Southern Railway 1380 is a streamlined 4-6-2 steam locomotive built in 1923 by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York, for the Southern Railway (SOU) as a member of the Ps-4 class, which was based on the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) Heavy Pacific design with some minor differences. Redesigned in a Streamline Moderne style design by industrial designer Otto Kuhler in 1941, No. 1380 hauled SOU's streamlined Tennessean passenger train between Washington, D.C., and Monroe, Virginia, until it was removed from the train in the late 1940s and scrapped around 1953.
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History
editBackground
editNo. 1380 was one of the first batch of 12 Ps-4 locomotives, Nos. 1375-1386, built by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York in 1923.[2][3] They were originally painted black with gold linings and lettering.[4] The Ps-4s were based on the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) Heavy Pacific design, differing the smaller 73 in (1,854 mm) driving wheels, a slightly shorter boiler, an additional firebox combustion chamber, and a Worthington 3-B type feedwater heater.[5] They produced 47,535 lbf (211.45 kN) of tractive effort, allowing them to pull 14 passenger cars at 80 mph (129 km/h).[5]
The Ps-4s would serve as the primary express passenger locomotives on the SOU's Washington D.C. to Atlanta main line, pulling their top-priority passenger trains, including the Crescent.[4][6] In 1925, SOU president Fairfax Harrison had all of the Ps-4s, including No. 1380, repainted in a new Virginian green and gold paint scheme after his visit in the United Kingdom where he admired the country's London and North Eastern Railway's (LNER) apple-green Gresley A1-class locomotives.[7][8] By the mid-late 1930s, the Ps-4s, including No. 1380, had their original Baker valve gear replaced with Walschaerts type.[9]
Streamlining for the Tennessean
editDuring World War II in 1941, SOU introduced their brand-new public streamlined Tennessean passenger train, which ran between Washington, D.C. and Memphis, Tennessee behind SOU's new EMD E6 diesel locomotives.[10] However, the Tennessean ran via the Norfolk and Western (N&W) rails between Monroe, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee, and N&W would not allow diesel locomotives running on their rails.[3][11] The SOU did not want get all tied up with their E6s pulling Tennessean between Washington D.C. and Monroe.[3][11] They decided to streamline one of their Ps-4 locomotives to pull the Tennessean consist.[3][12] They chose No. 1380, which was scheduled for repairs at SOU's Spencer Shops and was given a streamlined design created by industrial designer Otto Kuhler.[3] Despite Kuhler being impressed with the design on No. 1380, the SOU does not pay him at all.[3] No. 1380 was painted green with a silver stripe, the "SR" symbol logo plastered on both sides of its the cylinders, and the Tennessean logo painted on both sides of its streamlined panels.[3] Additionally, it was given a new streamlined tender, which holds 14,000 US gallons (53,000 L) of water.[11] The locomotive's original alligator crossheads were replaced with multiple-bearing types.[3][13] No. 1380 worked on the Washington Division, where it frequently pulled the Tennessean from Washington, D.C. to Monroe, where the N&W would take the train down to Bristol for the SOU E6s complete the Tennessean's journey to Memphis.[3][13]
Twilight years
editHowever, when World War II ended in 1945, the Washington Division was completely dieselized with No. 1380 being retired from the Tennessean and relegated to haul local passenger trains and mail trains on the Washington, D.C. to Atlanta main line.[11] Additionally, No. 1380 was on motive power pool service, where it was used to protect passenger schedules in case of a diesel locomotive was unavailable to pull SOU's top-priority passenger trains such as the Birmingham Special, the Peach Queen, and the Piedmont Limited.[3][14] Despite being removed from the Tennessean, No. 1380 retained its streamlined design until it was retired and sold for scrap in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 29, 1953.[3][13]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Bryant Jr. (1950), p. 26.
- ^ a b Prince (1970), pp. 114–115.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Tillotson Jr. (2004), pp. 62–63.
- ^ a b Tillotson Jr. (2004), p. iv.
- ^ a b Bryant Jr. (1950), p. 22.
- ^ Tillotson Jr. (2004), p. 11.
- ^ Bryant Jr. (1962), p. 4.
- ^ Ranks & Lowe (1966), p. 211.
- ^ Drury (2015), p. 294.
- ^ Murray (2007), pp. 68–70.
- ^ a b c d Flanary, Ron (May 2007). "The Green Goddesses". Railfan & Railroad. Vol. 26, no. 5. Carstens Publications. pp. 51–53.
- ^ Murray (2007), p. 119.
- ^ a b c Ranks & Lowe (1966), pp. 154–155.
- ^ Tillotson Jr. (2004), pp. 65–67.
Bibliography
edit- Bryant Jr., H. Stafford (October 1950). "Ps-4". Trains. Vol. 10, no. 12. Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 20–26.
- Bryant Jr., H. Stafford (1962). The Georgian Locomotive (1st ed.). Weathervane. ISBN 0-517-172666.
- Murray, Tom (2007). Southern Railway (1st ed.). Voyager Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-2545-2.
- Prince, Richard E. (1970). Steam Locomotives and Boats: Southern Railway System (2nd ed.). Wheelwright Lithographing Company. ISBN 0-9600088-4-5.
- Ranks, Harold; Lowe, Shelby (1966). Southern Steam Power (1st ed.). Barnhart Press.
- Tillotson Jr., Curt (2004). Southern Railway Steam Trains Volume 1 – Passenger (1st ed.). TLC Publishing. ISBN 1-883089-94-8.