I am interested in any info. anyone can provide me about engine #610. My grandfather left me 2 pictures of this passenger train pulled by #610. He was a conductor for Southern and had about a 35 year tenure with the railroad. His run was Atlanta to Chattanooga based out of Inman yards in Atlanta. I have fond memories of riding with him to the choo-choo in the late 60's.

-- robert c.smith (robertcsmit@southernco.com), October 26, 2000

Answers

A passenger train? Engine 610? If it was back in the days of steam power in regular service on the Southern, Southern 610 was a Ks class Consolidation (2-8-0) wheel arrangement, the most numerous class of engines Southern had. However, the Ks class engines were primarily freight engines,though they sometimes handled mixed trains and local passenger trains on branch lines.

I suspect the 610 you are talking about is ex-Texas & Pacific 610, a much larger, faster, and more powerful engine than Southern's Ks class, built for fast freight service. Southern used the T&P 610 (a 2-10-4 wheel arrangement) in its steam excursion program back in the early 80's.

-- Lamar Wadsworth (LW.Sou.Ry.steam@juno.com), October 26, 2000.

If it is a 2-10-4 wheel arrangement This locomotive was built in 1927 by the Lima Locomotive works in Lima Ohio it was a class I-1b locomotive that developed 84,600 pounds of tractive effort there boilors operated at 255 psi in 1976 it was restored to service to pull the American Freedom Train through texas in 1977 i believe it was leased by the southern to pull excursions but it needed constant running gear work and it would occasionally miss trips in which southern FP7's (a role southern's last four diesels carried out until NS disposed of them in early 1989)it operated on the southern through the 1980 season until it was returned to texas at the end of the 1980 season the 2-10-4 pulled 53,570 on it's time with the southern today it is on disply in servicable condition at the Texas State Railroad in Palistine Texas and while not planed to be restored to service it very well could be in years to come hope this helps.

-- Kirby Grubb (kirby4036@hotmail.com), March 15, 2002.