Southern Railway 4501

Southern Railway 4501 is a preserved Ms class 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotive built in October 1911 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the first of its wheel arrangement type for the Southern Railway (SOU). In 1948, the locomotive was retired from the SOU in favor of dieselization and was sold to the shortline Kentucky and Tennessee Railway (K&T) in Stearns, Kentucky, to haul coal trains.

Southern Railway 4501
Southern Railway No. 4501 leads the Smoky Mountain Special excursion near Paint Rock, North Carolina, on May 30, 1970
Type and origin References:^[1] Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Serial number 37085 Model 12-48 1/4 E Build date October 1911 Rebuild date 1964–1966 2012–2014
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-8-2  • UIC 1'D1'h Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Driver dia. 63 in (1,600 mm) Adhesive weight 215,700 lb (97,800 kg) Loco weight 272,900 lb (123,800 kg) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity Old tender: 12 t (12 long tons; 13 short tons) New tender: 16 t (16 long tons; 18 short tons), formerly 18 t (18 long tons; 20 short tons) Water cap. Old tender: 8,000 US gal (30,000 L; 6,700 imp gal) New tender: 13,000 US gal (49,000 L; 11,000 imp gal), formerly 12,500 US gal (47,000 L; 10,400 imp gal) Boiler pressure 205 psi (1.41 MPa), formerly 200 psi (1.38 MPa) Feedwater heater Worthington SA (added during its 2012-2014 overhaul) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 27 in × 30 in (686 mm × 762 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts
Performance figures Power output 2,700 hp Tractive effort 53,900 lbf (239.8 kN) Factor of adh. 4.00
Career Operators Southern Railway Kentucky and Tennessee Railway Norfolk Southern Railway Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Class Ms Number in class 1st of 182 Numbers SOU 4501 K&T 12 L&N 1593 Nicknames The Big Engine (by K&T crews)^[2] The Green Mikado Retired February 1964 (revenue service) September 20, 1998 (1st excursion service) Restored August 1966 (1st restoration) September 6, 2014 (2nd restoration) Current owner Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Disposition Operational Mikado Locomotive No. 4501 U.S. National Register of Historic Places Show map of Tennessee Show map of the United States Location 2202 N. Chamberlain Ave., Chattanooga, Tennessee Coordinates 35°3′43″N 85°15′1″W / 35.06194°N 85.25028°W / 35.06194; -85.25028 Built 1911 Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works NRHP reference No. 79002440 Added to NRHP March 28, 1979

When the K&T was dieselized in 1964, No. 4501 was purchased by a railfan named Paul H. Merriman with $5,000 of his own money and brought to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Shortly thereafter, it was returned to steam for main line excursion service on the Southern's steam program started by the railroad's president, W. Graham Claytor Jr. in 1966 through Merriman's 4501 Corporation.

Repainted in Southern's passenger Virginian green and gold paint scheme, No. 4501 operated as the main line steam excursion star of Southern's steam program until being replaced by larger steam locomotives in 1985. The locomotive returned to main line excursion service in 1990 until 1994, when Southern's successor, Norfolk Southern discontinued the steam program due to rising insurance cost and decreasing rail network availability.

No. 4501 continued operated for the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM) in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Merriman was a founding member of TVRM alongside Robert "Bob" Soule, and eventually handed 4501 over from his personal property to museum property. Repainted into its original freight black livery in 1996, the locomotive was retired when its boiler ticket certificate expired in 1998.

With the upcoming of Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam Program and the success of TVRM's Southern Railway 630, the restoration on No. 4501 began in 2012 and was completed in 2014, with period upgrades such as a feedwater heater and mechanical stoker added in which most of 4501's classmates received in the 1940s, but the locomotive itself never received. No. 4501 currently operates in tourist excursion service at TVRM, traditionally on the longer trips to Summerville, Georgia, throughout the year and TVRM's Missionary Ridge Local and Evening Ridge Runner excursions as needed during the weekends.

History

Design

182 2-8-2 "Mikado" type MS class steam locomotives were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, the American Locomotive Company, and the Lima Locomotive Works between 1911 and 1917 to haul freight trains for the Southern Railway (SOU) and were numbered in the 4501-4635, 6250-6284, and 6600-6611 series.^[3][4] They were designed with 63 in (1,600 mm) driving wheels, 53,900 lb (24.4 tonnes) of tractive effort, an operating boiler pressure of 200 psi (1.38 MPa), and their tenders had a capacity of 12 tonnes (12,000 kg) of coal and 8,000 US gallons (30,000 L) of water.^[1][5] Some of these locomotives were equipped with Walschaerts (Nos. 4501-4603, 4624-4635) and Southern valve gears (Nos. 4604-4623).^[5][6] In the 1940s, some of the locomotives were eventually re-equipped with Worthington feedwater heaters, mechanical stokers, bigger sand domes, larger tenders, and multiple-bearing crossheads to improve their performances.^[6][7]

Revenue service on the SOU and K&T

No. 4501 was built by Baldwin in October 1911 at a cost of $23,182 as the first of its wheel arrangement type for the Southern Railway.^[1][8] It was assigned to operate on many different divisions of the Southern Railway system from Tennessee to Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana, hauling freight trains.^[2] In the mid-late 1940s, the No. 4501 locomotive was retired from revenue service and was sent to the SOU's Princeton Shops to be stored at a locomotive boneyard in Princeton, Indiana.^[2] On October 7, 1948, the Kentucky and Tennessee Railway (K&T), headquartered in Stearns, Kentucky, purchased No. 4501 for $8,225 and renumbered it as their No. 12 locomotive.^[2][8] No. 12 worked on the K&T hauling coal trains until 1964, when the K&T purchased three ALCO S-2s diesel locomotives from the Denver and Rio Grande Western. Consequently, No. 12, along with the K&T's other steam locomotives, were retired from revenue service.^[2][8]

First restoration and excursion service

Railfan Paul H. Merriman purchased No. 12 for the 4501 Corporation with $5,000 of his own money and renumbered it back to 4501.^[2][8] On June 6, 1964, after No. 4501 moved under its own power to Chattanooga from the K&T, an initial restoration was underwent by the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM) volunteers at the facilities of the Lucey Boiler Company in Chattanooga near the TVRM's storage facilities, which were at the time located on former Western Union Company tracks.^[2]

"It’s a good thing to let another generation know what a steam locomotive is."

— W. Graham Claytor Jr., during the inaugural trips of Southern Railway No. 4501 in August 1966^[9]

No. 4501 was stripped down for an extensive overhaul, with the thin cab floor, the rotted ash pan, and the rusty smokebox front replaced.^[10] The dented cab roof was straightened and a radio antenna was installed.^[10] The cylinder cocks were reworked, and the throttle was lapped with a new air line run to the repacked reversing gear.^[10] No. 4501 was repainted in the Southern passenger Virginian green and gold paint scheme, paying homage to the Ps-4 locomotives being painted in that livery.^[10][11] After the restoration was completed in August 1966, the No. 4501 locomotive pulled its inaugural excursion train between Chattanooga and Richmond, Virginia, officially kicking off the SOU's new steam excursion program.^[10][12][13]

In 1969, No. 4501 was upgraded with a larger tender that was originally used behind a Central of Georgia 2-10-2,^[14] before being used for a maintenance of way wreck train in Georgia.^[15] The new tender held 18 tonnes (18,000 kg) of coal and 12,500 US gallons (47,000 L) of water, which improved the locomotive's range greatly.^[14][a] Also in November, during the 75th anniversary of the Southern Railway an event called the "Steam-O-Rama" took place in Anniston, Alabama, on the Birmingham-to-Atlanta main line.^[17] It featured No. 4501, Savannah and Atlanta (S&A) No. 750, which had been restored by the Atlanta Chapter NRHS,^[18] and London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) A3 No. 4472 Flying Scotsman, which was in the course of its US tour at the time.^[17]

Throughout the summer of 1973, with the request of Trains magazine editor David P. Morgan and officials from the Chicago and North Western (C&NW), No. 4501 operated outside of Southern Railway property to pull a series of excursion trips in the Midwestern United States on the C&NW, the Milwaukee Road (MILW), the Illinois Central (IC), the Rock Island (RI), and the Norfolk and Western (N&W).^[19][20][21] Arrangements were also made for No. 4501 to pull that year's Schlitz Circus World Museum (CWM) train on June 29, on the CN&W main line between Baraboo and Madison, Wisconsin, and on the MILW’s main line to Milwaukee.^[20][21][b] The SOU generously allowed the CWM to use the locomotive free of charge.^[21][22] Between July 4 and 9, No. 4501 pulled a long-distance excursion, entitled "The Independence Limited", between Chicago and Washington, D.C.^[23] During that journey, No. 4501 traveled on the Western Maryland (WM).^[23]

On March 28, 1979, No. 4501 became listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[1] On April 11, 1981, the locomotive suffered a cracked front flue sheet at Dalton, Georgia, while pulling an excursion trip from Atlanta to Chattanooga.^[24][25] A diesel locomotive pulled the remainder of the trip while No. 4501 was towed back to the Irondale Workshop in Birmingham, Alabama, for a long-term rebuild, lasting until November 1984.^[25][26] Following the rebuild, No. 4501 received a newly welded tender body with the coal capacity decreased to 16 tonnes (16,000 kg) and the water tank capacity increased to 13,000 US gallons (49,000 L).^[14] The tender's former Andrews pilot trucks were replaced with modern roller bearing trucks.^[26]

At the end of the 1985 operating season, the locomotive was retired from mainline excursion service and moved back to the TVRM due to SOU's successor, Norfolk Southern (NS), expanding the steam program with larger N&W locomotives, 4-8-4 J class No. 611 and 2-6-6-4 A class No. 1218 to haul the longer and heavier excursion trains.^[27] Five years later, No. 4501 returned to mainline excursion service to operate on lines that were off limits to the two N&W locomotives.^[28]

On November 3, 1991, during the 25th anniversary of the Southern steam program, No. 4501 was triple-headed with N&W 611 and 1218 on a planned excursion train of 28 passenger cars from Chattanooga to Atlanta.^[29] At Ooltewah, Tennessee, No. 4501 took some cars for a complete round trip, turning around at Cleveland, Tennessee.^[29] Meanwhile, the 611 and 1218 completed the rest of the trip to Atlanta.^[29]

In 1994, NS executives announced that they would discontinue their steam program due to serious safety concerns, rising insurance costs, the expense of maintaining steam locomotives, and decreasing rail network availability due to a surge in freight traffic.^[30][31] No. 4501 made its last public NS mainline excursion trip on April 30, planned to be from Birmingham to Columbus, Georgia. But it was taken off at Alexander City, Alabama, due to overheated bearings, and Norfolk Southern GP59 diesel locomotive No. 4610 finished the rest of the trip.^[30][32] No. 4501 returned to TVRM on May 25.^[32]

After Norfolk Southern ended their steam program in late 1994, No. 4501 remained at TVRM operating its excursion runs through north Georgia on the Chattooga and Chickamauga Railway shortline.^[33] In October 1996, the locomotive was repainted back to its original freight black livery for TVRM's 35th anniversary.^[33] It continued to operate until it was removed from service on September 20, 1998 due to the expiration of its boiler ticket.^[33]

Second restoration and excursion service

In June 2010, Norfolk Southern announced that they would run excursions with No. 4501 and 2-8-0 "Consolidation" No. 630 with their new 21st Century Steam program.^[34] In March 2011, No. 630 returned to service pulling tourist trains for the TVRM and some of the first main line excursion trips for the 21st Century Steam program.^[35] With No. 630 in operating condition, the restoration of No. 4501 began at TVRM's Soule Shops in 2012.^[36]

During the restoration of No. 4501 around 2013, the locomotive received upgrades to its trailing wheels that included the addition of roller bearings to help guide the locomotive through curved tracks.^[37] A Worthington SA type feedwater heater replica from a 2-10-2 China Railways QJ Class was installed on No. 4501 to improve the locomotive's performance.^[37] Its tender was given a mechanical stoker from Canadian National 5288, a 4-6-2 steam locomotive that was also on display at TVRM, but would later be sold to the Colebrookdale Railroad in 2023.^[38][39] These modifications increased the locomotive's operating boiler pressure from 200 psi (1.38 MPa) to 205 psi (1.41 MPa), which created a slight increase in tractive effort.^[40] The Armstrong lubricators that spring-loaded the driving wheels were replenished by an automatic lubricator from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in North Yorkshire, England.^[37]

On September 6, 2014, No. 4501 was steamed up for the first time in 18 years, and it made its debut at TVRM's 2014 Railfest.^[41][42][43] The locomotive made a test run from Chattanooga to LaFayette, Georgia, on the Chattooga and Chickamauga Railway line on September 25, 2014, to be prepared for TVRM's upcoming annual Summerville Steam Special on October 4 that year.^[44]

On May 1, 2015, No. 4501 returned to the Norfolk Southern main line for the first time in 21 years and successfully completed a test run from TVRM to Cleveland, Tennessee, and return.^[45][46] On June 26, 2015, No. 4501 began to participate in the 21st Century Steam program, running the Radford Rambler excursion from Bristol to Radford, Virginia.^[46][47] On June 27, the locomotive pulled the Lonesome Pine Special excursion from Bristol to Bulls Gap, Tennessee, and ran the Radford Rambler again on June 28.^[46][47]

On September 12 and 13, 2015, No. 4501 ran a round trip excursion from Chattanooga to Cleveland, during TVRM's 2015 Railfest,^[46][47] but on Sunday, the locomotive was taken off the excursion due to some poor coal damaging its firebox grates.^[48] Two weeks later, the locomotive pulled the Nancy Hanks Special excursion from Macon to Tennille, Georgia.^[46][47][49]

No. 4501's main line excursion career for the 21st Century Steam program was very short-lived however. It was planned to run the Piedmont Limited round trip excursion from Atlanta to Toccoa, Georgia, on October 3 and 4, 2015, but it was cancelled on October 1 due to Hurricane Joaquin.^[46][50][51] As a result, Norfolk Southern officially concluded their 21st Century Steam program, while No. 4501 remained at TVRM to continue excursion operations and became the main motive power for its annual Summerville Steam Special excursion from Chattanooga to Summerville, Georgia.^[46][52][53]

On March 12-13, 2018, Nos. 4501 and 630 participated in Lerro Productions' Southern Railway photo charter, where they haul a mixed freight train consist at the TVRM section on the former day and the Summerville branch line on the latter day.^[54] In September 2019, No. 4501 was temporarily masqueraded as Louisville and Nashville J-3 Mikado No. 1593 for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Historical Society annual convention.^[55][56] In the summer of 2023, TVRM operates No. 4501 on the Evening Ridge Runner weekend excursions, which run from TVRM's Grand Junction Station to the Soule Shop during evening times.^[57]

Appearances in media

• No. 4501 made its first feature film appearance in the 1971 movie Fools' Parade in which it was repainted to resemble a Baltimore & Ohio steam locomotive.^[58]
• No. 4501 is shown while under steam in the 1974 movie Ridin' the Rails: The Great American Train Story.^[58] A clip of this movie, with Johnny Cash at the throttle of the locomotive, was used in the music video for Hurt, which was covered by Cash.^[43]
• No. 4501 starred in the 1976 television movie Eleanor and Franklin with the number "1409" to represent one of the Ps-4 locomotives pulling the funeral train of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945.^[58]
• No. 4501 appears several times in the 1978 movie Summer of My German Soldier, set in Georgia during World War II.^[58]
• No. 4501 was used in the 1999 movie October Sky where it was dressed up to look like an N&W locomotive.^[59] Railroad photographer O. Winston Link made a cameo appearance in the film as the engineer driving No. 4501.
• No. 4501 was the subject of the 2016 feature-length documentary And Then There Was One, which chronicles the history of the locomotive's career to that point.^[60]

Gallery

•  

  No. 4501 in storage at TVRM's Soule Shops in 2006.

•  

  No. 4501 being restored in 2013.

•  

  Southern Railway No. 4501 preparing to pull the Summerville Steam Special excursion in October 2014.

See also

• Baltimore and Ohio 4500
• Canadian National 3254
• Grand Canyon Railway 4960
• Grand Trunk Western 4070
• Nickel Plate Road 587
• Soo Line 1003
• Southern Railway 630
• Southern Railway 722

Notes

1. No. 4501's original tender would eventually be rebuilt and used behind Southern Railway 630 in 2011.^[14][16]
2. This was the final time a steam locomotive pulled the CWM's train before the annual Circus event was halted for a twelve-year hiatus.^[20][22]

References

1. Carver, M.A. (September 1978). . National Park Service. Archived from the original on February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
2. Wrinn (2000), pp. 4–7.
3. Drury (2015), p. 295.
4. Drury (2015), pp. 297–298.
5. Ranks & Lowe (1966), p. 65.
6. Ranks & Lowe (1966), pp. 54–56.
7. Ranks & Lowe (1966), p. 67.
8. Boyd (2000), pp. 35–37.
9. Keefe, Kevin (January 16, 2018). . Classic Trains. Kalmbach Media. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
10. Wrinn (2000), pp. 13–15.
11. Boyd (2000), p. 38.
12. Boyd (2000), p. 39.
13. Gruber, John (November 21, 2011). . Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. Archived from the original on August 19, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
14. Ray (2014), p. 27.
15. Wrinn (2000), p. 26.
16. (PDF). Smoke & Cinders. Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. 2010. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
17. Wrinn (2000), pp. 30–32.
18. Wrinn (2000), p. 8.
19. Wrinn (2000), pp. 39–41.
20. "Trains, July 2000". Trains. Kalmbach Media. July 2000. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
21. Nelson (2013), p. 99
22. Nelson (2013), p. 100
23. Paulus (2010)
24. Wrinn (2000), p. 57.
25. Wrinn (2000), pp. 115–116.
26. Wrinn (2000), p. 69.
27. Wrinn (2000), p. 74.
28. Wrinn (2000), p. 89.
29. Wrinn (2000), pp. 90–91.
30. Wrinn (2000), p. 100.
31. Philips, Don (October 29, 1994). . The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
32. Craft, John (1994). . SteamCentral. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
33. Wrinn (2000), pp. 109–110.
34. . Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. June 30, 2010. Archived from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
35. . Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
36. Haman, Ansley (March 31, 2012). "Southern Railway 4501 back on track". Times Free Press. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
37. Wrinn, Jim (September 4, 2013). . Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
38. . Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
39. Laepple, Wayne (April 10, 2023). . Trains. Kalmbach Media. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
40. Ray (2014), p. 22.
41. . Chattanoogan.com. August 27, 2014. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
42. . Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. August 28, 2014. Archived from the original on April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
43. Edwards, Lynda (September 6, 2014). . Times Free Press. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
44. O'Bryant, Josh (September 28, 2014). . Chattanoogan.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
45. . Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. May 1, 2015. Archived from the original on May 8, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
46. . RailServe.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
47. . Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Archived from the original on June 14, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
48. Scholl, Greg (October 21, 2019). . Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
49. Timmerman, Jeremy (September 27, 2015). . Macon.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
50. . Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
51. . Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. October 2, 2015. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
52. Gunnoe, Chase (December 22, 2015). . Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. Archived from the original on February 10, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
53. "Summerville Steam Special". Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
54. . Lerro Photography. Lerro Productions. Archived from the original on April 11, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
55. . Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. August 7, 2019. Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
56. Flanary, Ron (August 7, 2019). . Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
57. . Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
58. Wrinn (2000), pp. 28–29.
59. . Smoke & Cinders. Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. 1998. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 8, 2001. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
60. . Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. September 12, 2016. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2018.

Bibliography

• Boyd, Jim (2000). The Steam Locomotive: A Century of North American Classics (1st ed.). Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0-7607-1627-7.
• Drury, George (2015). Guide to North American Steam Locomotives (2nd ed.). Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62700-259-2.
• Paulus, Brian (2010). The Western Maryland Railway: Cumberland to Hagerstown & the New Line. AuthorHouse. pp. 76–81. ISBN 978-1-4520-5782-8.
• Ranks, Harold; Lowe, Shelby (1966). Southern Steam Power (1st ed.). Barnhart Press.
• Ray, G. Mark (May 2014). "Secrets of a Steam Star". Trains. Vol. 74, no. 5. Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 18–27.
• Wrinn, Jim (2000). Steam's Camelot: Southern and Norfolk Southern Excursions in Color (1st ed.). TLC Publishing. ISBN 1-883089-56-5.
• Nelson, Bruce (2013). America's Greatest Circus Train (1st ed.). Heimburger House Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-911581-64-5.

Further reading

• Morgan, David P. (1968). Locomotive 4501 (1st ed.). Kalmbach Publishing. ASIN B0006BW4DO.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Southern Railway 4501.

• And Then There Was One documentary on YouTube
• Southern Railway 4501
• Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum official website