Despite oversight by a retired Monon engineer and Mr. McCarty, Indiana weather and occasional acts of vandalism began to take their toll on the "stuffed" 2-8-2. The year 1967, however, brought action and hope to a buffeted 587. Jay Williams, who lived in Broad Ripple, responded to concerns about the engine's marked deterioration by planning and launching a fund raising project to erect a shed over 587, plus repair and repaint her. Thanks to the Northside Topics, Lamfab, a laminated beam supplier, and scores of generous citizens, Williams soon had enough money raised to finance the design and installation of a 120-by-35 foot steel and laminated-wood shed over the 2-8-2. Also, the shed was wired, so a battery of mercury-vapor lamps bathed the 587 with light after dark.

The wish for an operational 587, however, remained just that-a wish. Meanwhile, the 587 "morphed" from a historic steam locomotive on display to a species of jungle-gym attractive to active youngsters.

Or so it seemed during the Seventies.

Williams did not forget his dream of seeing this engine run again. Nor, as it turned out, did others. Walter Sassmannshousen, who had been instrumental in a locomotive restoration project in Ft. Wayne, contacted Jay about studying the feasibility of moving and restoring 587. Date: 1982. With permission from the Indy Parks Department, Jay organized a project to check 587's mechanical and physical condition. Jay had known of the Indiana Transportation Museum's (ITM) interest in restoring the engine; as he had attended the Indy parks meeting in 1975 when the ITM formally requested the Board to lease the 2-8-2 for overhaul and eventual operation. The Parks Board denied the request, arguing the engine belonged to the people of Indianapolis. He was sure the ITM could support this effort.

Decisions were being made at the Public Library which would directly impact and alter the project's future. The Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library (IMCPL) branch was eight blocks from the 587's display site. By 1982, it had outgrown the building, and needed a new, larger facility. School 80 had been closed. IMCPL wanted to buy the property and raze the school building for the new Broad Ripple Branch. Failing that, the Library stated only one option was left-to acquire the land on which the 587 rested for the new branch. Citizens of the Village were calmed when the Indianapolis Public Schools announced a developer would buy School 80 and maintain its historic appearance. Meanwhile the Parks Board and the City offered IMCPL the Broad Ripple Park land parcel for the price of moving 587 to another location. It now fell to Williams' new group, The Friends of 587, to find a new location of the Nickel Plate Mikado.