An excursion workhorse
Although she was built as a heavy freight hog for Southern Railway back in 1911, this handsome Alco Mikado #4501 has now been hauling passengers in excursion service a whole lot longer than she ever worked in the freight business. Retired by Southern Railway in 1948, after 37 years of "active" service, this engine spent about 16 years hauling coal trains for a short line in Kentucky. In 1966, she was acquired by a private owner, restored and then leased back to Southern Railway for their passenger excursion program, and later to Southern's successor, Norfolk Southern. When that company's steam program ended in the mid-1990s, she came to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, where she's been ever since. The 4501 is now a regular on both the museum's local excursion trains as well as the longer excursions to Summerville, GA.
The 4501 is pictured here northbound, approaching the McFarland Avenue Crossing in Rossville, GA, as she returns a day-long "Summerville Special" to Grand Junction Station in Chattanooga in early November of 2024.
An excursion workhorse
Although she was built as a heavy freight hog for Southern Railway back in 1911, this handsome Alco Mikado #4501 has now been hauling passengers in excursion service a whole lot longer than she ever worked in the freight business. Retired by Southern Railway in 1948, after 37 years of "active" service, this engine spent about 16 years hauling coal trains for a short line in Kentucky. In 1966, she was acquired by a private owner, restored and then leased back to Southern Railway for their passenger excursion program, and later to Southern's successor, Norfolk Southern. When that company's steam program ended in the mid-1990s, she came to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, where she's been ever since. The 4501 is now a regular on both the museum's local excursion trains as well as the longer excursions to Summerville, GA.
The 4501 is pictured here northbound, approaching the McFarland Avenue Crossing in Rossville, GA, as she returns a day-long "Summerville Special" to Grand Junction Station in Chattanooga in early November of 2024.