Steam & Excursion > Southern 4-6-2 #1401 at the Smithsonian

The sole survivor of Southern Railway's Ps-4 class, 4-6-2 #1401 as it
sits on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington
DC.

Looking back through photos on Google - it seems there was a time you
could actually walk up to the engine and appreciate it before it was
obscured by displays, ramps, and railings. The tender is completely
out of view.

None-the-less - an impressive display of a beautiful Pacific. Photo
taken 11-29-2013.

Interestingly, a fact I was not aware of - according to Wiki:
When Graham Claytor was a Southern executive in the mid-1960s, he
attempted to lease 1401 from the Smithsonian for operational use in
Southern's steam excursion program. The Smithsonian refused, and Claytor
leased Southern Railway 4501 (originally a freight locomotive with a
2-8-2 wheel arrangement) and painted it in the green, gold, and silver
scheme instituted for the Ps-4s.

The Museum received SOU #1401 on November 26th, 1961.

/Mitch

---

Southern #1401 was one of the engines used on the funeral train that brought the body of Franklin Delano Roosevelt from Georgia back to Washington. #1401 was moved by night up 7th Street and west on Pennsylvania Avenue to the Smithsonian Museum of Transportation still under construction. The building was then completed around the engine. I witnessed the first part of the move. Has it been 62 years?

Yes, the loco has definitely been covered by a few other displays. I have a photo of the display I took back in the '70s during a high school trip showing a much clearer view. I am not looking at my photo, but I seem to recall no barrier around the loco either.

SR also looked into the possibility of converting A&WP 290, which is a very close copy and was on display in Atlanta, into a PS4. However, the railroad management for A&WP would not even seriously consider the suggestion.

Jay

Anyone who ever dealt with Mr. Claytor over the years will tell you he was a class act, through and through.

Mgoldman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When Graham Claytor was a Southern executive in
> the mid-1960s, he
> attempted to lease 1401 from the Smithsonian for
> operational use in
> Southern's steam excursion program. The
> Smithsonian refused, and Claytor
> leased Southern Railway 4501 (originally a freight
> locomotive with a
> 2-8-2 wheel arrangement) and painted it in the
> green, gold, and silver
> scheme instituted for the Ps-4s.
> /Mitch

If you are in Washington, the view from outside the building is worthwhile too, this is great museum architecture.

To sort of bring the story full circle...

TVRM acquired a Canadian Pacific Pacific and rumor has it that locomotive was going to be painted green for the trips to Summerville. Now that 4501 is coming back, they are using the stoker parts off the Canadian engine for 4501's rebuild.

Defective_Detector Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To sort of bring the story full circle...
>
> TVRM acquired a Canadian Pacific Pacific and rumor
> has it that locomotive was going to be painted
> green for the trips to Summerville. Now that 4501
> is coming back, they are using the stoker parts
> off the Canadian engine for 4501's rebuild.


That was CN #5288 and was way back in 2001 or so.
The engine was former Steamtown. A check back on
an old TO's thread...

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,295700

So what was the deal there? What was the intent of
the purchase and what fell through? I doubt TVRM
simply wanted an extra display engine or parts?

/Mitch

Mgoldman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Defective_Detector Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,2
> 95700
>
> So what was the deal there? What was the intent
> of
> the purchase and what fell through? I doubt TVRM
>
> simply wanted an extra display engine or parts?
>
> /Mitch


The deal was that Bob Soule, former president of TVRM, had a longtime dream of having a green pacific, even if it was only about 7/8 the size of a real Ps4 and looked totally different from a Ps2 or Ps3. The 5288 was traded to TVRM in return for some wheel work, don't remember which Steamtown engine it was for. When Soule passed away, it was pretty much the end of the pseudo-Ps4 idea.

Worthington_S_A Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The deal was that Bob Soule, former president of
> TVRM, had a longtime dream of having a green
> pacific, even if it was only about 7/8 the size of
> a real Ps4 and looked totally different from a Ps2
> or Ps3. The 5288 was traded to TVRM in return for
> some wheel work, don't remember which Steamtown
> engine it was for. When Soule passed away, it was
> pretty much the end of the pseudo-Ps4 idea.

Was the goal to restore the Pacific to operation or
just cosmetic?

/Mitch

Mgoldman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> Was the goal to restore the Pacific to operation
> or
> just cosmetic?
>
> /Mitch


Operation, though it didn't necessarily make sense. At the time the only available place to run it would have been to Summerville, on a max 20 mph railroad.

It's actually very similar to an L&N K4, would be interesting to see it made up as such and operated on the Hiawassee Line, where speeds are generally a bit higher and fewer coaches are carried.