Southern Railway 1380

Southern Railway 1380
Southern Railway No. 1380 idling near North Avenue Roundhouse in Atlanta, Georgia, August 1947
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder ALCO's Schenectady Works Serial number 64857 Build date 1923 Rebuild date 1941
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2  • UIC 2′C1′ h Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Leading dia. 33 in (838 mm) Driver dia. 73 in (1,854 mm) Trailing dia. 43 in (1,092 mm) 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 tonnes (35,000 lb) Water cap. 14,000 US gallons (53,000 L) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 70+1⁄2 sq ft (6.55 m2) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1.38 MPa) Feedwater heater Worthington Cylinders Two Cylinder size 27 in × 28 in (686 mm × 711 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts, (originally Baker)
Performance figures Maximum speed 60–80 mph (97–129 km/h) Power output 2,624 hp (2,660 PS; 1,957 kW) Tractive effort 47,535 lbf (211.45 kN) Factor of adh. 3.79
Career Operators Southern Railway Class Ps-4 Number in class 6 of 64 Locale Southeastern United States Retired July 29, 1953 Disposition Scrapped
References:[1][2][3][4]

Southern Railway 1380 was a streamlined 4-6-2 steam locomotive built in 1923 by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York, for the Southern Railway (SOU) as a member of the Ps-4 class, which was based on the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) Heavy Pacific design with some minor differences. Redesigned in a Streamline Moderne style design by industrial designer Otto Kuhler in 1941, No. 1380 hauled SOU's streamlined Tennessean passenger train between Washington, D.C., and Monroe, Virginia, until it was removed from the train in the late 1940s and scrapped around 1953.

No. 1380 was one of the first batch of 12 Ps-4 locomotives, Nos. 1375-1386, built by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York in 1923.^[2][4] They were originally painted black with gold linings and lettering.^[5] The Ps-4s were based on the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) Heavy Pacific design, differing the smaller 73 in (1,854 mm) driving wheels, a slightly shorter boiler, an additional firebox combustion chamber, and a Worthington 3-B type feedwater heater.^[6] They produced 47,535 lbf (211.45 kN) of tractive effort, allowing them to pull 14 passenger cars at 80 mph (129 km/h).^[6]

The Ps-4s would serve as the primary mainline passenger locomotives on the SOU's Washington D.C. to Atlanta mainline, pulling their top-priority passenger trains, including the Crescent.^[5][7] In 1925, SOU president Fairfax Harrison had all of the Ps-4s, including No. 1380, repainted in a new Virginian green and gold paint scheme after his visit in the United Kingdom where he admired the country's London and North Eastern Railway's (LNER) apple-green passenger locomotives.^[8][9] By the mid-late 1930s, the Ps-4s, including No. 1380, had their original Baker valve gear replaced with Walschaerts type due to the former risking to reverse itself at high-speed, damaging the locomotives' wheels and the rails.^[10][11]

On May 17, 1941, SOU introduced their brand-new public streamlined Tennessean passenger train, which replaced the Memphis Special that ran between Washington, D.C. and Memphis, Tennessee.^[12][13] It was frequently hauled behind SOU's new EMD E6 diesel locomotives,^[14] but the Tennessean ran via Norfolk and Western (N&W) rails between Monroe, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee, and N&W would not allow diesel locomotives running on their rails.^[4][15] The SOU did not want get all tied up with their E6s pulling the Tennessean between Washington D.C. and Monroe.^[4][15] They decided to streamline one of their Ps-4 locomotives to pull the Tennessean consist.^[4][16] The result was No. 1380, which was scheduled for repairs at SOU's Spencer Shops in Spencer, North Carolina, and was given a streamlined design created by industrial designer Otto Kuhler.^[4] Despite Kuhler being impressed with his design on No. 1380, SOU did not pay him at all.^[4]

No. 1380 was painted green with a silver stripe, the "SR" symbol logo plastered on both sides of its the cylinders, and the Tennessean logo painted on both sides of its streamlined panels.^[4] Additionally, it was given a larger streamlined tender, which holds 14,000 US gallons (53,000 L) of water and was originally from sister locomotive No. 1400, who now received No. 1380's original smaller 10,000 US gallons (38,000 L) tender.^[11][15] The locomotive's original alligator crossheads were replaced with multiple-bearing types.^[4][17] No. 1380 worked on the Washington Division, where it frequently pulled the Tennessean from Washington, D.C. to Monroe in exchange for the N&W steam locomotives taking the train down to Bristol, where the SOU diesels would complete the Tennessean's journey to Memphis.^[4][17]

However, when World War II ended in 1945, the Washington Division was completely dieselized with No. 1380 being retired from the Tennessean and relegated to haul Washington, D.C.-Atlanta local passenger trains and mail trains.^[15] Additionally, No. 1380 was on motive power pool service, where it was used to protect passenger schedules in case of a diesel locomotive was unavailable to pull SOU's top-priority passenger trains such as the Birmingham Special, the Peach Queen, and the Piedmont Limited.^[4][18] Despite being removed from the Tennessean, No. 1380 retained its streamlined design until it was retired from SOU and sold to the Baltimore Steel Company for scrap in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 29, 1953.^[3][4][17]

• Atlanta and West Point 290
• Atlantic Coast Line 1504
• Norfolk and Western 611
• Southern Railway 1401

• 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.
• Murray, Tom (2007). Southern Railway (1st ed.). Voyager Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-2545-2.
• 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.
• Tillotson Jr., Curt (2004). Southern Railway Steam Trains Volume 1 – Passenger (1st ed.). TLC Publishing. ISBN 1-883089-94-8.

• Southern Railway Historical Association