Atlanta and West Point 290 is a P-74 steam locomotive built in March 1926 by the Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) in Lima, Ohio for the Atlanta and West Point Railroad. It was a 4-6-2 heavy "Pacific" type steam locomotive, which was remarkably similar to the Southern Railway's Ps-4 class. With sister locomotive, No. 190 built for the Western Railway of Alabama (WRA), the 290 ferried the Southern Railway's Crescent passenger train from Atlanta, Georgia to Montgomery, Alabama until its retirement from revenue service in 1954. The No. 290 locomotive was saved by a group called the 290 Club and was placed on static display at the city of Atlanta's Lakewood Park.

Atlanta and West Point 290
A&WP No. 290 at the Southeastern Railway Museum shops, awaiting for a cosmetic restoration in December 2009
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Lima Locomotive Works Serial number 7008 Build date March 1926 Rebuild date 1986–1989
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2  • UIC 2′C1′ h2 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Leading dia. 33 in (0.838 m) Driver dia. 73 in (1.854 m) Trailing dia. 43 in (1.092 m) Length 72 ft 5 in (22.07 m) Adhesive weight 192,500 lb (87.3 t) Loco weight 303,500 lb (137.7 t) Total weight 504,000 lb (228.6 t) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity Old tender: 15 t (15 long tons; 17 short tons) New tender: 20 t (20 long tons; 22 short tons) Water cap. Old tender: 11,000 US gal (42,000 l; 9,200 imp gal) New tender: 9,500 US gal (36,000 l; 7,900 imp gal) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1.38 MPa) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 27 in × 28 in (686 mm × 711 mm) Valve gear Baker
Performance figures Maximum speed 90 mph (145 km/h) Tractive effort 47,500 lb (21.5 tonnes) Factor of adh. 4.11
Career Operators Atlanta and West Point Railroad (1926-1954) New Georgia Railroad (1989-1992) Class P-74 Number in class 1st of 2 Numbers 290 Retired 1954 (revenue service) 1992 (excursion service) Restored 1989 Current owner Atlanta Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society Disposition In storage, awaiting cosmetic restoration

In 1961, No. 290 was donated to the Atlanta Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS). In 1989, the locomotive was restored to operating condition for the New Georgia Railroad (NGRX) program, running excursion trips all across the Georgia state until late 1992, when it was retired due to running gear issues.

The No. 290 locomotive is currently dissembled at the Southeastern Railway Museum (SRM) in Duluth, Georgia. With no plans to be restored back to operating condition, the locomotive is stored inside the SRM's backshop, waiting for a full cosmetic restoration.

History

Revenue service

No. 290 along with sister locomotive No. 190 were both heavy P-74 Pacific steam locomotives built in March 1926 by the Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) in Lima, Ohio.[1] They were based on the USRA Heavy Pacific design and had a very similar appearance to the Southern Railway Ps-4 class.[2] No. 290 was assigned to the Atlanta and West Point Railway (A&WP), while No. 190 served the Western Railway of Alabama (WRA).[3] Both roads were under the common control of the Georgia Railroad and all operated as essentially one railroad, although being legally separate.[3] As a result, it was not uncommon to find one railroad's locomotives on another's line.

Nos. 190 and 290's job was to ferry the Southern Railway's Crescent passenger train between Atlanta and Montgomery. While one locomotive was traveling southbound with The Crescent, the other would take the northbound counterpart. The locomotives would then be turned around at their terminal point for the reverse run. As a result, it was common to see both locomotive in both Atlanta and Montgomery. However, WRA and A&WP crews would swap in West Point, Georgia where the two lines met. When No. 190 arrived in Montgomery, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) would complete the final leg of the Crescent train's journey to New Orleans, Louisiana.[2][3]

First retirement and attemped lease

In 1954, the No. 190 locomotive was retired and scrapped, but No. 290 was rescued by a group called the 290 Club who persuade the A&WP to donate the latter locomotive for preservation.[4][5] No. 290 was put on static display at the City of Atlanta's Lakewood Park before it was donated to the Atlanta Chapter, National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) in 1965.[4][5] During that time, SOU president W. Graham Claytor Jr. attempted to lease the No. 290 locomotive and significantly altered its appearance by repainting it in SOU's passenger Virginian green and gold paint scheme to resemble a Southern Railway Ps-4 locomotive for use on the SOU's steam excursion program.[4][6] However, the A&WP are not keen on the idea and threaten to sue Claytor from using the No. 290 locomotive.[4][6]

Excursion service

In 1986, the New Georgia Railroad (NGRX), a sponsored tourist excursion railroad operated by the Georgia Building Authority in Atlanta,[7] restored No. 290 to operating condition in 1989, running excursion trips on Norfolk Southern (NS) and CSX trackage out of Atlanta to Athens, Augusta, Brunswick, Macon, and Savannah, Georgia.[5][8]

In early 1991, No. 290 was sent to the Norfolk Southern's Norris Yard Steam Shop in Irondale, Alabama to have its crown sheet inspected.[8] Shortly thereafter, the NGRX made an agreement with NS to borrow No. 290 as a substitute to Norfolk and Western 611 and 1218, which were both under maintenance at that time.[8] On April 6 and 7, No. 290 hauled two round trip excursions from Birmingham, Alabama to Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Heart of Dixie Chapter NRHS and the following weekend round trips out of Jacksonville, Florida to Valdosta, Georgia for the North Florida Chapter NRHS.[8][9] Afterwards, the locomotive returned to the NGRX to continue haul more excursion trips in Georgia.[8]

On Friday, August 21, 1992, No. 290 ran the highly anticipated excursion trip from Atlanta, Georgia to Montgomery, Alabama for the Atlanta Chapter NRHS on both ex-A&WP and WRA rails, via CSX.[10][11] On the next day, No. 290 ran five round-trip excursions out of Montgomery to Dothan, Alabama before returning to Atlanta on August 23.[11] By the end of 1992, No. 290 was taken out of service for extensive repair work to its running gear.[4]

Second retirement

There were originally plans to have the No. 290 locomotive be ready in time for the 1994 Atlanta Chapter NRHS convention, but the NGRX program was shut down due to its sponsorship with the Georgia state government being discontinued.[4] Additionally, the NS and CSX railroads banned main line steam excursion trips on their trackage the following year due to liability insurance.[4][12]

The No. 290 locomotive was currently disassembled inside the Southeastern Railway Museum's backshop in Duluth, Georgia, waiting for a full cosmetic restoration.[4] There were currently no plans to restore the locomotive back to operating condition again.[4] Therefore, it will be put back on display once the cosmetic restoration work is finished.[4]

In popular culture

In 1991, No. 290 made its first ever film appearance in the comedy-drama film, Fried Green Tomatoes, starring Kathy Bates and Mary Stuart Masterson.[4]

See also

• Atlantic Coast Line 1504
• Florida East Coast 153
• Norfolk and Western 578
• Reading and Northern 425
• Southern Pacific 2467
• Southern Pacific 2472
• Southern Pacific 2479
• Southern Railway 1401
• U.S. Sugar 148

Notes

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

• Southeastern Railway Museum Locomotives