Now known as Southern 4501, here when still hauling coal on the Kentucky & Tennessee:

http://cgi.ebay.com/KY-TN-RAILROAD-Loco ... dZViewItem

Interesting way you put that Bob... "Now known as Southern 4501"

Let us not forget that is was Southern 4501 BEFORE it became K&T 12. When PHM bought it, it was restored back to Southern 4501.

With the recent spate of vintage freight trains, might we dare hope that one day we might see #4501 restored to her in-service K&T #12 look and leading a string of vintage hopper cars? Now, THAT l'd pay to see!

I made only one visit to the Kentucky & Tennessee, and unfortunately, it was during the coal miners vacation week and nothing was moving. I did manage to push open the door of the engine house and get a front shot of #12. I still have that slide.

Les

What is the device shown on the stack in this photo?

Wesley

It's called a "Dooley Duct." It turned the exhaust so that it wouldn't hit the roof of a tunnel as hard (dislodging grime, etc.).

On Southern, the Dooley duct was unique to the Princeton, IN, shop, which maintained the locos used between E. St. Louis and Louisville. I have several photos of 2-8-0s and 4-6-2s sporting one. But I have never seen a photo of a Southern 2-8-2 sporting a Dooley duct, or of a non-Princeton loco with one. Of course, since there don't seem to be any photos of 4501 in service (other than the 3 David Morgan dredged up in the 1960s), we will never know for sure. And of all the photos taken on that division, I've never seen a shot of any 2-8-2, only 2-8-0s and Ps2 4-6-2s. Was 4501 the only 2-8-2 assigned to Princeton?

(4501 entered service at Bull's Gap, TN, but served most of its Southern career shopped at Princeton, IN, working between E. St. Louis and Louisville. It was purchased from the Princeton dead line by the K&T. There's no indication 4501 ever was a Somerset engine, i.e. worked the Rat Hole.)

The similar device Southern used on the Rat Hole was the "Wimble Duct." It was longer, and channeled the smoke into a horizontal duct for a distance, then up and out at an angle. Its primary purpose was to keep smoke out of the cab.

On the subject of no. 12's shiny trim: at first I doubted it was done by the K&T. There were a number of roster shooters in those days who, coming across a grimy (and out-of-service) steamer, would spend hours washing and tarting up one side for the perfect portrait.

However, in this case both sides of no. 12 were done, and in the photo below no. 12's safety is feathering. And there was a mid-Fifties trend to tart up short line engines (Cliffside's green cab, the Great Western's striping binge, etc.) that corresponded with the end of mainline steam and the Cowboy Western mania that led to "dude ranches" in rural Mississippi, etc.

This photo was taken May 13, 1956, by Harry N. Proctor, and is from the collection of Charles E. Winters. Normally I'd finger Mr. Proctor as the culprit, but I've come to believe the shop crew got caught up in the moment. We do know is that by the 1960s, it was all-black again. The Gwaltney photo on eBay was probably taken pretty soon after this (no. 12 isn't all that dirty).



Oh, and Les: so would I.

JAC

BTW: If anyone is interested in the postcard as shown in the Ebay listing, I have quite a few for *much less* than $5 + $2.50 shipping! The version I have is from railcards.com and includes the curious captioning "Macho Mikado - Nicely proportioned 2-8-2 Mikado #12, sporting a manually-operated stack, appears to be of Kentucky & Tennessee Railroad parentage." Hmmm....