It’s time for another update on the Southern Railway No. 4501 Rebuild from the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum‘s “Smoke & Cinders” newsletter. (Click the small images below to view the full-size newsletter pages.)
The introduction reads:
STEAM UP! — In early March, and for the first time in sixteen years, Locomotive #4501 had a fire in its firebox. Several years of work went into getting the boiler to this level of completion and it passed its steam test for the FRA. After checking out the boiler, the locomotive was rolled back into the shop to continue its reassembly. Smoke from the stack was an impressive sight, but there would still be plenty of work to be done before the engine could undergo actual operational testing. Each week it seems that more “task items” are erased from the white board by TVRM’s very talented craftsmen. (All photos by Steve Freer unless otherwise noted.)
STEAM RESOLUTION – Work continued on #4501 throughout the Fourth Quarter of 2013. As the calendar clicked over to the New Year, many tasks had been marked off the Project 4501 to-do list. All flues, tubes, and superheater elements and the final driving wheel had been installed, firebox arch tubes inserted, and a hydrostatic test of the boiler concluded. With the hydro complete, attention was turned toward a long list of details including installation of appliances, application of air, steam, and lubrication lines, and much more. When finished in a few months, #4501 will be what Southern Railway envisioned the locomotive to be had they completed similar updtes done to many of their other Ms Class Mikados. In anticipation of adding a feedwater heater, Southern incorporated a plate into the new steam chest installed in 1945, which would allow attachment of steam lines for the heater. This long-ago planned performance upgrade was never completed…until now. Blank areas on the cylinder saddles had to be machined for attachment of pipes by TVRM’s restoration crew, but without Southern’s plan for the future this would not have been possible. When she rolls out of Soule Shops in East Chattanooga, the locomotive will be more efficient and powerful. Only a few short years ago, many thought this locomotive would never run again. Now we’ll be privileged to witness an all-new, never-before-seen #4501 roar to life! (All photos by Steve Freer unless otherwise noted.)
Rock on Trains 