Southern E8 No. 6901 as it appears in Duluth, Ga., after a mechanical restoration.
Todd DeFeo
DULUTH, Ga. — A vintage Southern Railway locomotive has returned to the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, Ga., after nearly four years of restoration work.
Southern Railway No. 6901, an E8a diesel passenger locomotive, routinely powered Crescent passenger train between Atlanta and Washington, D.C. It pulled the last Southern-operated Crescent train before Amtrak assumed operations of the route.
The Electro-Motive Division of General Motors built the unit as No. 2924 in 1951. Southern donated the locomotive to the museum in 1979, and it later pulled New Georgia Railroad excursion trains.
Norfolk Southern donated electrical, motor, and wheel work, which its crews performed at Juniata Shop in Altoona, Pa.
The Southeastern Railway Museum plans to return the locomotive to static display.
— A Southeastern Railway Museum news release. Feb. 4, 2019
why do a mechanical restoration for static display? Ridiculous!
Love those colors.
Electrical, motor and wheels restored for “static” display? They should of just painted the outside just for “static” display.
4 years of work and no New Paint Job?? Why not Paint the Engine, if NS Railroad had 4 year to paint??
Now is the opportunity for Southeastern Railway Museum to restore Number 6901 (née 2924) to her factory appearance complete with full skirting and Mars light. So far, no museum with former Southern Railway E8’s have taken the measure of factory restoration.
Wow, very cool locomotive, great of NS to donate the work. Hopefully the museum can find a use beyond “static display”. Easier said than done, I know.