railfan.com/railnews
Rebuilt Southern 4501 returns to the rails
As a vibrant symbol of the official steam excursion program launched by railroad president Graham Claytor in 1966, Southern Railway 4501 polished the rails from one end of the system to the other until it was removed from service in 1994. As the foundation of the museum’s historic collection, the venerable 1911 Mikado was returned to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Mu-
Pardon me, is that the Southern 4501?
Returning from its first revenue run under steam in 16 years, Southern Railway 4501 puts on a show as it crosses Chickamauga Creek just west of the Grand Junction sta- tion in Chattanooga, Tenn., on September 6, 2014. The venerable excursion locomo- tive has just emerged from a three-year re- build by volunteers at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, and will be an important part of Norfolk Southern’s “21st Century Steam” program in the future.
CHIP ALLEN PHOTO
seum and pulled excursions until the need for boiler work forced its retire- ment in 1998.
Ten years later, 4501 was stripped down for a full boiler inspection to de- termine the extent of work needed to restore the locomotive to service. In 2010, Norfolk Southern announced its commitment to include 4501 in the new “21st Century Steam” excursion pro- gram, and work began in 2011. Southern 4501 is now equipped with a coal stoker as part of the modern up- grades added during its most recent re- build. Though other Southern Mikados received upgraded feedwater heaters and coal stokers, the 4501 never bene- fitted from these additions because it was sold off in 1948 to the Kentucky & Tennessee Railway. The boiler rebuild was also certified to operate at a slight- ly higher pressure, which will give the locomotive a bit more tractive effort as a result.
With volunteers working hard to complete final reassembly and repaint- ing, the first test runs under steam took place September 4 and 5. The highly anticipated debut of Southern 4501 took place on September 6 at TVRM’s Chattanooga Rail Fest. The
4501 is expected to join Southern 630 (also from TVRM) and Nickel Plate 765 (operated by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society) in a full slate of ex- cursions for the 2015 season. For more information, visit
www.tvrm.org.
Restoration begins for C&O 1309
Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 Mallet No. 1309 was built in 1949, and became the last steam locomotive produced by Baldwin Locomotive Works. After its retirement, 1309 was placed in storage for years until it was cosmetically re- stored and moved to the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Md., in 1972. Af- ter being on display for generations to enjoy, the massive steam locomotive was acquired on May 6, 2014, by the Western Maryland Scenic Railway with the goal of rebuilding the locomo- tive for regular operation.
Courtney B. Wilson, Director of the B&O Railroad Museum said “This his- toric agreement is a win-win for rail- road preservation. It ensures the long- term preservation and restoration of an important steam locomotive which is central to our mission.”
21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64