- Southern Railway 4501
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Southern Railway 4501 
Southern Railway #4501 on display in 2006 Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Serial number 37085 Build date 1911 Configuration 2-8-2 UIC classification 1'D1'h Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver diameter 63 in (1.600 m) Fuel type Coal Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 27 × 30 in (686 × 762 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts Career Southern Railway Class Ms Number in class 1st of 182 Number 4501 Retired 1963 (revenue)
1998 (excursion)Current owner Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Disposition Undergoing restoration at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Southern Railway 4501 is a steam locomotive built in 1911 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Southern Railway (US). The engine is a 2-8-2 locomotive, and was the very first of that wheel arrangement the railroad owned.
History
4501 worked on many different divisions of the Southern Railway system from 1911 to 1948; first in Tennessee, then in Virginia, Kentucky and lastly in Indiana. In 1948 the Kentucky and Tennessee Railway purchased the locomotive and renumbered it as their #12. When 12 was retired by the Kentucky and Tennessee Railway in 1963, a railfan, Paul H. Merriman, bought the locomotive for The 4501 Corporation with $5,000 of his own money, and restored it for excursion use on the Southern Railway System.
The 4501 launched the Southern's steam excursion program, which ran for several decades until it was ended by Southern successor Norfolk Southern in 1994. 4501 is currently owned by the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee (which Merriman founded with Bob Soule), and was on static display. The locomotive last ran in 1998.
In 2008, the locomotive was stripped down for a complete boiler inspection, and Norfolk Southern in June 2010, announced they would run excursions with 4501, Southern Railway 630, and U.S. Army 610.
4501 has been called "The Green Mikado" because, for the majority of its excursion career, it received the green paint with gold trim that was historically used only on Southern Railway's passenger locomotives. However, being a freight locomotive, 4501 was never painted green during its original operational life on the Southern.
Pop Culture
The locomotive appeared in Johnny Cash's music video for the cover song "Hurt". About a minute into the video he is seen at the throttle of the locomotive.
The 4501 was also used as the locomotive in the 1999 movie October Sky. Its role was as a coal hauling locomotive and was shown several times in the film. A short clip of famed rail photographer O. Winston Link as the engineer was shown in the movie.
It also appears several times in the 1978 movie Summer of My German Soldier (TV film), set in Georgia during World War II.
References
- Wrinn, Jim (2000). Steam's Camelot: Southern and Norfolk Southern Excursions in Color. TLC Publishing. ISBN 1883089565.
- Drury, George H. (1993). Guide to North American Steam Locomotives. Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 0890242062.
- Morgan, David P. (1968). Locomotive 4501. Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Publishing.
Steam Locomotives of the Southern Railway Passenger Locomotives B (4-4-0), C (4-4-2), F (4-6-0), P (4-6-2), Ps-4 (4-6-2), Ts (4-8-2)Freight and Switching Locomotives A (various), D (2-6-0), E (4-6-0), G,H,I,J (2-8-0), K (2-8-0), Ls (2-8-8-2), Ms (2-8-2), Ss (2-10-2)Survivors Ps-4 1401, Ms 4501, Ks-1 630, Ks-1 722, H-4 401, H-4 385, G 154, J 542, A 1509, A-7 1643, G 107U.S. National Register of Historic Places Topics Lists by states Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • WyomingLists by territories Lists by associated states Other Categories:- Railway locomotives on the National Register of Historic Places
- Individual locomotives
- 2-8-2 locomotives
- National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee
- Southern Railway (US)
- Baldwin locomotives
- Preserved steam locomotives of the United States
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