Southern Railway 1401 is a 4-6-2 Heavy Pacific steam locomotive built in July 1926 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Richmond, Virginia for the Southern Railway (SOU) as a member of the Ps-4 class. It was assigned to haul the SOU's Crescent Limited passenger train between Washington D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia. It was retired from revenue service in 1952 and was donated to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington D.C., in 1961, where it currently remains on permanent static display as the sole survivor of the Southern Railway Ps-4 class.

Southern Railway 1401
Southern Railway No. 1401 on static display at the National Museum of American History in 2014
Type and origin References:[1][2][3][4] Power type Steam Builder ALCO's Richmond Works Serial number 66888 Build date July 1926
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2  • UIC 2′C1′ h Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Leading dia. 33 in (0.838 m) Driver dia. 73 in (1.854 m) Trailing dia. 43 in (1.092 m) Loco weight 304,000 lb (138,000 kg) Tender weight 261,600 lb (118,700 kg) Total weight 565,600 lb (256,600 kg) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 16 t (16 long tons; 18 short tons) Water cap. 14,000 US gal (53,000 l; 12,000 imp gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 70+1⁄2 sq ft (6.55 m2) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1.38 MPa) Feedwater heater Elesco Cylinders Two Cylinder size 27 × 28 in (0.686 × 0.711 m) Valve gear Walschaerts, (originally Baker)
Performance figures Maximum speed 60–80 mph (97–129 km/h) Power output 2,624 hp (1,957 kW) Tractive effort 47,535 lb (21.6 tonnes) Factor of adh. 3.79
Career Operators Southern Railway Class Ps-4 Number in class 46 of 64 Locale Southeastern United States Retired November 1952 Current owner Smithsonian Institution Disposition On static display

History

Design and appearances

During the 1920s, the Southern Railway's (SOU) roster consisted of smaller P-1, Ps-2, Ps-3, and P-5 class 4-6-2 Light Pacifics that could not handle the longer and heavier main line passenger trains between Washington D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia.[3][5] So the SOU ordered the more powerful 4-6-2 Heavy Pacific Ps-4 class with a total of 27 locomotives (Nos. 1366-1392) built between 1923 and 1924 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York and were originally painted black with gold linings and letterings.[6][lower-alpha 1] The Ps-4s were based on the USRA Heavy Pacific design with the exception of smaller 73 in (1,778 mm) driving wheels, a slightly shorter boiler, an additional firebox combustion chamber, and a Worthington 3-B type feedwater heater.[3][9] These arrangements made the Ps-4s produce 47,535 lb (21.6 tonnes) of tractive effort, which allows them to pull fourteen passenger cars at 80 mph (129 km/h) on the Southern Railway's hilly terrain.[3][9]

In 1925, Southern Railway president Fairfax Harrison traveled to the United Kingdom, where he admired the country's London and North Eastern Railway's (LNER) apple green Gresley A1 class locomotives, which inspired him to repaint the Ps-4s in a new Virginian green and gold paint scheme,[10][11] including the second batches of twelve locomotives (Nos. 1393-1404) built in the summer of 1926 by ALCO of Richmond, Virginia at a cost of $56,419 each.[12][lower-alpha 2] Additionally, they were equipped with an Elesco feedwater heater as opposed to the Worthington type.[3][lower-alpha 3]

Because of the Ps-4s' glamorous Virginian green and gold paint scheme, they were signified as the "first ladies of the Pacifics" around the SOU system.[14][15] The SOU engineers, firemen, and workshop employees decorated the Ps-4s with two brass flag holders on their headlight, a brass eagle ornament mounted in front of their smokebox door, and brass stars on their cylinder head caps.[9][16]

In 1928, the last batch of five Ps-4s (Nos. 1405-1409) were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at a cost of $57,000 each.[12][lower-alpha 4] As opposed to the 1923-1926 batches, which were equipped with Baker valve gear, the 1928 locomotives were built with Walschaerts valve gear.[3][7][lower-alpha 5]

Nos. 1366-1404 were eventually reequipped with Walschaerts valve gear in the mid to late 1930s.[18] Additionally, all of the Ps-4s were reequipped with multiple-bearing crossheads as opposed to their original alligator crossheads.[1][18] In the 1940s, Nos. 1366-1409 were all rebuilt with the higher and straighter front running board to allow more room around their cylinders and running gear for the crew to maintain the mechanical lubricating system.[1]

Revenue service and retirement

No. 1401 was the forty-sixth member of the Ps-4 class and was one of the second batches built in 1926.[4] It was assigned to pull the SOU's Crescent Limited passenger train, mostly on the SOU's Charlotte Division between Salisbury, North Carolina and Atlanta.[4][lower-alpha 6] In April 1945, No. 1401 became one of the eight Ps-4 locomotives to haul the funeral train of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt from Atlanta to Washington D.C., via Greenville, South Carolina to Salisbury.[19][20] No. 1401's last heavy repairs took place at SOU's Spencer Shops in Spencer, North Carolina, on May 21, 1951.[21]

In November 1952, the No. 1401 locomotive was retired from revenue service after its last run on the SOU's Danville Division between Salisbury and Monroe, Virginia, and traveled nearly 2,000,000 miles (3,200,000 km).[20][21] During that time, railfan Walter H. Thrall and SOU board member W. Graham Claytor Jr. convinced SOU president Harry A. DeButts to spare one of the Ps-4 locomotives from the scrap line and donated it to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.[21][22] In early 1953, the No. 1401 locomotive was chosen for preservation and was towed to Alexandria, Virginia, to be stored at the Henry Street Yard to await the Smithsonian's decision.[21][lower-alpha 7] In 1955, the Smithsonian announced that they will put the No. 1401 locomotive on display inside their new Museum of History and Technology exhibition building.[21]

In 1961, the No. 1401 locomotive was cosmetically restored and transported via flatbed truck to the Smithsonian's under construction Museum of History and Technology building, which opened in early 1964.[23][24] In October 1980, the Museum of History and Technology was renamed to the National Museum of American History to reflect its scope of American history.[21][25] The No. 1401 locomotive currently remains on permanent static display at the Smithsonian as the sole survivor of the Southern Railway Ps-4 class.[24][26]

See also

• Atlanta and West Point 290
• Atlantic Coast Line 1504
• Boston and Maine 3713
• Florida East Coast 153
• London and North Eastern Railway 4472 Flying Scotsman
• Norfolk and Western 578
• Reading and Northern 425
• Southern Pacific 2467
• Southern Pacific 2472
• Southern Pacific 2479
• Southern Railway 722
• Southern Railway 4501
• U.S. Sugar 148

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Southern Railway 1401.

• Steam Locomotive, Southern Railway 1401 - Smithsonian Institution