UPDATE:

UPDATE: The gofundme effort to save locomotive No. 503 is now up to $25,840 as of 10 a.m. Monday.

PREVIOUS REPORTING:

A last-ditch effort to rescue locomotive No. 503, facing demolition in Port Arthur’s Bryan Park, had raised $19,055 of a $50,000 goal by Sunday afternoon on a GoFundMe account.

The former Kansas City Southern locomotive — it was operated by a KCS subsidiary Louisiana & Arkansas — was destined for scrapping after the city of Port Arthur contracted with private companies to test for and remove asbestos from the old locomotive and remove the locomotive from the park.

The train fund-raising effort was launched Friday by Jason Sobczynski, whose Kentucky-based company, Next Generation Rail Services, does railroad maintenance and repair.

Sobcyznski, who was working on a train project in Texas, was in Port Arthur over the weekend at the behest of a client to inspect No. 503 and see if it could be saved. The 1913 locomotive was a donation from KCS, and has been displayed in this city since 1957.

The train is damaged by 30 years of display in the open elements, Sobcyznski told the Port Arthur News. Especially harmful has been salt air.

Sobcyznski told Trains Newswire he would use the funds to buy the engine and truck it to the Texas State Railroad Museum in Rusk for temporary storage. There, he told the news wire, a long-term plan could be made.

Sobczysn told the Port Arthur News on Friday the contractor has given him some leeway before destroying the train. In an issued statement, city officials said the city has until March 6 before it faces sanctions over the train from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The city of Port Arthur’s concerns over the train arose after Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey last August. Because of flooding, there were fears that asbestos and other harmful substances would seep into neighboring homes and yards.

To reach the GoFundMe page, go to https://www.gofundme.com/help-save-the-la-503-friends-of