The Associação Brasileira de Preservação Ferroviária (ABPF) is a non profit organization and was founded in 1977 by Frenchman Patrick Henri Ferdinand Dollinger, and brings together those interested in preserving and disseminating the history of Brazilian railroad. Fond of steam locomotives and railways, Patrick came to Brazil in 1966 and concerned with the abandonment of the Brazilian railway history, decided to create an entity preservation, similar to those existing in Europe and the United States.