Steam Engine #1487

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My Grandfather was an engineer for Southern Railway for 51 years. He He ran from Ashville to Salisbury that I know of. I have a picture of him and his fireman beside his engine #1487. From the picture, it looks like a 2-8-4 Mountain engine of some sort. Really interested in the history and what happened to his engine #1487. I know he pulled passenger cars at one time. Heard he left Raleigh an hour late and arrived in Ashville 20 minutes early. Said to have thrown dishes to the floor in the dinning car. Thanks for any information that someone may have about Steam Engine #1487. Thanks again.

-- Jim Campbell (jcampbell18@cfl.rr.com), December 23, 2001

Answers

According to R.E. Prince's "Southern Railway System Steam Locomotives and Boats", #1487 was a class Ts-1 (USRA light 4-8-2) built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1919, construction no. 51800. It was sold to Baltimore Steel Company for scrap in July 1953.

When first built, these engines were first class passenger power and were used on all the Southern main lines. After the Ps-4 Pacifics arrived, the Mountains were used primarily on the hillier parts of the railroad. Ties, the magazine of the Southern Railway Historical Association, had a three-part article on the Southern mountains which appeared in the Sep-Oct 1996, Nov-Dec 1996 and Jan- Feb 1997 issues. I think you can still buy back issues from the Association.

I have several photos of this locomotive which confirm its use during the late 1940s and early 1950s. These include a C W Witbeck photo in the Asheville NC engine terminal on May 18, 1946; a Curt Tillotson collection photo of #1487 on Train 21 (Carolina Special) at Marion NC on February 22, 1947; a photo used on a 1988 NRHS Chapter calendar (I don't know which one) that shows #1487 on eastbound Train 12 crossing Mill Creek between Coleman and Dendron NC in July 1948; a RD Sharples photo of #1487 ascending Saluda grade with an unknown passenger train in August 1950; and a photo from the Bruce Meyer collection showing the engine at the Atlanta GA engine terminal on February 1, 1951.

-- Tom Warne (twar@chevron.com), January 07, 2002.


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