Southern Appalachia Railway Museum

Louisville & Nashville 1315, a C-420 built by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in September 1966, was the last C-420 built for the L&N. In fact, it appears to have been the last ALCO of any type built for the railroad. All L&N C-420s numbered above 1315 came from other railroads such as the Tennessee Central, Monon, and Seaboard Coast Line.

1315 had builder number 3467-10 and was retired July 20, 1982. It was soon sold to Chrome Crankshaft. Following that sale, the locomotive went to Indiana Hi-Rail as their 1315, later renumbered to315. It then became the Wabash & Ohio 315 and then RMW Ventures 315. Later, the locomotive became part of the VLIX (Vintage Locomotives) fleet and was assigned to the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum for use and restoration.

1315 was rebuilt and painted during 2008 and debuted on Sunday, September 21, 2008, at the L&N Historical Society meeting.

( Photo courtesy of Bryant Petitt)

The Southern Appalachia Railway Museum has successfully acquired former Southern Railway engine No. 6913, one of only four Southern E-8 class diesels left in existence today. Southern Railway once owned 19 E-8's which were built by EMD (17 for Southern plus 2 which were acquired when Southern took over Central of Georgia).

The unit was one of the last of its class to be built and was delivered to Southern Railway in December of 1953. It served in mainline passenger service throughout the Southern system for the next 26 years. For the US Bicentennial in 1976, it was named the Lyman Hall, in honor of the Savannah doctor who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Upon its retirement from Southern service in 1979, the engine was sold to New Jersey Transit and was later acquired by a private collector. For the past several years it has been stored in Binghamton, NY.

Once the SARM volunteers became aware of 6913's availability, a team from their mechanical department traveled to Binghamton to assess the unit¹s condition and potential for restoration. After the decision to acquire it was made, several return trips were made to prepare the locomotive for movement to Oak Ridge.

The ravages of weather, time and vandalism have taken their toll on the engine. Restoration will involve replacement of all glass and some body panels, replacement of mostly small engine parts and copper items that have been pilfered. Much of the electrical wiring will also need to be replaced. The unit's Southern Railway paint scheme will also be restored. There is a significant amount of work to be done.

SARM President, Charlie Poling stated, "This unit fits our collection better than probably any other locomotive ever would. A classic Southern passenger diesel for our Southern passenger train". (The Secret City Scenic Excursion Train is made up of Southern coaches, a Southern dining car, baggage car and bay window caboose). Also, the addition of the 6913 to SARM's roster occurs as the museum is celebrating its 10th year of operating the excursion train. Mr. Poling also expressed the museum's appreciation for the support provided by Norfolk Southern Corporation in making preservation of the locomotive possible.

SARM is soliciting donations to help restore 6913. We have beautiful signed prints of a photo of 6913 in operation. Please click the "Contact Us" link for more information. 

Former Lehigh Valley, D&H, A&M, and ADIX Alco C420

Formerly CSX 3318 and L&N 2817

GE U23B built in 1975. 

"Fort Oglethorpe" - 

This car, the sister car to the "Fort McPherson", was built by Budd in 1947 for the Central of Georgia Railway and ran daily between Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia. The car became Southern property when it merged with the Central of Georgia on June 18, 1963. The "Fort Oglethorpe" was donated to the museum in 1990 and returned to service in 1993, when it ran for several years on special mainline excursions on Norfolk Southern and at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga.

No. 829 is a 52-seat, 85-foot long, 130,000 lb. coach built for Southern Railway by the Edward G. Budd Company. The coach entered service in October 1949. It was one of 19 cars ordered to replace older cars on The Southerner (Atlanta to Washington), and The Tennessean (Washington to Memphis, via Knoxville). The new cars were also a daily part of the consist on The Royal Palm, which made many stops at East Tennessee towns like Oneida, Oakdale and Rockwood, on its run from Chicago to Jacksonville and Miami. The Royal Palm traversed Southern's subsidiary road, Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway (CNO&TP), which is now a major artery of Norfolk Southern Railroad. Railfans dubbed the CNO&TP "The Rathole" due to the 27 tunnels that were once required between Cincinnati and Harriman, Tennessee.

After The Royal Palm was discontinued in 1970, and The Southerner and The Crescent (New York to New Orleans) were combined, 829 and her sisters became regulars on The Southern Crescent until February of 1979 when Southern finally turned its passenger service over to Amtrak, which ran the car until 1982. The car was sold to a private owner in Michigan and eventually made its way to The Bluewater Michigan Chapter of NRHS which operated it on their excursions. They also refurbished the car's interior.

Former Southern Railway Coach No. 829.was generously donated to the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum (SARM) from the Bluewater, Michigan, chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. Their members considered several organizations to provide 829 a new home, and settled on SARM based on its record of restoring and operating many pieces of former Southern Railway equipment. The transfer was completed on August 1, 2011, and the museum expects to place the coach in service on their Secret City Scenic Excursion Train during their Fall colors trips in October, 2011.

Seen here after getting some new primer on the roof, then "covered" in snow. 

Four open doors for a great wind-in-your-face ride! (Safety bars and grating have been placed across the lower half of the open doors for your safety.)

You can walk from your seats in the coach and dining car into the baggage car where the commissary and gift shop are located. A selection of chips, candy, popcorn, soft drinks, and coffee are available, as are T-shirts, whistles, books, coffee mugs, etc.

The Southern Railway Baggage Car 543 was built in 1942 by the St. Louis Car Company. The 70' car was originally used in Railway Express Agency service. After passenger service ended on the Southern, it was assigned to derrick service in the late 1970s. It was used as a storage and power supply car for crews working with the derrick crane during derailment cleanup and project work. One of its assignments was Knoxville. In 1996 it was auctioned off and sold to Louisville Scrap Metal in Roanoke. The Southern Appalachia Railway Museum bought the car and returned it to Knoxville later that year. In 1998, its interior was restored and a sales counter installed.

Dining Car No. 3164 was built by the Pullman Company in 1924 for the Southern Railway. It seats 44 passengers at 11 tables. The car worked both the Carolina Special (which ran through Blair, Tennessee) and the Tennessean through Knoxville. For many years 3164 was based at Knoxville working between Knoxville and Washington, D.C.

On November 11, 1958, the 83-ton car was knocked into the Southern station in downtown Knoxville where it wound up inside the building. Despite damage to both the car and the building both were repaired and returned to service. 

Dining Car No. 3164 was retired by Southern Railway in 1970 and passed through the hands of a number of private collectors before being acquired by several members of SARM in 1996.

From 1996 to 1999 SARM volunteers worked to restore the interior (the tables and chairs are original), exterior, and running gear of 3164. The kitchen awaits future work. The car returned to service in April 1999 on the Secret City Scenic Excursion Train. It is also used by the Dinner Train at Oak Ridge for charter trips and regularly scheduled dinner trains.