wrecked southern e-8's

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IN doing research on southern E-8's I have found where two and maybe three of them, 6906, 6910, and 6915 where to have been involved in derailments. If so can this be confirmed and are there any pictures of the wrecks.

-- gene sharp (acopnbama@netzero.net), December 19, 2004

Answers

Hey Gene; According to the 1987 Sept. issue of Prototype Modeler, the 6906 &6910 were wrecked and scrapped somewhere around 1978. The 6915 was also wrecked, but not to bad since it was traded to EMD. No dates given for when this took place but the owner at that time is noted as the NO&NE for all three engines.Don't know of any pics for these engines, but there is a picture of a wrecked 6904 in the Spencer Shops book by Galloway & Wrinn on page 92.

-- Robert D. Cashwell (rdcsouthern1@earthlink.net), December 21, 2004.

When I was in Charlottesville, VA in 1978 or 1979 there was a pretty bad wreck of the Southern Crescent a few miles out of town. The two e-8s previously mentioned may have been involved in this wreck. If you can't find anything useful on this wreck on the web, you might be able to get some info from the local paper, which I believe is still the "Daily Progress".

-- Bill N (gnspouselaw@erols.com), December 22, 2004.

Gene,

On December 3, 1978, Train #2, The Southern Crescent, derailed at Elma, Va, about 26 miles north of Monroe, at 5:38 a.m. E-8 units. 6906 and 6910 were considered destroyed. 6915 struck a lumber track in Atlanta on May 26, 1978, and traded in on last order of GP38-2s, 5232-5256. 6900 was donated to Museum at Spencer and 6901 was donated to NRHS, Atlanta Chapter, both in 1979. 6902 was damaged at Elma, Va and traded to EMD on 5232-5256, 6903-6904, 6907-6908, 6913- 6914, were sold to NJ Dot in 1979, 6905, 6909, 6911, 6912, 6916 were sold to Precision National in 1979. 6900-6905 came to the Southern as 2923-2928 in 1951, 6906-6915 came in 1953 as NO&NE until it was mergered into the AGS and carried AGS initials, 2929 came in 1951 as Southern and then renumbered 6916. The number changes came in 1972.

On October 8, 1977 Train #1 at 2:53 a.m. ran through an inproperly lined switch at Spencer, NC and 6907-6903-6900 were damaged at total of $65,000. They were repaired, but with the Elma, Va wreck in 1978, that soon finished Southern's privately owned passenger business.

I worked in the Chief Dispatcher's Office when both wrecks happened and have reports for those, and the other information came from the Southern's Mechanical Office in Atlanta. Hope that gives you a good history.

-- J. Marvin Black (sr6100diesel@bigfoot.com), January 25, 2005.


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