Southern Railway 722

Southern Railway 722

Southern 722 backing onto the train at the Macon, Georgia terminal in the mid 1970s
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works[1]
Serial number 24729[1]
Build date September 1904[1]
Specifications
Configuration:
 ​
 • Whyte 2-8-0
Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia. 56 in (1.422 m)[1]
Loco weight 214,000 lb (97,000 kg)
Fuel type Coal
Boiler pressure 200 psi (1.38 MPa)
Cylinders Two, outside
Cylinder size 24 in × 30 in (610 mm × 762 mm)[1]
Valve gear Southern
Performance figures
Tractive effort 46,700 lbf (208 kN)
Career
Operators Southern Railway
East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad
Class Ks-1
Numbers
  • SOU 722
  • ET&WNC 208
Retired 1952 (SOU)
1967 (ET&WNC)
1985 (excursion)
Restored 1969[2]
Current owner Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
Disposition Awaiting for restoration[3]

Southern Railway 722 is a steam locomotive built in September 1904 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for Southern Railway.[1]

History

The locomotive was used on Southern's Murphy Branch to pull logging trains between Murphy, NC and Asheville, NC until her retirement from revenue freight service in November 1952.[1][4] Following the retirement, 722 and sister locomotive 630 were both purchased by the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC) and renumbered 208 and 207 respectively.[1][5] The ET&WNC where originally offered Ks-1s #685 (Baldwin, 1904) and #835 (Baldwin, 1906), but they found that the 630 and the 722 were in better shape than the 685 and the 835.[6]

In December 1967, the Ks-1 sisters were traded back to the Southern for use in their steam excursion program and reverted to their former identities in return for a pair of former Central of Georgia Alco RS3s.[5][1] But 722 had a cracked firebox, so 630 was in better condition and had been given minor repairs.[5] In 1969, 722 was finally restored with a new firebox and repainted in the fictitious Southern Crescent green with gold linings like the Southern Railway 4501.[2] She made her first debut in 1970 with 630 and 4501 for the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) convention in Charleston, South Carolina.[2]

In May 1979, Southern loaned 722 to the Wilmington and Western Railroad (WWRC) to operate on their Wilmington and Northern Branch line.[7][8][9] In September 1980, Southern loaned the locomotive again, this time to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM) in Chattanooga, TN along with 630, which had been leased in 1978 by Southern.[7] Because they were both too slow, old, and small to pull the heavier excursions on the Southern's system.[7]

In summer 1985, 722 was taken out of service for its boiler ticket certificate and sat on display at the museum.[7][10] In 1992, the locomotive was moved from TVRM to Asheville, NC by Southern's successor Norfolk Southern (NS) to be on display at the city's Biltmore section where she had been used in revenue freight service years ago.[7][11] In December 1999, NS removed the 722 from her display site and placed the locomotive in storage at the same Asheville roundhouse from which the ET&WNC purchased her and 630 back in 1952.[11]

2000–present

In December 2000, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (GSMR) purchased the 722 and returned her to the same Murphy Branch from which the locomotive was used in revenue service long ago.[11] Today, the 722 remains disassembled outside the GSMR Dillsboro, North Carolina workshop area along with another 2-8-0 steam locomotive ex-USATC S160 Class #1702 (which hadn't been operated since its retirement in 2004 until returning to operational service in summer 2016).[12][13][14] In addition, the cost for 722's restoration is $700,000.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Waite 2003, pp. 302–306.
  2. 1 2 3 Wrinn 2000, p. 32.
  3. ↑ "Once the 1702 & 722 trains are restored, what operational changes do you plan on making?". Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Steam Engine Number 722". Asheville.com. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Wrinn 2000, pp. 19–21.
  6. ↑ "RailPictures.Net Photo: SOU 685 Southern Railway Steam 2-8-0 at Asheville, North Carolina by Collection of Ron Flanary". RailPictures.Net. July 21, 1948. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Wrinn 2000, pp. 54–57.
  8. ↑ Wrinn 2000, p. 114.
  9. ↑ Vazquez 2008, p. 43.
  10. ↑ "All in a Day's Work 722". YouTube. March 9, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 Wrinn 2000, p. 109.
  12. ↑ "Current status of GSMR Steam". Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. October 29, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Great Smoky Mountains Railroad announces historic partnership with Swain County for revival of Steam". Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. September 25, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  14. ↑ "The Steam of the Smokies has Returned!". Restoring1702. August 6, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Fellow Steam Patrons and Railroad Fans". Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. August 9, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2017.

Bibliography

Further reading

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