland, Ohio. Upon its debut, Reading No. 2100 will be adorned in the striking red, white and blue colors of the American Freedom Train and renumbered to No. 250.
Based in southwest Ohio, the Cincinnati Scenic Railway is a 501c3 non-profit organization that operates the Lebanon Mason & Monroe Railroad and the Ohio Rail Experience. CSR owns multiple pieces of historically significant rolling stock, including vintage diesel locomotives and passenger cars. Together, these operations provide year-round excursion train rides in western Ohio.
Tickets for excursion trains operated by the Cincinnati Scenic Railway can be purchased online at cincinnatiscenicrailway.com. Tax-deductible donations towards the preservation of CSR’s historic locomotives and rolling stock can be made online at cincinnatiscenicrailway.com/csrfundraising.
Tax-deductible donations towards the restoration of AFT No. 250 / Reading No. 2100 can be mailed to American Steam Railroad Preservation Association, 2800 W. 3rd St, Cleveland, OH 44113, or made online at www.americansteamrailroad.org/donate.
