New fundraising engine drives Lewes locomotive
From the time a railroad display in Lewes was just a faraway light at the end of the tracks, Cathy Tatman has been looking to lend her support.
Her husband, Russ Tatman, was one of the first board members of the Lewes Junction Railroad and Bridge Association. After he died in 2020, Cathy started a memorial fund in his name.
When she stood on Second Street Jan. 23, holding an oversized check for $5,000, she also held her husband’s vision.
“It’s always been meant for [LJRBA], but now that the engine is about to come and we are in need of money, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to make more of it,” Tatman said.
Her check was the first donation to the Greater Lewes Foundation’s newly established D. Russell Tatman Memorial Fund.
The engine Tatman was referring to is the LJRBA’s locomotive No. 60. The 1913 engine is currently being restored in Wilmington.
The fund’s goal is to Bring #60 for 250. It is scheduled to arrive in Lewes in late March or early April, joining the red caboose and coal tender on the track in Stango Park.
LJRBA hopes to have Engine No. 60 ready for a dedication ceremony Saturday, May 9, which is National Train Day.
The group has raised about 80% of the $360,000 it needs to bring the locomotive to town. The hope is GLF’s help will put the group over the top.
"What better time to donate the funds, contributed by family and friends in Russ' memory, to this exciting steam engine project as the crowning piece of rail history is added to historic Lewes' landscape during the nation's semi-quincentennial celebrations," Tatman said. "It is a fact that Lewes would not be what it is today if the railroad had not come to town in earlier times to transport produce and passengers.”
To donate, go to greaterlewesfoundation.org.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Eagles, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
