Southern Railway 722

Southern Railway 722 is a class "Ks-1" 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive built in September 1904 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for Southern Railway.[2]

Southern Railway 722
SOU No. 722 at Macon, Georgia in the mid 1970s
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Serial number 24729 Build date September 1904
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-8-0 Gauge 4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 56 in (1.422 m) 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) Valve gear Southern (formerly Stephenson)
Performance figures Tractive effort 46,700 lbf (208 kN)
Career Operators Southern Railway East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (1980–1985) Class Ks-1 Numbers SOU 722 ET&WNC 208 Retired November 1952 (SOU) December 8, 1967 (ET&WNC) November 1985 (excursion service) Restored August 1970 Current owner Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Disposition In storage, awaiting possible restoration, based in Dillsboro, North Carolina[1]

History

Revenue service

No. 722 was used on Southern's Murphy Branch to pull logging trains between Asheville, North Carolina and Murphy, North Carolina until it retirement from revenue freight service by Southern in August 1952.[3][4]

In November 1952, No. 722 and classmate No. 630 were both purchased by the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC) and renumbered No. 208 and No. 207, respectively.[5][6] Originally, the ET&WNC offered Ks-1s No. 685 (Baldwin, 1904) and No. 835 (Baldwin, 1906), but turned it over in favor of the formers due to the latters being stored outside in dilapidated condition.[4][6]

After the purchasing was complete, Southern cut down the size of the two class "Ks-1" locomotives' tender coal bunker to make sure that it would be easier for the engineer to get a better view during numerous switching moves and reverse operation.[6]

Excursion service

On December 8th, 1967, No. 208 (No. 722) and No. 207 (No. 630) were both traded back to the Southern Railway for use in their steam excursion program in return for a pair of former Central of Georgia ALCO RS-3s.[7] While they retrieved their old numbers, No. 722 had a cracked firebox, but No. 630 was in better condition, and has been given minor repairs as it began excursion service in February 1968.[8]

Two years later, No. 722 had its firebox repaired and a brand new paint scheme of Southern's Sylvan green with gold linings to match the fellow excursion locomotive No. 4501.[9] It made its first debut in 1970 with Nos. 630 and 4501 for the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) convention in Charleston, South Carolina.[9]

In May 1979, Southern loaned No. 722 to the Wilmington and Western Railroad (WWRC) to operate on their Wilmington and Northern Branch line.[10][11][12] In September 1980, Southern loaned the locomotive again, this time to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM) in Chattanooga, Tennessee along with No. 630 to make way for larger steam locomotives such as Canadian Pacific No. 2839, Texas and Pacific No. 610 and Chesapeake and Ohio No. 2716 to pull the longer and heavier excursions on Southern's system.[10]

In November 1985, No. 722 was taken out of service for its boiler ticket certificate and sat on display at the museum.[10][13] In 1992, the locomotive was moved to Asheville, North Carolina by Southern's successor, Norfolk Southern (NS) to be on display at the city's Biltmore section.[10][13] In late 1999, NS has sold the Biltmore property for redevelopment and removed No. 722 from her display site to the Asheville roundhouse for storage.[13][14]

An uncertain future

In late 2000, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (GSMR) purchased No. 722 and returned it to the same Murphy Branch from which the locomotive was used in revenue service many years ago.[14] Today, No. 722 remains disassembled outside the GSMR's workshop area in Dillsboro, North Carolina, with a very uncertain future.[15] Although the restoration cost for the locomotive is $700,000,[16] there are currently no plans to restore it to operating condition.[1]

References

1. "Once the 1702 & 722 trains are restored, what operational changes do you plan on making?". Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
2. Waite (2003), p. 302.
3. "Steam Engine Number "722" Returning Home to WNC and Back to Service". Asheville.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2001. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
4. Waite (2003), p. 234.
5. Ferrell (1991), p. 196.
6. Waite (2003), p. 238.
7. Ferrell (1991), p. 199.
8. Wrinn (2000), p. 21.
9. Wrinn (2000), p. 32.
10. Wrinn (2000), pp. 54–57.
11. Wrinn (2000), p. 114.
12. Vazquez (2008), p. 43.
13. "Fourth Quarter 1999 News". SteamCentral. 1999. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
14. Wrinn (2000), p. 109.
15. "Current status of GSMR Steam". Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. October 29, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
16. "Fellow Steam Patrons and Railroad Fans". Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. August 9, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2017.

Bibliography

• Ferrell, Mallory Hope (1991). Tweetsie Country (1st ed.). The Overmountain Press. ISBN 978-0932807588.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Vazquez, Gisela (2008). The Wilmington and Western Railroad. Images of Rail (1st ed.). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0738553627.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Waite, John (2003). Blue Ridge Stemwinder: An Illustrated History of the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad and the Linville River Railway (1st ed.). Overmountain Press. ISBN 978-1570722721.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Wrinn, Jim (2000). Steam's Camelot: Southern and Norfolk Southern Excursions in Color (1st ed.). TLC Publishing. ISBN 978-1883089566.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links