Southern Railway 401

Southern Railway 401
Southern Railway No. 401 on display at the Monticello Railway Museum in November 1985
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Serial number 32487 Build date December 1907
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-8-0 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 57 in (1.448 m) Fuel type New: Coal Now: Oil Tender cap. Oil: 1,100 US gal (4,164 L) Water: 7,200 US gal (27,255 L) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1.38 MPa) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 21 in × 28 in (533 mm × 711 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts
Career Operators Southern Railway Alabama Asphalt Limestone Company Monticello Railway Museum Class H-4 Numbers SOU 401 Nicknames Memphis Retired 1949 (1st retirement) 1964 (2nd retirement) Restored 1949 (1st restoration) September 10, 2010 (2nd restoration) Current owner Monticello Railway Museum Disposition Operational
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Southern Railway 401 is a H-4 class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for Southern Railway, preserved and operated by the Monticello Railway Museum.

History

Southern Railway

Southern Railway 401 is one of 2 surviving 25 class "H-4" 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotives the other being Southern Railway 385 in the Whippany Railway Museum. No. 401 was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in December 1907. The H-4 class was generally used in mixed train service, to haul branch line freight trains, and later, as yard switchers. In 1949, No. 401 was retired and sold to the Alabama Asphaltic Limestone Company in Margerum, Alabama were it was primarily used as a switcher engine, moving hopper cars of stone for the company. In 1964, No. 401 was retired from revenue service and was placed in outdoor storage.

Monticello Railway Museum

The locomotive was purchased from Alabama Asphaltic Limestone by the Society for the Preservation of Unretired Railfans (SPUR) in 1967. In January 1968, the locomotive was loaded on a flat car by two Southern Railway steam cranes and shipped to Decatur, Illinois. The No. 401 was unloaded from the flat car in the Norfolk & Western's former Wabash Ry Decatur Shops and set back on its own wheels, then it was stored in the Decatur Yards. SPUR purchased grounds from the Illinois Terminal Railroad near Monticello, Illinois for its museum and demonstration railroad in February 1970. The name of the organization was changed to Monticello & Sangamon Valley Railway Historical Society (M&SV) to reflect its location near Monticello and the Sangamon River Valley. M&SV had its Monticello site developed enough to receive the No. 401 and other stored railroad equipment in October 1971 and the No. 401 was moved on its own wheels to the museum. It was cosmetically restored and placed on display at the museum from 1971 to 1995. M&SV changed its name again to the Monticello Railway Museum (MRyM) in November 1984.

In 1995, a donor stepped forward with plans to return an operating steam locomotive to service at the museum, after considering several alternative steam locomotive candidates for restoration, it was decided to return No. 401 to operating condition. No. 401's restoration officially began in 1995 by museum volunteers, with work taking fifteen years to complete, included replacing the boiler. On September 10, 2010, No. 401 moved under steam for the first time in forty-six years, it would later operate its first annual Railroad Days event eight days later, it also given the nickname "Memphis". In 2021, No. 401 would be taken out of service for its Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 1,472-day inspection and overhaul, after a full year of work, it was eventually back in service the following year for the 2022 operating season.