401 has come out of hibernation after completion of the annual inspections at Monticello. We made a brief shakedown run Wednesday and everything looks good. We will be running our normal schedule with it this weekend.

Russ Fischer

Congrats Russ. Again job well done!

Hey Russ, "touché": Southern 630 runs this weekend too!

Roger that, I'll be in Monticello on the 17th to check her out again.

Any chance of a photo freight day or night photo session with her coming up? I'd love to attend one of those with the 401.

Ryan

Hello,
I am new to this forum and wanted share our experience at Monticello RR Museum.
My son and I made the trip to Monticello to ride behind The 401. This was his first time to ride behind steam. It was very windy and a little cold. (41 degrees), but the engine was beautiful and the ride was fun. We rode in the caboose and they had a fire in the stove so it was warm in there. It was close enough to home to make it a day trip and we had a great time. Someone said that they burn whatever oil they can get, and they must have gotten some from the local KFC, it smelled like fried chicken when we got off in Monticello. We chased it the next trip and could smell it again. We both decided that fried chicken sounded good so we cut out trip a little short to find some.

It was a great way for me to introduce my 17 year old to the joy of watching and riding behind a steam engine.

I would like to thank the folks at Monticello for their hard work and dedication that made this day great.

I have pictures, but cannot figure out how to post them.
I will when I figure out how to.

Thanks,
Scott Francis

"401 has come out of hibernation after completion of the annual inspections at Monticello. We made a brief shakedown run Wednesday and everything looks good. We will be running our normal schedule with it this weekend. "

We were there this weekend and it was a treat to see this engine in operation (despite the weather).

Thanks to all at the Monticello museum for the efforts they've made to preserve this engine and put her back in operation.

One question -- how did an engine from the SR wind up in Illini country?

Bob H

Southern ran through southern Illinois to East St. Louis. It was actually one of the lines the famed 4501 was assigned to. But my understanding is that it was found in near a quarry in Alabama, and they were looking for steam about that time...

The line ran off of the old CNO&TP line to Cincinnati at Lexington, Kentucky and headed pretty much straight west to East St. Louis. There was also about a 30 mile "cut-off" that ran from Danville, Kentucky up to the line at Lawrenceburg. The line served Louisville, Kentucky; Huntingburg and Princeton in Indiana and Mt. Vernon in Illinois. I believe there were shops on line at Princeton. At Huntingburg, a four pronged branch went south to points on the Ohio River including Evansville, Indiana. There was also a line north from Huntingburg that went up to the resort towns of French Lick and West Baden, Indiana. The line from French Lick down to Huntingburg is still in operation as a short line and the Indiana Railway Museum, which still uses part of the line (including a tunnel) for its museum tourist trains.

Les

#401 was based out of Memphis while on the Southern. Then went to the gravel pit in Alabama.

To answer some of the questions, 401 ended up in Illinois after several members of the organization became aware of its existence in Margerum, Alabama, while attending an auction for another locomotive back in 1966 or '67. (Don't ask me which one, I don't know.) At any rate, they decided to run down to Margerum and look over this one. It was then purchased in 1967, loaded on to flat cars, and moved to Decatur, IL by Southern RY & N&W, gratis.

We've been told it spent some time on the St. Louis District in the late 40's working with a pile driving outfit on bridges in southern Indiana and Illinois. This was related to us by a man who claims he spent a summer firing it on that job, but his timebooks and the photos he had taken were long ago lost, so we have no hard evidence to back up his claims. We do know 401 had a second, smaller "dry pipe" installed inside the dome, back to a point in the cab where they passed it through the wrapper sheet. This was plumbed back through the rear of the tender, and one can surmise it was a steam supply for a hammer, or some such. It was clearly not a steam source for passenger cars, as the arrangement of pipe and valves on the rear of the tender were definitely not arranged for that work.

What we do know, is it spent most of it's latter career based out of Sheffield, Alabama, which was part of the Memphis Division (hence the "Memphis" on the cab sides.) Many, many parts are marked for Sheffield with dates in the early 40's. The right front crank pin however is a fairly late Coster Shops replacement. In it's life in Sheffield, it was primarily a yard goat.

It was sold in December or November of 1949 to Alabama Asphaltic Limestone, of Margerum, AL., who then employed it up into the early 60's.

Kent