Atlanta and West Point 290
A&WP No. 290 at the Southeastern Railway Museum shops, awaiting for a cosmetic restoration in December 2009
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderLima Locomotive Works
Serial number7008
Build dateMarch 1926
Rebuild date1986–1989
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-6-2
 • UIC2′C1′ h2
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Leading dia.33 in (0.838 m)
Driver dia.73 in (1.854 m)
Trailing dia.43 in (1.092 m)
Length72 ft 5 in (22.07 m)
Adhesive weight192,500 lb (87.3 t)
Loco weight303,500 lb (137.7 t)
Total weight504,000 lb (228.6 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacityOld tender: 15 t (15 long tons; 17 short tons)
New tender: 20 t (20 long tons; 22 short tons)
Water cap.Old tender: 11,000 US gal (42,000 L; 9,200 imp gal)
New tender: 9,500 US gal (36,000 L; 7,900 imp gal)
Boiler pressure200 psi (1.38 MPa)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size27 in × 28 in (686 mm × 711 mm)
Valve gearBaker
Performance figures
Maximum speed90 mph (145 km/h)
Tractive effort47,500 lb (21.5 tonnes)
Factor of adh.4.11
Career
OperatorsAtlanta and West Point Railroad
(1926-1954)
New Georgia Railroad
(1989-1992)
ClassP-74
Number in class1st of 2
Numbers290
Retired1954 (revenue service)
1992 (excursion service)
Preserved1958
Restored1989
Current ownerAtlanta Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society
DispositionIn storage, awaiting cosmetic restoration

Atlanta and West Point 290 is a P-74 steam locomotive built in March 1926 by the Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) in Lima, Ohio for the Atlanta and West Point Railroad. It is a 4-6-2 heavy "Pacific" type steam locomotive, which was remarkably similar to the Southern Railway's Ps-4 class. With sister locomotive No. 190 built for the Western Railway of Alabama (WRA), No. 290 ferried the Southern Railway's Crescent passenger train from Atlanta, Georgia to Montgomery, Alabama until its retirement from revenue service in 1954.

In 1958, the No. 290 locomotive was preserved and put on static display at the city of Atlanta's Lakewood Park until 1961 when it was donated to the Atlanta Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS). In 1989, the locomotive was restored to operating condition for the New Georgia Railroad (NGRX) program, running excursion trains around the Georgia state from Atlanta to Athens, Augusta, Brunswick, Macon, and Savannah on Norfolk Southern (NS) and CSX rails.

At the end of 1992, No. 290 was retired due to running gear issues and was currently dissembled at the Southeastern Railway Museum (SRM) in Duluth, Georgia. With no plans to be restored back to operating condition, the locomotive is stored inside the SRM's backshop, waiting for a full cosmetic restoration.

History

Revenue service

No. 290 along with sister locomotive No. 190, are both heavy P-74 Pacific steam locomotives built in March 1926 by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio.[1] They were based on the USRA Heavy Pacific design and have a very similar appearance to the Southern Railway Ps-4 class.[2][3] No. 290 was assigned to the Atlanta and West Point Railway (A&WP), while No. 190 served the Western Railway of Alabama (WRA).[4] Both roads were under the common control of the Georgia Railroad and all operated as essentially one railroad, although being legally separate.[4]

Nos. 190 and 290's job was to ferry the Southern Railway's Crescent passenger train between Atlanta and Montgomery. While one locomotive was traveling southbound with the Crescent, the other would take the northbound counterpart. The locomotives would then be turned around at their terminal point for the reverse run. As a result, it was common to see both locomotives in both Atlanta and Montgomery. However, WRA and A&WP crews would swap in West Point, Georgia where the two lines met. When the train arrived in Montgomery, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) would complete the final leg of the Crescent train's journey to New Orleans, Louisiana.[3][4]

During the 1940s, Nos. 190 and 290 were given upgrades such as multiple-bearing crossheads replacing their original alligator crossheads and a Standard HT mechanical stoker was added inside the tender to deliver the coal from the bunker into the firebox.[5]

First retirement and attempted lease

In 1954, No. 190 was retired and scrapped, but Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Leo Aikman convinced the A&WP president Clyde Mixon to have the No. 290 locomotive donated to the city of Atlanta.[5][6] In 1958, No. 290 was put on display at the Atlanta's Lakewood Park and the 290 Club was formed to oversee the locomotive's display.[5] In 1965, the locomotive was donated to the Atlanta Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) and SR president W. Graham Claytor Jr. kept the locomotive in storage at the Inman Yard in Atlanta.[2] At that time, Claytor made an attempt to lease the No. 290 by significantly alter its appearance with SR passenger Virginian green and gold paint scheme to resemble an SR Ps-4 locomotive for use on their steam excursion program.[2][7] However, the A&WP refused to let Claytor use the No. 290 locomotive despite it being formerly owned.[2][7] Instead, No. 290 was moved to Duluth, Georgia to be on display at the Atlanta Chapter's Southeastern Railway Museum.[5]

Excursion service

In 1986, the New Georgia Railroad (NGRX), a sponsored tourist excursion railroad operated by the Georgia Building Authority in Atlanta, leased the No. 290 locomotive for use in running excursions around the Georgia state.[5][8] No. 290 was towed to the Southeastern Railcar company in Duluth, Georgia for some patch-up work performed by Finnegan Boiler Works and then moved to the former Pullman Yard in Atlanta, where the full restoration work began with supervision of former Seaboard Coast Line (SCL) road foreman Wallace Haywood.[5] During the restoration work, No. 290's original tender body was discovered to be very poor condition and it was replaced with a newly welded one which had the coal capacity increased to 20 short tons (40,000 lb) while the water capacity was decreased to 9,500 US gallons (36,000 L).

In 1989, No. 290 was restored to operating condition and moved under its own power for the first time in 35 years.[9] It pulled its inaugural excursion train on September 10, running from Atlanta to Macon and back.[6] Afterwards, it continued to run more excursion to Athens, Augusta, Brunswick, and Savannah on Norfolk Southern (NS) and CSX rails.[10] Additionally, it replaced Savannah and Atlanta 750, which was retired due to repairs in its firebox being too expensive.[5]

In early 1991, No. 290 was sent to the Norfolk Southern's Norris Yard Steam Shop in Irondale, Alabama to have its crown sheet inspected.[10] Shortly thereafter, the NGRX made an agreement with NS to borrow No. 290 as a substitute to Norfolk and Western 611 and 1218, which were both under maintenance at that time.[10] On April 6 and 7, No. 290 hauled two round trip excursions from Birmingham, Alabama to Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Heart of Dixie Chapter NRHS and the following weekend round trips out of Jacksonville, Florida to Valdosta, Georgia for the North Florida Chapter NRHS.[10][11] Afterwards, the locomotive returned to the NGRX to continue haul more excursion trips in Georgia.[10]

On Friday, August 21, 1992, No. 290 ran the highly anticipated excursion trip from Atlanta, Georgia to Montgomery, Alabama for the Atlanta Chapter NRHS on both ex-A&WP and WRA rails, via CSX.[12][13] On the next day, No. 290 ran five round-trip excursions out of Montgomery to Dothan, Alabama before returning to Atlanta on August 23.[12][13] At the end of 1992, No. 290 was taken out of service for extensive repair work to its running gear.[6]

Second retirement

There were originally plans to have the No. 290 locomotive be ready in time for the 1994 Atlanta Chapter NRHS convention, but the NGRX program was shut down due to its sponsorship with the Georgia state government being discontinued.[6] Additionally, both NS and CSX railroads banned main line steam excursion trips on their trackage the following year due to liability insurance.[6][14] The No. 290 locomotive is currently disassembled inside the Southeastern Railway Museum's backshop in Duluth, Georgia, waiting for a full cosmetic restoration.[6] There are currently no plans to restore the locomotive back to operating condition again.[6] Therefore, it will be put back on display once the cosmetic restoration work is finished.[6]

In popular culture

In 1991, No. 290 made its first ever film appearance in the comedy-drama film Fried Green Tomatoes, starring Kathy Bates and Mary Stuart Masterson.[6][15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Llanso, Steve; Duley, Richard. "Western Railway of Alabama / Georgia Railroad / Atlanta & West Point / West Point Route 4-6-2 "Pacific" Type Locomotives". SteamLocomotive.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d Boyd (2000), pp. 66–67.
  3. ^ a b Hanson (2007), p. 82.
  4. ^ a b c Bryant Jr. (1962), pp. 58–59.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Keefe (1989), p. 33.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Keefe, Kevin (April 10, 2017). "Getting wistful about Atlanta & West Point 290". Classic Trains. Kalmbach Media. Archived from the original on May 7, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Wrinn (2000), p. 11.
  8. ^ Drury, George H. (1990). Guide to Tourist Railroads and Railroad Museums (3rd ed.). Kalmbach Books. p. 69. ISBN 0-89024-103-1.
  9. ^ Keefe (1989), p. 32.
  10. ^ a b c d e Wrinn (2000), p. 89.
  11. ^ Wrinn (2000), p. 118.
  12. ^ a b Craft, John (1992). "1992 US Excursion Schedules". SteamCentral. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Ingles, J. David (November 1992). "A Happy Homecoming for A&WP 290". Trains. Vol. 52, no. 11. Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 30–31.
  14. ^ Wrinn (2000), pp. 100–102.
  15. ^ Wrinn (2000), p. 29.

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Prince, Richard E. (1962). Steam Locomotives and History: Georgia Railroad and West Point Route (1st ed.). Wheelwright Lithographing Company. ISBN 0-9600088-6-1.

External links

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