Chicken Feathers

Grab a cold one, sit back and ENJOY!

Southern Railway 630 was built in 1904 by the American Locomotive Company (Richmond Works) for the Southern Railway. It is a 2-8-0 Consolidation of Southern's Ks-1 class. The 630 was used on Southern in regular freight service until her retirement in 1952. December of that year, the 630 and sister locomotive, 722, were purchased by the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad and numbered 207 and 208 appropriately. In December 1967, both locomotives were traded back to the Southern for use in their steam excursion program and restored to their former identities in return for a pair of former Central of Georgia Alco RS3's. The steam locomotives headed main line excursion trains over the entire Southern system until 1983 when both were retired again from the Southern in favor of larger power. They both were leased to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. 722 was later loaned by Southern's successor NS to the Asheville Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society of Asheville, NC. TVRM ran the 630 until 1989 when she was yet again retired. 630 was donated to TVRM in 1999 by NS. Shortly thereafter, 630 entered TVRM's restoration shop (now Soule Shops) and underwent a thorough ten-year restoration -- one of the most thorough restorations performed on a steam locomotive in the U.S. in recent years, including frame work and complete running gear overhaul. 630 returned to regular service on TVRM in March 2011 and is currently participating in the "21st Century Steam" program developed by Norfolk Southern.

Southern Railway 630.

Power type: Steam

Builder: American Locomotive Company (Richmond Works)

Serial number: 28446

Build date: February 1904

Configuration: 2-8-0

Gauge: 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

Driver diameter: 57 in (1.448 m)

Fuel type: Coal

Boiler pressure: 200 psi (1.38 MPa)

Cylinders: Two, outside

Cylinder size: 24 × 30 in (610 × 762 mm)

Valve gear: Southern

Tractive effort: 46,700 lbf (208 kN)

Career: Southern Railway

Class: Ks-1

Number: 630

Retired: 1967 (revenue)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As far as steam engines go, the scrappy Southern Railway 630 locomotive is on the small side, but from 1904 to the 1960s, it was prized for its ability to keep rolling over hills, through tunnels and across shaky bridges.
But the little engine that could has seen better days. Mothballed for nearly 20 years, its flat-black boiler no longer bubbles, its headlight is off and its whistle is quiet as it sits beneath humming fluorescent warehouse lights at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.
But old No. 630 won't be silent forever. Every day -- one piece at a time -- Shane Meador and a crew of seven or so men bring the locomotive back to life. The work is tedious. Volunteers and experts like Meador and his crew have rebuilt nearly every part of the 100-year-old engine, and they hope to power it up for tourists by spring.

"For me, it sometimes seems like the work is going slowly, but when you come in and see progress and you see the train coming together, it's a real motivation to keep going," Meador said.
In truth, work on the train has been going on for 10 years or more. No. 630 needed massive repairs to everything from the frame and running gear to the boiler and even the lighting. In all, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum expects to spend $500,000 to get the steam engine back on the tracks.
The work is being paid for by museum donors and visitors. Norfolk Southern donated the antique locomotive and gave Meador a leave of absence from his full-time job as a Chattanooga-based railroad machinist to work on the engine.
Once work is complete, the commercial rail line plans to borrow No. 630 for special events, but the locomotive mostly will be used in Chattanooga for tourist excursions from the museum.
"Steam engines are noisy and big; they're romantic and they draw a crowd," said Bill Schafer, director of strategic planning for Norfolk Southern, who also sits on the museum's board. "We are proud of our railroad, its history and employees. We want to showcase that."
At one time, there were more than 2,000 Southern Railway steam locomotives on tracks all over the region, Schafer said. There were more than 200 just like No. 630 in the railway's fleet.
But most rail lines switched from steam power to diesel in the late 1950s and 1960s, and almost all steam engines were scrapped. Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western Railway merged in 1982.
Today, there are fewer than 15 surviving Southern Railway steam locomotives as well as 400 other older rail cars and equipment, according to the Southern Railway Historical Association. The Southern Railway 1401, a glossy green locomotive with gold trim, is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

FEW REMAINING
Steam locomotive engines gave way to diesel in the 1950s. Now only eight Southern Railway coal-powered engines are on public display.
No. 154: Chilhowee Park, Knoxville
No. 401: Monticello Railway Museum, Monticello, Ill.
No. 542: North Carolina Transportation Museum, Spencer, N.C.
No. 630: Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, Chattanooga
No. 722: Great Smoky Mountain Railway, Bryson City, N.C.
No. 1401: Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
No. 1509: Southeastern Railway Museum, Duluth, Ga.
No. 4501: Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, Chattanooga
Source: Southern Railway Historical Association

Restoring No. 630 comes at a good time. The museum's No. 610 steam engine, a former U.S. Army locomotive, has only days before it must be retired for repairs.

Federal law requires that steam engines be used for only 1,472 days before having the boilers broken down for repairs.

Once No. 630 is in service, crews will turn their attention to a third steam engine, No. 4501, which needs repairs, too, said Steve Freer, a spokesman for the museum.
"In a perfect world, we would work on the 610, too, and have them all in service for our 50th anniversary next year," Freer said.
Last week, Meador and his crew finished insulating No. 630's boiler. Previously, the steam-powered engine underwent pressure testing with the Federal Railroad Administration standing by.
The museum had hoped to have the engine in service by this winter, but the work has taken longer than expected, Freer said. It should undergo final tests after the holidays and be ready for tourists no later than the spring, he said.
The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum owns the largest collection of former Southern Railway cars, engines and cabooses, according to the Southern Railway Historical Association. And when No. 630 goes back into service, it will enter a small club of working steam engines.
"There just really aren't that many running around the country," Freer said. "That's why we are so excited to get this running again."

Misplaced my glasses.

Yesterday my daughter e-mailed me again asking why I didn't do something useful with my time. Like sitting around the pool and drinking wine is not a good thing. Talking about my "doing something useful" seems to be her favorite topic of conversation.

She said she was "only thinking of me" and suggested I go down to the senior center and hang out with the guys. I did this and when I got home last night, I decided to teach her a lesson about staying out of my business.

I e-mailed her and told her that I had joined a parachute club.

She replied, "Are you nuts? You are about 80 years old, and now you're going to start jumping out of airplanes?"

I told her that I even got a membership card and e-mailed a copy to her.

She immediately telephoned me, "Good grief, where are your glasses! This is a membership to a Prostitute Club, not a Parachute Club."

"Oh, man, I'm in trouble again. I really don't know what to do. I signed up for five jumps a week."

The line went quiet and her friend picked up the phone and said that she had fainted.

Life as a senior citizen is not getting any easier, but sometimes it can be fun.