ST. LOUIS, MO (July 14th) - A historic Wabash Railroad turntable has been rescued from obscurity and will be preserved as part of a planned steam-driven tourist railroad in South Central Florida.

MetroLink, a light rail system serving the greater St. Louis region, had sought a new home for the historic structure for over 25 years. As MetroLink cleared the area for redevelopment, the turntable’s fate was uncertain. Earlier this year, representatives from FMW Solutions LLC, an industry contractor with expertise in rail preservation and logistics, approached MetroLink with several options to save the structure.

Since February, FMW has worked with MetroLink to clear the site and turntable, removing and salvaging structural components and wood, and even managed to save two newborn kittens that were living in the turntable pit. Nicknamed “Link” and “Wabash,” the kittens were turned over for adoption at the local humane society.

“We inherited the turntable along with other infrastructure in the 1980s when we were just beginning construction of the MetroLink light rail system,” said Jeff Braun, Director of Real Estate at Metro Transit in St. Louis. “We are very excited to partner with FMW so that this piece of St. Louis’ rail history can be preserved and put into service for years to come.”

The 90-foot, 62-ton turntable will make a thousand-mile journey from St. Louis to Clewiston, Florida, where plans call for it to ultimately be restored and used as part of the Sugar Express, a regional tourist train operation in the Lake Okeechobee region.

“The installation of this turntable will be an important step toward our future goal of offering public excursions on the Sugar Express, where passengers will be able to see South Florida farming operations firsthand aboard an historic steam locomotive-driven railroad,” said Scott Ogle, General Manager of the Sugar Express. “We appreciate the staff at FMW Solutions for helping to relocate the turntable as we make plans for its installation near Clewiston.”

The turntable, used to orient locomotives at the railroad’s facility at Vanteveter Avenue roundhouse, almost exclusively served the line’s storied steam and diesel passenger locomotives throughout its history. In the ensuing years, the roundhouse was demolished and the property was absorbed by Norfolk & Western, and later owned by Norfolk Southern until 1989 when the adjoining railroad line was deemed secondary and later sold to Bi-State Development as it began construction of MetroLink.