The Southern Railway's Ms-3 class 2-8-2s were a fleet of 5 2-8-2 mikados that worked for the Southern.
History[]
In 1914, the New Orleans & Northeastern Railroad company placed an order at Baldwin Locomotive Works for 5 Baldwin class 12-38 1/4 E 2-8-2 mikado type steam locomotives. In August 1914, the first 3 engines serial numbers 41577 - 41579 arrived from Baldwin and were numbered 100 - 102, the last 2 engines #103 - 104 arrived in December 1915 (serial numbers 42743 - 42744). These locomotives had 57 inch driving wheels, 200 psi boilers, 22" x 28" cylinders, and a tractive effort of 40,418 lbs. Each locomotive weighed in at 104.75 tons (181.75 tons with tender). Their tenders cold hold up to 7,500 gallons of water and 14 tons of coal.
In 1917, the Southern Railway took control of the New Orleans & Northeastern Railroad and these locomotives were renumbered to 6910 to 6914, later 6940 to 6944. They continued service until 1946 when the first engines were retired. By 1948, all of the Ms-3s were off the roster. #6940, the class leader, was sold to the Emory River Railroad Company in Lancing, Tennessee and served the road hauling coal trains until the line went bankrupt in October 1958. The locomotive was later sold to a Steel Mill in Granite City, Illinois and was cut up for scrap.
Gallery[]
Southern Railway #6940
#6940 at Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 1937
Southern #6941
Southern #6942
#6942 on the deadline, late 1940s
Southern #6944
Southern #6943
#6940 on the Emory River Railroad, 1954
#6940 awaiting to be towed to the scrapyard, late 1958 shortly after the abandonment of the Emory River Railroad.
#6940 abandoned at Gobey, TN May 24th, 1958. Note the Emory River caboose in the background.