Southern Railway Ps-4 class
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The Southern Railway Ps-4 was a class of 4-6-2 steam locomotives built for the Southern Railway (SOU), as well as its subsidiaries, the Alabama Great Southern (AGS) and the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific (CNO&TP). These locomotives were notable for their green with gold trim liveries, and have been regarded by Smithsonian curator John H. White Jr. as being "among the most celebrated passenger locomotives operated in the United States...."
History
[edit]Development and appearances
[edit]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 Pacifics that could not handle the longer and heavier main line passenger trains between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.[4] The SOU ordered the more powerful Ps-4 Heavy Pacific class with the first batches built between 1923 and 1924 by the American Locomotive Company's Schenectady Works in Schenectady, New York, with 27 of them delivered to SOU, Nos. 1366-1392; as well as five for the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific (CNO&TP), Nos. 6471-6475; and four for the Alabama Great Southern (AGS), Nos. 6684-6687.[5] These locomotives were derived from the standard USRA Heavy Pacific design, but had notable differences based on the Southern's needs.[6] The Ps-4s had a more spacious cab, smaller 73 in (1,778 mm) driving wheels, a slightly shorter boiler, an additional firebox combustion chamber, and a Worthington 3-B feedwater heater.[3][7] These arrangements made the locomotives produce 47,535 lb (21.6 tonnes) of tractive effort, allowing them to pull fourteen passenger cars at 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) on the Piedmont terrains between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.[6][7] They were originally painted black with gold linings and lettering.[8]
In 1925, Southern Railway president Fairfax Harrison traveled to the United Kingdom, where he admired the country's London and North Eastern Railway's apple green passenger steam locomotives.[9][10] Harrison's trip had inspired the appearance of the second order of Ps-4s built in the summer of 1926 by ALCO's Richmond Works by having them painted in Virginian green with gold leaf trimming and lettering.[9][10] This would include the original first batches.[9][10]
This order consisted of twelve locomotives for SOU, Nos. 1393-1404; seven for the CNO&TP, Nos. 6476-6482; and four for the AGS, Nos, 6688-6691.[11] Aside from the paint scheme, which would soon be applied to all of Southern's passenger locomotives, the second order had other notable differences.[11] They featured an Elesco feedwater heater rather than the Worthington heaters of the previous order, with the former placed on top of the smokebox between the stack and bell instead of under the running boards as the latter were placed.[11] The 1926 batch also had larger tenders better suited for long-distance passenger runs, with three-axle bogies and a water capacity of 14,000 US gallons (53,000 L), compared to the two-axle bogie, 10,000 US gallons (38,000 L) standard USRA tender design of the first order.[6]
Because of the new Ps-4s' Virginian green and gold paint scheme, they were signified as the First Ladies of the Pacifics around the SOU system.[12][13] 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.[7][14]
The final Ps-4s were built in 1928 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, consisting of only five locomotives for SOU, Nos. 1405-1409.[3] They were equipped with smaller tenders unlike the second order, but still larger than those of the first order, featuring two-axle bogies and a capacity of 12,000-gallon of water.[3] They also built with Walschaerts valve gear as opposed to the previous orders which were equipped with Baker valve gear.[3] The final locomotive of the series, No. 1409, featured an extended smokebox and a Coffin feedwater heater.[11][15] This heater was fitted on an experimental basis and was later removed in favor of the Worthington heaters used in the first order.[16] In the mid-late 1930s, the 1923-1926 Ps-4s were eventually re-equipped with Walschaerts valve gear as the SOU mechanical officers were concerned about the Baker type intended to reverse itself at high-speed, damaging the locomotives and the rails.[17]
The SOU Ps-4 locomotives were assigned to many of SOU's most famous passenger trains, including the Crescent Limited, the Piedmont Limited, the Aiken-Augusta Special, the Peach Queen, and the Birmingham Special.[11] The CNO&TP Ps-4s were assigned to pull the Royal Palm, Ponce de Leon, Queen & Crescent, and Florida Sunbeam trains, among others.[11]
Locomotives roster
[edit]During 1926, Nos. 1393, 1394, 1401, 1402, and 1403 were initially assigned to the Atlanta Division, while Nos. 1395-1400, and 1404 served the Charlotte Division.[18] The formers were maintained at SOU's South (Pegram) Shops in Atlanta, while the latters were maintained SOU's Spencer Shops in Spencer, North Carolina.[18] No. 1401 was relocated to Charlotte Division in 1945, while Nos. 1393, 1394, 1402, and 1403 followed on in mid-1947.[18]
Road number | Feedwater heater type | Built date | Builder | Serial number | Disposal date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1366 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66065 | July 29, 1953 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1367 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66066 | January 16, 1953 | Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
1368 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66067 | July 29, 1953 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1369 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66068 | July 29, 1953 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1370 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66069 | January 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1371 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66070 | October 17, 1952 | Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
1372 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66071 | July 29, 1953 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1373 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66072 | April 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1374 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66073 | November 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1375 | Worthington | 1923 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 64852 | January 1952 | Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
1376 | Worthington | 1923 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 64853 | November 1952 | Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
1377 | Worthington | 1923 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 64854 | November 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1378 | Worthington | 1923 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 64855 | October 17, 1952 | Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
1379 | Worthington | 1923 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 64856 | July 29, 1953 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1380 | Worthington | 1923 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 64857 | July 29, 1953 | Streamlined for the Tennessean and swapping its original tender with No. 1400 in 1941.[20] Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1381 | Worthington | 1923 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 64858 | January 1952 | Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
1382 | Worthington | 1923 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 64859 | July 29, 1953 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1383 | Worthington | 1923 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 64860 | February 1952 | Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
1384 | Worthington | 1923 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 64861 | November 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1385 | Worthington | 1923 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 64862 | July 29, 1953 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1386 | Worthington | 1923 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 64863 | October 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1387 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66059 | April 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1388 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66060 | October 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1389 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66061 | February 1952 | Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
1390 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66062 | July 29, 1953 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1391 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66063 | November 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1392 | Worthington | 1924 | ALCO Richmond Works | 66064 | November 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1393 | Elesco | June 1926 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66880 | July 29, 1953 | Cosmetically restored as a static display at the Spencer Shops for the Rowan County's bicentennial anniversary in April 1953.[21] Originally offered to be donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., who turned it down in favor of No. 1401.[21][22] No. 1393 was later sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1394 | Elesco | June 1926 | ALCO Richmond Works | 66881 | April 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1395 | Elesco | June 1926 | ALCO Richmond Works | 66882 | October 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1396 | Elesco | June 1926 | ALCO Schenectady Works | 66883 | February 1952 | Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
1397 | Elesco | June 1926 | ALCO Richmond Works | 66884 | February 1952 | Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
1398 | Elesco | June 1926 | ALCO Richmond Works | 66885 | January 1952 | Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
1399 | Elesco | July 1926 | ALCO Richmond Works | 66886 | November 1949 | The first Ps-4 locomotive to be scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops.[21] Its tender was salvaged and connected to No. 6690.[21] |
1400 | Elesco | July 1926 | ALCO Richmond Works | 66887 | January 1952 | Swapped its original tender with No. 1380 in 1941.[20] Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
1401 | Elesco | July 1926 | ALCO Richmond Works | 66888 | January 1962 | Donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and preserved as a static display exhibit at the National Museum of American History. |
1402 | Elesco | July 1926 | ALCO Richmond Works | 66889 | November 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1403 | Elesco | July 1926 | ALCO Richmond Works | 66890 | November 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1404 | Elesco | July 1926 | ALCO Richmond Works | 66891 | February 1952 | Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
1405 | Elesco | 1928 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 60461 | November 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1406 | Elesco | 1928 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 60462 | November 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1407 | Elesco | 1928 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 60463 | November 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1408 | Elesco | 1928 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 60464 | October 1952 | Sold for scrap to the Baltimore Steel Company in Baltimore, Maryland. |
1409 | Coffin (later Worthington) | 1928 | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 60465 | January 1952 | Scrapped at SOU's Hayne Shops. |
Modernizing and retirement
[edit]In 1941, SOU began to modernize their premier passenger trains with their new EMD E6 diesel locomotives to pull, while No. 1401 and the other Ps-4s were relegated to haul local passenger trains and mail trains on the Washington, D.C. to Atlanta main line.[17][23] Additionally, the Ps-4s were in motive power pool service, where they were called in to pull SOU's mainline passenger trains again whenever one of the diesel locomotives was unavailable.[24][25] Due to the outbreak of World War II and wartime restrictions placed on all of the railroads, SOU was unable to purchase more diesel locomotives, and opted to modernize their steam locomotives, including the Ps-4s.[26] As such, all of the Ps-4s were re-equipped with multiple-bearing crossheads to replace their original alligator crossheads.[27][28] Some of the Ps-4s also have their tender coal bunkers expanded to hold up more coal.[20] 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.[28]
At the same time, No. 1380 was given bullet-nose streamlining designed by Otto Kuhler for use on the railway's Tennessean service, which operated between Washington, D.C., and Monroe, Virginia, connecting in the latter to the Norfolk and Western Railway, who had assigned its streamlined J class engines to its connecting lines.[29][30] After the war ended, SOU resumed dieselization and by 1953, all of the Ps-4s were retired and scrapped with the exception of one.[28]
No. 1401 of the 1926 batch was salvaged from the scrap line in 1953, per advice from railfan Walter H. Thrall and SOU board member W. Graham Claytor Jr., who requested that the locomotive should be donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., since it was recognized of hauling the funeral train of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt in April 1945.[22][31][32] In 1961, the No. 1401 locomotive was cosmetically restored and transported via flatbed truck to the Smithsonian's under construction National Museum of American History, which opened in early 1964.[31][33] No. 1401 currently remains on static display at the museum as the sole survivor of the Southern Railway Ps-4.[34]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Drury (2015), pp. 298–299.
- ^ Fitt (1973), p. 2.
- ^ a b c d e Prince (1970), pp. 114–115.
- ^ Tillotson Jr. (2004), p. iv.
- ^ Ranks & Lowe (1966), p. 150.
- ^ a b c Drury (2015), p. 296.
- ^ a b c Bryant Jr. (1950), p. 22.
- ^ Tillotson Jr. (2004), p. 23.
- ^ a b c Bryant Jr. (1962), p. 4.
- ^ a b c Ranks & Lowe (1966), p. 211.
- ^ a b c d e f Ranks & Lowe (1966), pp. 151–152.
- ^ Bryant Jr. (1950), pp. 20–21.
- ^ Ranks & Lowe (1966), p. 212.
- ^ Ranks & Lowe (1966), pp. 205–206.
- ^ Prince (1970), p. 118.
- ^ Ranks & Lowe (1966), pp. 145–146.
- ^ a b Roberts (1994), p. 6.
- ^ a b c Roberts (1994), pp. 10–12.
- ^ Prince (1970), p. 186.
- ^ a b c Roberts (1994), p. 7.
- ^ a b c d Roberts (1994), p. 8.
- ^ a b Withuhn (2009), p. 38.
- ^ Flanary (2007), p. 53.
- ^ Tillotson Jr. (2004), p. 41.
- ^ Tillotson Jr. (2004), p. 58.
- ^ Bryant Jr. (1950), pp. 24–25.
- ^ Drury (2015), p. 294.
- ^ a b c Bryant Jr. (1950), p. 26.
- ^ Prince (1970), p. 119.
- ^ Ranks & Lowe (1966), p. 154.
- ^ a b Davis (1985), pp. 213–214.
- ^ Wrinn (2000), p. 7.
- ^ "Moving the 1401 into the Museum". National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
- ^ Davis (1985), p. 145.
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.
- Davis, Burke (1985). The Southern Railway: Roads of the Innovators (1st ed.). The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-1636-1.
- Drury, George (2015). Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Revised Edition (2nd ed.). Kalmbach Media. ISBN 978-1-62700-259-2.
- Fitt, William C. (1973). Southern Ps-4 Class Pacific Locomotive Drawings (1st ed.). Wildwood Publications. ISBN 0-914104-00-4.
- Flanary, Ron (May 2007). "The Green Goddesses". Railfan & Railroad. Vol. 26, no. 5. Carstens Publications. pp. 46–53.
- 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.
- Roberts, Dale (March–April 1994). "Fairfax Harrison's Aristocrats: A Photo Study of the Most Elegant Group of Ps-4 Pacifics". TIES Magazine. Vol. 8, no. 2. Southern Railway Historical Association. pp. 4–17.
{{cite magazine}}
: CS1 maint: date format (link) - Tillotson Jr., Curt (2004). Southern Railway Steam Trains Volume 1 – Passenger (1st ed.). TLC Publishing. ISBN 1-883089-94-8.
- Withuhn, Bill (Winter 2009). "Our National Locomotive". Classic Trains. Vol. 10, no. 4. Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 37–39.
- Wrinn, Jim (2000). Steam's Camelot: Southern and Norfolk Southern Excursions in Color (1st ed.). TLC Publishing. ISBN 1-883089-56-5.
Further reading
[edit]- Morgan, David P. (December 1978). "A paean to the Ps-4". Trains. Vol. 39, no. 2. Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 28–34.