By Samantha Swindler / Managing Editor

Fifteen poly-resin trains went on public display Saturday during the unveiling of the city’s long-awaited public art project titled “Monuments of Art, Spirit & Heritage.”

“This is a project that has taken two years in organization, and creativity, and blood, sweat and tears for everyone who’s been involved,” said Main Street Manager Sharae Myers. “The city of Corbin and CSX Railroad, with the artists and all of our other partners who participated to make this happen, it’s just been incredible.”

Each artist stood by his train for the reveal at a sculpture garden constructed at the corner of Main and Monroe streets. The trains will be left on display for about a year, after which time they will be auctioned off with proceeds benefiting the Main Street program. 

Among the artists were about 13 children involved in Corbin Housing Authority’s summer youth program. The kids made a “Peace Train” covered in strips of tie-dyed fabric. 

“We came out to be with the kids to encourage them to participate in the community,” said Corbin Housing Authority employee Sandy McFadden. “They had a ball... they enjoyed working on it, they tie-dyed all the material and cut strips and put it all together.” 

Residents at The Heritage Nursing & Rehabilitation Center created a collage train showcasing a slice of local history. 

“Several of our residents have worked on the railroad. If it wasn’t themselves personally, it was their mother, father, grandma, grandpa,” said Heritage activities director Vicki Broussard. “Once we started working on this we starting finding more and more people who actually worked on the railroad.” 

Many of the photos, time tables, and newspaper articles used on the train are photo copies of actual items that belonged to local residents.

Gabrielle Malay came out to see train painted by her grandfather, David Bunce. 

“I’m really glad that he got to do it because my grandma was really sick at the time, and so between running her to the doctor and back, she was real sick with cancer, he’d go out there and paint a little bit at a time and come in and check on her,” she said. “I’m just glad that people appreciate him for it.”

Storyboards next to the sculpture garden detailed the town’s history with the railroad, from L&N; to CSX, as well gave artists biographies and photos of each train. 

Myers thanked Kerry Coyle, Mark Waildron and CSX Railroad for their help with the project, including the $5,000 they donated to purchase the trains.  

She also thanked the “unsung heroes” of the project, Amanda Rhinehart with Hinkle Printing and the city of Corbin public works department. 

“They are the ones that have worked countless hours on putting all of this infrastructure together, delivering the trains, picking them up, building the platforms, you name it, they have made this project their own, and they deserve a lot of recognition,” Myers said of the city workers. 

“I would like to thank again our city workers for the good job that they’ve done, because, believe me, we know how much time they put in there,” Mayor Willard McBurney said, adding with a laugh, “and thank God that this project is over so that we can get back to work.”

Also speaking Saturday was Jeff Crowe, president of Tour Southern & Eastern Kentucky, a federally-funded tourism initiative of U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers.

“When I started this job with Congressman Rogers six years ago, the first thing that I heard when I started coming to communities was they said, ‘you will never get the city of Corbin on board. They will not work together. They are an unheard voice,’” Crowe said. “I do not see that this morning. I have not seen that in many years since I’ve been doing this job. Sometimes you just need a driving force, and I believe that is Sharae Myers.”

Planning for a public art project involving train sculptures began in 2007. After an initially larger, $26,000 project was scrubbed, in January, Discover Corbin Main Street was able to secure $15,000 for a project with fewer and smaller trains — with $5,000 from CSX, $5,000 from the city of Corbin and $5,000 fundraised from local businesses. These trains are about three feet long, but are about six feet high when placed on their painted pedestals.