Steam & Excursion > Southern's Briefly Shining Star

She was something of the meteor of the Southern Railway's steam program, shooting across the system before fizzling out.

Carrying construction number 70865, Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 #2716 left the Alco plant in Schenectady, New York, in December, 1943. She lasted but thirteen years for the C&O, being retired in 1956. Three years later she was donated to the Kentucky Railroad Museum, then located in Louisville. Twenty years later, she was leased by the Clinchfield for excursion and public relations work. Before her rebuilding could be completed, a change at the top resulted in the Clinchfield's small steam program.

At the same time, the Southern Railway was looking for an excursion locomotive that would combine speed and power to handle trains of increasing size. The railroad was already operating two leased locomotives to supplant the smaller Consolidations #630 and #722 and Mikado #4501. Texas & Pacific 2-10-4 #610 had been leased following her stint with the American Freedom Train and while she had plenty of power, she was limited in speed as fast running took a toll on her running gear. Her long wheelbase had also led to some minor derailments such as picked switches in yards. While the derailments did little or no damage, they were somewhat embarrassing and led to extremely late trains. Also on the roster was former Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 #2839, which could run like the wind but need diesel assistance to handle long trains on all but the flattest routes.

When #2716 became available, Southern's master mechanic of steam stepped in and the locomotive headed to the Birmingham steam shop to complete its rebuilding. The locomotive was given a cosmetic overhaul as well, approximating what a Southern Railway 2-8-4 might have looked like with a centered headlight and boiler tube pilot replacing her distinctive C&O details. She made test runs on October 10 and 11, 1981, before entering excursion service the following weekend.

In October and November, 1981, the locomotive handled excursion in Georgia and Alabama before being laid up for the winter. The next April, she hit the road for what was planned to be a full season of trips. After running trips through five states and taking center stage before the cameras of National Geographic, the unthinkable happened. In July the firebox was found to be cracking and ten months after it began, her excursion career was over. She was taken back to Birmingham, and Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 #765 was leased to handle the trains she would have handled. The coming merger with the Norfolk & Western and the restoration of N&W #611 halted any thoughts of repairing the firebox, and #2716 would languish in Birmingham until the end of the steam program in 1994.

The locomotive would operated again in 1996, repaired by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, but was back at the K.R.M. in 2001 where she has been on display since. The Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation signed a long-term lease on the engine in 2016, and with luck she will run again.

#1 & #2 - While the exact date of these two photo are not given, the location of Toccoa, Georgia, places them on either the weekends of October 31/November 1 or November 7/8, when excursion were run here from Atlanta each day. The photos were scanned from Kodachromes in my collection with no photographer listed.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

---

---

#3 - Running a round trip between Memphis and Sheffield, Alabama, #2716 charges through Pocahontas, Tennessee, on May 1, 1982.

#4 - Before making a second round trip to Sheffield, #2716 is readied for the day at Memphis on May 2, 1982.

#5 - Later in the day, the locomotive smokes it up on a photo run at Sheffield.

Photos 3-5 are scanned from a negative and Kodachromes from the camera of George Redmond

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/17 08:00 by MaryMcPherson.

---

---

---

I heard this engine suffered a scorched crown sheet on the Southern and was taken out of service because of that. Is that correct?

tomstp Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I heard this engine suffered a scorched crown
> sheet on the Southern and was taken out of service
> because of that. Is that correct?


No. The problems were mostly in the throat sheet. The decision not to repair it was largely political. Bob Claytor wanted to concentrate on his N&W engines. 4501 was rebuilt for use on lines which would not handle the J.

One of my favorite engines! I love the 2716 dressed as a Southern engine and have an S gauge version which was offered by Lionel/American Flyer a few years back. I remember climbing on "the big engine" when I was a little boy and the 2716 was on display at the Kentucky Railway Museum on River Road in Louisville. Thanks for posting these wonderful photos!

Scott Griggs
Louisville, KY

---

Photos 1 and 2 show a well-attended union meeting taking
place on the tenders.

Realist Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Photos 1 and 2 show a well-attended union meeting
> taking
> place on the tenders.

Thought that it may have been a safety (Don't do this) type of meeting. LOL

Yes, I remember. Proper flags, candle sticks, and eagles. A proper Georgian locomotive. And runbys, too.

I liked the SR treatment on the front end, except for maybe the pigeon on the headlight. Nice looking engine.

And the headlight 4 inches below the smokebox centerline, in the tradition of the SR.