Does anyone know what happened to all of the passenger coaches from the Southern/Norfolk Southern excursion fleet after the steam program ended? I know that certain office cars were kept for inspection trains/executive trains, but what about the coaches?<br>



ad29695@appstate.edu

Much of that fleet was leased from NRHS chapters and other private suppliers. Many of those cars still survive and limp along museum or to, are occasionally leased to some unsuspecting individual, or rust on sidings. I think most of the owned cars were sold at the auction. <p>Dave<br>



lathro19@idt.net

<br>A good many of the auctioned cars were snapped up by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, and these cars now roll between Cumberland and Frostburg in excursion service.<br>



LNER4472@gateway.net

I think at least one or two might have ended up on the Napa Valley Wine Train in California.<br><br>



bnsftulsa@aol.com

I know that a few of the older cars were bought by the Rio Grande Scenic in Alamosa, and a couple others went to VMT.

Wow...way to resurrect an old thread. I started it back in my Appalachian State Days!

The last I knew, the Lookout Mountain Obs Car was on the Hood River Scenic RR. Is it still there, or has it wandered someplace new? I was surprised to see it there quite a few years back, having ridden it many years ago on the Southern trips.

It was transferred to San Luis and Rio Grande a while back. I think it has been painted in IC colors, along with the rest of the train set. Riding in the Lookout Mountain over La Veta, behind steam, is quite spectacular.

I believe DL&W diner 469 was a part of the fleet. It is currently owned by ELDCPS.

Several veterans of the "fleet" are now owned by Iowa Pacific, see the recent Trains Magazine article. The "Lake Pearl" and open air car "W. Graham Claytor" went to VMT after the Dismal Swamp derailment of 1986, when all cars without tightlock couplers & roller bearings were retired. Lake Pearl is currently undergoing cosmetic restoration at the Roanoke Chapter's 9th St yard

:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.553039804748354.1073741829.168975893154749&type=3

We plan on restoring the W. Graham Claytor eventually for use on the special events train rides at VMT.

Secondary tool car 9647 is also at VMT, it came there when 611 returned. Roanoke Chapter NRHS had 10 cars that served in the fleet, and purchased tool car N&W 1407 at the NS auction in 1995. Ex-SR coaches 1205 and 1204 were retired in the late 70's & early 80's respectively. Both now belong to Iowa Pacific. Ex-Southern 10-6 sleeper 2021 "Yadkin River" and ex-SR/C of G combine 727 "Ft. Mitchell" were retired in the early 90's after NS required substantial upgrades of all equipment and smooth sides with red paint. 727 is now at Cuyohoga Valley Scenic RR, 2021 went into private ownership and may now belong to Iowa Pacific. Ex-N&W/Wabash coach 1829 was destroyed in the yard collision in Lynchburg shortly before the old Steam Program shut down. Several years ago we sold ex-N&W/Wabash coach 1827 and ex-IC Observation 3305 "Mardi Gras" to Monticello RR Museum and Iowa Pacific respectively. Lest anyone wrongly conjecture that this was due to financial issues, I assure you it was not. Both groups wanted these specific cars and bugged the snot out of us to buy them, paying what was then on the high side of market value. The Chapter still owns N&W 1407, 512, and 537, as well as commissary GN Dinette-Dormitory 1148. 1407 and 537 are under lease to TVRM, 1407 travels with 630 and 537 is usually used on TVRM's local trips. 512 and 1148 are at VMT, and are used for train rides and special events.

Of the NS owned cars, 28 (N&W 501) and 29 (N&W 533) are still in NS ownership and used with the current Steam Program, as well as OCS and Operation Lifesaver service. The N&W 1700 series cars were retired during the late 1980's, one is in Crewe Va at the Museum there, and two are in Maryland. Some N&W 500's were also retired in the late 80's and went into private ownership, among them are TVRM 531 and WATX 539. The rest were sold at auction in 1995, along with the 800 series Southern cars. Some of these are at WMSR and GSMSRR.

Also, one of the ex Western Maryland Scenic cars is now at KRM.

Combine/recording car Man 'O War went to the WMSR. Don't know if it is still there.

Here is a nice photo of Lookout Mountain passing thru Buechel, KY (Louisville) on one of the Southern excursions during the mid to late 1970s. That is my little brother waving. I was happy to run in to Lookout Mountain on the Hood River in Oregon several years ago.

At least two are at Spencer, NC. One, SOU 1081, is undergoing renovation. The first picture is of it in excursion service. The second was taken last winter during exterior sand blasting. The grey primer is applied at the end of the day to the blasted area.

Made a list a while back on the old SOU/NS Fleet. Most was based on old pictures and trains videos. Here's what I got:

Southern-Norfolk Southern Steam Program Fleet (1966-1994)

# Number Railroad Type Name Personal Name Ownership

Steamers
152 L&N 4-6-2 Kentucky Railroad Museum
290 A&WP 4-6-2 Southeastern Railway Museum
587 NKP 2-8-2 Indiana Transportation Museum
610 T&P 2-10-2 Texas State Railroad
610 USA 2-8-0 Tennessee Valley Railroad
611 N&W 4-8-4 Virginia Museum Transportation
630 SOU 2-8-0 Tennessee Valley Railroad
722 SOU 2-8-0 Great Smoky Mountain Railroad
750 S&A 4-6-2 Southeastern Railway Museum
765 NKP 2-8-4 Fort Wayne Historical Society
1218 N&W 2-6-6-4 Virginia Museum Transportation
1522 SLSF 4-8-2 Museum Of Transportation Missouri
2716 C&O 2-8-4 Kentucky Railroad Museum
2839 CPR 4-6-4 Nethercutt Collection
4501 SOU 2-8-2 Tennessee Valley Railroad

Water Cars
611A Indiana Transportation Museum
611B (261A) 250002 North Star Rail Inc.
765A Fort Wayne Historical Society
1218A (RPCX) 250001 Virginia Museum Transportation
WT51 Tennessee Valley Railroad

Tool Cars
25 N&W (WAB) Baggage --------------------- Norfolk Southern
701 N&W (USA) Baggage-K --------------------- Ft. Wayne Historical
710 N&W (CNR) Baggage --------------------- Ft. Wayne Historical
1407 N&W Baggage --------------------- NRHS Roanoke
1701 (361) C&O (PM) Bunk --------------------- Steam Railroad Institute
6565 PRR Mail U.S. Mail-RPO Indiana Transportation
9647 N&W (CNR) Baggage --------------------- Virginia Transportation

Passenger Cars (Norfolk Southern)
28 (501) NS (N&W) Coach Powhatan Arrow Norfolk Southern
29 (532) NS (N&W) Coach Powhatan Arrow Norfolk Southern
39 (1003) NS (ATSF) Baggage Generator Norfolk Southern
536 N&W Lounge Powhatan Arrow Great Smoky Mountain
540 N&W Coach Powhatan Arrow Western Maryland
726 SOU (CG) Combination Man “O” War Western Maryland
841 SOU Coach Royal Palm Great Smoky Mountain
842 SOU Coach Southerner CSX Transportation *_*
843 SOU Coach Crescent New York & Greenwood
844 SOU Coach Crescent Western Maryland
845 SOU Coach Tennessean Kentucky RR Museum

Passenger Cars (NRHS/Museums/Tourist)
206 (554) SOU (BN) Baggage ------------- Blueridge Scenic Railroad
512 N&W Coach Powhatan Arrow NRHS Roanoke
537 N&W Coach Powhatan Arrow NRHS Roanoke
538 N&W Coach Powhatan Arrow NRHS Roanoke
539 N&W Coach Powhatan Arrow NRHS Watauga Valley
662 SOU (CG) Coach --------------- NRHS Southeastern
676 SOU (GN) Baggage Commissary NRHS North Florida
1148 (1220)N&W (GN) Diner Devils Lake NRHS Roanoke
1827 N&W (WAB) Coach Pocahontas Monticello Railroad Mus.
1829*** N&W (WAB) Coach Pocahontas NRHS Roanoke
2202 N&W (IC-MP) Vista Dome Heart Of Dixie NRHS Dixie
3305 N&W (IC) Observation Mardi Gras Rio Grande Scenic

Passenger Cars – Extra (NRHS Clubs)
98 B&O Observation Eden Isle NRHS Tenn. Valley
400 ACL Diner Moultrie NRHS Watauga Valley
500 FEC Diner Clinchfield NRHS Watauga Valley
531 N&W Coach Powhatan Arrow NRHS Tenn. Valley
661 SOU (CG) Coach ---------------- NRHS Tenn. Valley
906 (528) SOU (CG) Coach ---------------- NRHS Tenn. Valley
907 (543) SOU (CG) Coach ---------------- NRHS Tenn. Valley
899 GTW Diner Silver Lake NRHS Bluewater
706 RF&P Coach ---------------- NRHS Old Dominion
1006 N&W (SOU) Coach ---------------- NRHS Old Dominion
1037 SOU Coach ---------------- NRHS Tenn. Valley
1850 C&O Vista Dome Moonlight Dome NRHS Promontory
2931 ATSF Coach ---------------- NRHS Dixie
3158 SOU Diner Traveler’s Fare NRHS Tenn. Valley
4527 SOU Baggage Commissary NRHS Dixie
6604 SEA Observation Global Star IV NRHS Bluewater
9486 (22) CNR (NYC) Combination Haverstraw Bay NRHS Bluewater

Passenger Cars – Tourist/Private Equipment
07 N&W (NKP) Lounge Kitchi Gammi Club Virginia Rail Corp
53 MILW Full Dome Super Dome North Star Rail Inc.
58 MILW Full Dome Super Dome Railway Exposition Co.
113 C&O (PM) Lounge Eagle Canon South Branch Valley
200 (7002) N&W (UP) Vista Dome Roanoke Kansas City Southern
257 ATSF Observation-F ----------- --------------------
277 SOU (D&H) Combination ----------- Cuyahoga Scenic
549 ATSF Coach Pomona Blue Ridge Scenic
715 MILW (NKP) Coach Buckeye Trail Austin & Texas Central
716 MILW (DL&W) Coach Buckeye Lake Austin & Texas Central
965 C&O Diner Gatsby’s Tavern South Branch Valley
1062 SLSF Coach -------------- NRHS Dixie
1231 ------- Lounge -------------- Railroad Power Leasing
1903 C&O Lounge Chessie Club South Branch Valley
2209 SOU Coach New River Valley Iager & Southern
3477 ----- Coach Atlanta Railcar Railroad Power Leasing
5417 NKP Coach Frank L. Kerr Orrville Hist. Rail Club
4802 GTW (UP) Coach -------------- Tennessee Central
4804 GTW (UP) Coach -------------- Tennessee Central
4806 GTW (UP) Coach City Of Huron Tennessee Central
6106 SEA Diner New River Gorge St. Louis Car Company
7003 NYC (UP) Vista Dome Charter Club Charter Wire Company
9401 N&W Lounge Pocahontas Old Smoky RW Museum

Southern Railway, Ex-Regular Equipment
534 SOU Baggage ---------------------- NRHS Greensboro
905 SOU (CG) Coach ---------------------- MacGregor Collection
1035** SOU Coach ---------------------- Norfolk Southern
1038** SOU Coach ---------------------- Norfolk Southern
1044** SOU Coach ---------------------- Norfolk Southern
1046** SOU Coach ---------------------- Norfolk Southern
1056 SOU Observation Lookout Mountain Rio Grande Scenic
1067** SOU Coach ---------------------- Norfolk Southern
1068** SOU Coach ---------------------- Norfolk Southern
1081 SOU Coach ---------------------- NC Transportation
1086** SOU Coach ---------------------- Norfolk Southern
1087** SOU Coach ---------------------- Norfolk Southern
1069* SOU Coach Missionary Ridge Norfolk Southern
1070 SOU Coach W. Graham Claytor Jr. Virginia Transportation
2422 SOU Sleeper Lake Pearl Virginia Transportation
3659** SOU(CNOTP) Coach ---------------------- Norfolk Southern
4061* SOU Baggage Queen & Crescent Club Norfolk Southern

Private Varnish Equipment
101 N&W Observation Blue Ridge Morristown & Erie
208 N&W Observation Lamberts Point North Star Rail Inc.
300 GEO Observation ---------------- -----------------

Caboose Equipment
555019 N&W Caboose ------------------ Norfolk Southern
555024 N&W Caboose ------------------ Norfolk Southern
555062 N&W Caboose ------------------ Norfolk Southern
555069 N&W Caboose ------------------ Norfolk Southern
555098 N&W Caboose ------------------ Norfolk Southern

Norfolk & Western Railway, Ex-Regular Equipment
535 N&W Coach Powhatan Arrow -----------------

Notes
* Destroyed/Scrapped In 1986 Excursion Accident
** Put Into MOW Service 1986 Post Excursion Accident
*** Destroyed/Scrapped In 1994 Yard Accident

This is all I've got on the old SOU/NS program. Please correct any or add any IF corrections need to be made.

Enjoy! ^_^