SR PS4's

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I would like to model a Southern Railway PS4. Since it's not quite a heavy class nor a lite class, It fits somewhere inbetween. I was wondering If the Rivarossi 4-6-2 would be a good representation of the SR PS4. IT seems to fit the A&WP #290 very well.Also what would be a good match for the SR light pacific's.

-- Robert D. Cashwell (rdcsouthern@aol.com), April 22, 2002

Answers

southern ps4 was a heavy pacific,ps2 was light pacific and the road did not have a ps3 pacific at no time.southern railways systems eastern divi.model railroad club,2036polk-ford road,one railroad place stanfield,n.c.28163

-- Leonard E.Eddleman (lightinin@yahoo.com), April 23, 2002.

The Rivarossi 4-6-2 is a reasonable representation of the Southern Ps-4, if youire not too picky. The Ps-4 differed from the USRA heavy pacific in several important details -- the most noticeable are the smaller drivers (the Ps-4 used 73" drivers because of the hilly territory) and a built-up trailing truck rather than the cast Delta type common on heavy USRA locos. I believe A&WP #290 is a full-fledgged USRA heavy.

The earlier Southern 4-6-2s were quite various. The earliest were P (later Ps) class numbered 1200-1250, 1300-1324, 1360-1365, 6450-6458 and 6675-6683. These mostly had 72 or 72.5" drivers and inboard-bearing trailing trucks and were built in 1903-1907. The P-1 class was built in 1906 for passenger service in the mountains. It had 63" drivers. Many of the Ps engines were later re-built as Ps-2; these engines were also built new, starting in 1911, They were numbered 1251-1270, 1325-1359 and 6459-6470. None of the commonly available commercial 4-6-2s look much like any of these engines without a lot of bashing. You would need a good photo to start with.

-- Tom Waqrne (warne@sbcglobal.net), May 28, 2002.


According to many retired Southern personnel and authors Prince, Kramer, Wm.Webb. and Harold Ranks and Shelby Lowe, SRR had many paint schemes depending on where the loco was "shopped" Spencer, Birmingham, Asheville, etc. According to Kramer in Southern Railway Handbook "most" Passenger engines had black cab roofs and black tender decks, but AGS, CNO&TP, GS&F, and others scattered in the fleet had Tuscan or dark oxide red cab roofs between the gutters. Also there was a PS-3 in the CNO&TP Division numbered 6475-6479. Mr. Frank Clodfelter was a SRR engineer out of Asheville (NC) division and he commissioned Howard Fogg to do Southern 4-6-2 and 4-8-2 and showing Tuscan Cab roof-maybe this was a freight scheme, but there are Fogg prints around at train shows. As to Rivarossi Southern Heavy Pacifics, there are many of the "Pea Green/Black" paint without Elesco FeedWater heaters which are USRA type. But Rivarossi did a version of the PS-4 in road #1401 with the Elesco and these were the correct "Virginia Green" paint scheme. All I have seen of these had a "Premier Production Run" tag and decal sticker on the driver retainer plate, and on the flap of the original box. These are in fact quite scarce and desireable. PFM made the PS-4 in brass and quite collectible. Very difficult to paint the precision brass locomotive in the 5 colors. Green, Gold, Tuscan, Black and Graphite Smokebox and firebox. Good luck.

-- Clark Reed (untrained@earthlink.net), June 18, 2004.

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