In Indianapolis, newspaperman and editor Mickey McCarty had a different outlook. From his column in the Indianapolis News, McCarty had a powerful tool of persuasion regarding what Indy did - or didn't - need. Early in 1955, he decided that the Hoosier capital needed a steam locomotive. At that time, the Pennsylvania, the New York Central and the Illinois Central were operating steam locomotives in and out of Indy on a regular basis. The other railroads, Baltimore & Ohio, Monon, and the Nickel Plate, had dieselized their operations in the city. Of the above corporations, the NKP offered McCarty the most satisfactory response to his inquiries for a civic steam locomotive. So it came to pass that the engine selected to symbolize steam's role in the history of the Hoosier City was one not based at, or well-known to, Indy, but rather a "mike" (mikado) on the dead line at NKP's Frankfort shops, 47 miles north.

Consequently, the 587 was pulled from the dead line into the NKP's roundhouse at Frankfort for a cosmetic restoration, meaning fresh paint and trim - and a new tender, which, as it turned out, could carry more coal and water. The railroad's motive was that 587's old tender, which was in good condition, was needed for another 2-8-2, no. 639, so a swap was arranged. Since no. 587 would never run again, 639's tender, which needed repairs, would go well with 587. By way of background, this tender was built for the Nickel Plate Road by the Lima Locomotive Works, Lima, Ohio, as part of an order of 25 similar tenders. In 1934, the Railroad's management decided to increase the range and efficiency of its newer 2-8-2s. Equipped with the NKP-classified 22RA tanks, these two-dozen-plus-one mikados reduced their manifest transit times as well. After all, the Nickel Plate's mission at that time was to move freight fast!

Meanwhile, the process of selecting a display site for the capital city's new, mammoth acquisition got underway. McCarty proudly proclaimed the 587, "... has been a familiar sight along Indiana countrysides as her whistle and bell signalized the tempo of Hoosierland's industrial and business hustle and bustle" and now "proudly takes her place as an asset to the community."