Southern No. 722
BRYSON CITY, N.C. — The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad has announced plans to restore operation Southern Railway No. 722, a 2-8-0 built by Baldwin in 1904.
Plans are to convert the locomotive from coal to oil firing in a process estimated to be completed in 2026, the railroad said in a press release.
The locomotive operated on the Southern until the early 1950s, then was sold to the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad in 1952 and served as a switcher in Johnson City, Tenn. It was reacquired by Southern in 1967 and was a key part of the railroad’s steam program until 1980. It then went to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, where it operated until 1985. It was acquired by the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad in 2000.
The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad is owned and operated by American Heritage Railways, which also owns and operates the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Great Smoky Mountain launched a steam program in 2015 with a rebuild of its No. 1702, a 2-8-0 built by Baldwin in 1942 for the U.S. Army Transportation Corps. That locomotive was converted from coal to oil firing, as is planned for No. 722.
More information on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad is available at its website.
This is delightful to hear. I recall reading where this engine and 630 were regular locomotives to operate out of Asheville on the Murphy line. So, this is a “homecoming” of sorts.