Southern Railway 722

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Southern Railway 722
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderBaldwin Locomotive Works
Serial number24729
Build dateSeptember 1904
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-8-0
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.56 in (1.422 m)
Loco weight214,000 lb (97,000 kg)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity16 t (16 long tons; 18 short tons)
Water cap7,500 US gal (28,000 l; 6,200 imp gal)
Boiler pressure190 psi (1.31 MPa)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size24 in × 30 in (610 mm × 762 mm)
Valve gearSouthern (formerly Stephenson)
Performance figures
Tractive effort48,960 lbf (217.8 kN)
Career
OperatorsSouthern Railway
East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad
Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (1980–1985)
ClassKs-1
Numbers
  • SOU 722
  • ET&WNC 208
RetiredNovember 1952 (SOU)
December 8, 1967 (ET&WNC)
November 1985 (1st excursion service)
RestoredAugust 1970 (1st excursion service)
Current ownerGreat Smoky Mountains Railroad
DispositionIn storage, awaiting possible restoration, based in Dillsboro, North Carolina[1]

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.[3]

History[]

Revenue service (1904-1952)[]

No. 722 was used on Southern's Murphy Branch to pull logging trains between Asheville, North Carolina and Murphy, North Carolina until it retired from revenue freight service by Southern in August 1952.[4][5]

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.[6][7] 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.[5][7]

After the purchasing was complete, Southern cut down the size of the No. 630 and No. 722's 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.[7]

Excursion service (1968-1985)[]

On December 8, 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.[8] 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.[9]

Two years later, No. 722 had its firebox repaired and a brand new paint scheme of Southern's Virginian green with gold linings to match the fellow excursion locomotive No. 4501.[10] The locomotive made its first public excursion debut in September 1970 with No. 630 and No. 4501 for the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) convention in Charleston, South Carolina.[10][11]

In May 1979, Southern loaned No. 722 to the Wilmington and Western Railroad (WWRC) to operate on their Wilmington and Northern Branch line.[12][13] 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 superpower 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.[13]

In November 1985, No. 722 was taken out of service for its boiler ticket certificate and sat on display at the museum.[13][14] 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.[13][14] In late 1999, NS has sold the Biltmore property for redevelopment and removed No. 722 from its display site to the Asheville roundhouse for storage.[14][15]

Disposition (2000-present)[]

In late 2000, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (GSMR), which operates the same Murphy Branch in which No. 722 was used in revenue service, purchased the locomotive with the hopes of restoring it to operating condition.[4][15] However, when No. 722 was being disassembled for restoration work, the plan was thwarted when the GSMR's other steam locomotive No. 1702 went out of service in 2004,[16] leaving them both remaining disassembled outside the GSMR's workshop area in Dillsboro, North Carolina, exposed to the elements.[17][18] Although No. 1702 was restored back to service in 2016 and the restoration cost for the 722 is $700,000,[17][19] there were currently no plans to restore the latter locomotive to operating condition.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Once the 1702 & 722 trains are restored, what operational changes do you plan on making?". Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  2. ^ Wrinn (2000), p. 112.
  3. ^ Waite (2003), p. 302.
  4. ^ a b "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.
  5. ^ a b Waite (2003), p. 234.
  6. ^ Ferrell (1991), p. 196.
  7. ^ a b c Waite (2003), p. 238.
  8. ^ Ferrell (1991), p. 199.
  9. ^ Wrinn (2000), p. 21.
  10. ^ a b Wrinn (2000), pp. 31–32.
  11. ^ Wrinn (2000), p. 111.
  12. ^ Vazquez (2008), p. 43.
  13. ^ a b c d Wrinn (2000), pp. 54–57.
  14. ^ a b c "Fourth Quarter 1999 News". SteamCentral. 1999. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  15. ^ a b Wrinn (2000), p. 109.
  16. ^ "Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, NCDOT and Local Planning Officials Discuss Improvements and Economic Development Opportunities" (PDF). The Rail Report. North Carolina Department of Transportation. November 2015. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Current status of GSMR Steam". Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. October 29, 2012. Archived from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  18. ^ Lester, David (January 8, 2019). "Requiem for Southern 722?". Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  19. ^ "Fellow Steam Patrons and Railroad Fans". Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. August 9, 2012. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2017.

Bibliography[]

  • Ferrell, Mallory H. (1991). Tweetsie Country (2nd ed.). The Overmountain Press. ISBN 0-93280758-5.
  • Vazquez, Gisela (2008). The Wilmington and Western Railroad. Images of Rail (1st ed.). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-5362-7.
  • Waite, John R. (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 1-57072-272-2.
  • Wrinn, Jim (2000). Steam's Camelot: Southern and Norfolk Southern Excursions in Color (1st ed.). TLC Publishing. ISBN 1-883089-56-5.

External links[]

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