The H-4 class locomotives were a class of 25 2-8-0 Consolidations that worked on the Southern Railway from 1907 until 1954
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History of the class[]
In 1907, the Southern Railway placed an order at Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA for 25 new standard light freight Consolidation type locomotives. The locomotives rolled out of the factory in November of that year and were numbered 378 - 402.
Each locomotive had 57-inch driving wheels, 21" x 28" inch cylinders, a 200 psi boiler, a tractive effort of 36,827 lbs., and weighed in at 82.4 tons (155.4 tons with tender). Their tenders could hold up to 12 1/2 tons of coal and 6,500 gallons of water.
In 1933, the first of the class was retired and after World War 2, they were dropping like flies. By the end of 1953, only one member of the class, #400, remained on the active roster. It wasn't retired until April 1954 when it was severely damaged beyond repair in a wreck in Gaffney, South Carolina. It was scrapped in August of that year.
Years Retired[]
1933 - 387, 392
1936 - 397
1946 - 396
1947- 380, 381, 382, 383, 384, 386, 393
1948 - 395, 399
1949 - 378, 388, 398, 401
1950 - 379, 391
1952 - 385, 389, 390, 402
1953 - 394
1954 - 400
Preservation[]
Luckily 2 of the H-4s managed to dodge the scrapper's torch.
#385's last years on the Southern was working on the Richmond Division hauling branch line mixed trains. In 1952, #385 was sold to the Virginia Blue Ridge Railway and was renumbered to 6. The shortline put the engine on standby service in 1956 due to the need for an extensive re-fluing of the boiler, as well as a dwindling supply of spare parts. and on April 1, 1959, the engine was officially retired.
In 1963, the locomotive was sold to Earle H. Gil Sr. who restored it to run on the Morris County Central Railroad. The locomotive ran on the MCCRR hauling excursion trains until the MCCRR's defunction on October 14, 1978. In 1982, the Delaware Otsego System (the parent company of the NYS&W) acquired the assets of the Morris County Central, including No. 385. The DO / NYS&W had early plans to restore 385 to operation and run her over their lines in excursion service, but this did not come to pass. After many years of subsequent storage, and taking on the sad patina of neglect, the Delaware Otsego donated the locomotive to the Bergen County Vocational & Technical High School in Hackensack, NJ in June 1990.
In October 1990, Joseph Supor, Jr., the founder of J. Supor & Son Trucking & Rigging Co., Inc. donated the cost of trucking 385 nearly 2 miles from the rails of the NYS&W to Bergen Tech, where the locomotive was lifted into place on a panel of display track in an area adjacent to the school athletic field, alongside the Hackensack River. By 1999, the direction had changed drastically at Bergen Tech, when the "Stationary Steam Course" (which had been established in 1952) was totally eliminated and all facets of the program were disassembled and removed. Reportedly, preparations were being made to immediately dispose of 385 by scrapping her.
At this point, Joseph Supor Sr. became aware of the dire situation and bought the locomotive at the very last minute, as it was due to be cut up within hours of his acquisition. Mr. Supor's rigging crew carefully removed No. 385 from the schoolyard and trucked the locomotive to his facility in Harrison, NJ.
Mr. Supor stored No. 385 with intentions of cosmetically restoring the locomotive for display at his Company headquarters. Unfortunately, this never occurred, although there were many discussions on what to do to preserve this unique relic from our Nation's Industrial past.
In 2007, Joseph Supor Jr.,the son of Joseph Supor Sr. donated the 385 to the Whippany Railway Museum in Whippany, New Jersey where it sits on static display.
And the other example...
In 1949, #401 it was sold to the Alabama Asphaltic Limestone Company in Margerum, Alabama. She switched hopper cars of stone until the company brought in a diesel in 1963, then she was placed on stand-by service in case the diesel broke down. Sometimes, she would be fired up for the employees at company picnics for children to blow the whistle. In 1964, #401 was officially retired from service.
The locomotive was purchased from Alabama Asphaltic Limestone by the Society for the Preservation of Unretired Railfans (SPUR) in 1967. In January 1968, the locomotive was loaded on a flat car by two Southern "big hooks" and shipped to Decatur, Illinois. It was unloaded and put back on its own wheels at Decatur in the former Wabash locomotive shops (N&W), then stored in the N&W's Decatur rail yard. SPUR was renamed the "Monticello & Sangamon Valley Railway Historical Society" (M&SV) and acquired grounds in Monticello, Illinois in 1970. In October 1971, the #401 was moved to the new museum grounds in Monticello, along with other railroad equipment that had been in storage at various locations in Central Illinois. The locomotive was prepared and painted for static display. The M&SV shortened its name to the present "Monticello Railway Museum" in 1984. In 1995, the Museum began serious work to restore #401 to operating condition. After a fifteen year rebuild by an all-volunteer crew in the Museum's Camp Creek Shops, the #401 entered service at the Museum in September 2010.
Gallery[]
Southern Railway #401 after being built in November 1907 by Baldwin. This is what the class looked like when they were first built.
#382 at Sheffield, Alabama in 1947
#384 at Birmingham in 1937. Note the Bobtail tender that is usually seen behind 0-6-0 switchers.
Southern #400 at an unknown location at an unknown date. She was the last engine of her class still standing by the end of 1953. She was retired in August 1954.
Southern #401 at the end of her rope. Note that her tender was previously owned by sister #389.
#402 at an unknown location and date.
#380 at Spartanburg, Alabama in November 1938.
#385 at Asheville, North Carolina in August 1948. She would later be sold to the Virginia Blue Ridge Railroad in November 1952 as their #6.
#389 at Sheffield, Alabama in April 1947.
Southern Railway #390 in 1947
Southern Railway #391 at an unknown location and date.
#393 at Selma, Alabama in February 1947.
#398 in 1947. She was scrapped in 1949.
#399 in her early years.
#397 at an unknown location and date
#385 during her years at the Morris County Central Railroad.