Atlanta and West Point 290 is a P-74

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

built in March 1926 by the Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) in

Lima, Ohio Lima ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75 approximately north of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, T ...

for the Atlanta and West Point Railroad. It is a

4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomotiv ...

heavy "

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

" type steam locomotive, which was remarkably similar to the Southern Railway's Ps-4 class. With sister locomotive, No. 190 built for the

Western Railway of Alabama The Western Railway of Alabama (WRA) also seen as "WofA" was created as the Western Railroad of Alabama by the owners of the Montgomery & West Point Railroad (M&WP) in 1860. It was built to further the M&WP's development West from Montgomery, Ala ...

(WRA), the 290 ferried the Southern Railway's ''

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

'' passenger train from

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

until its retirement from revenue service in 1954. The No. 290 locomotive was saved by a group called the ''290 Club'' and was put on static display at the city of Atlanta's Lakewood Park. In 1961, No. 290 was donated to the Atlanta Chapter of the

National Railway Historical Society The National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) is a non-profit organization established in 1935 in the United States to promote interest in, and appreciation for the historical development of railroads. It is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsyl ...

(NRHS). In 1989, the locomotive was restored to operating condition for the New Georgia Railroad (NGRX) program, running excursion trips all across the

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

state until late 1992, when it was retired due to

running gear In railway terminology the term running gear refers to those components of a railway vehicle that run passively on the rails, unlike those of the driving gear. Traditionally these are the wheels, axles, axle boxes, springs and vehicle frame o ...

issues. No. 290 is currently dissembled at the Southeastern Railway Museum (SRM) in

Duluth, Georgia Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Gwinnett County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Located north of Interstate 85, it is approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, Duluth had a ...

. With no plans to be restored back to operating condition, the locomotive is stored inside the SRM's backshop, waiting for a full cosmetic restoration.

History

Revenue service

No. 290 along with sister locomotive No. 190, are both heavy P-74 Pacific steam locomotives built in March 1926 by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio. They were based on the USRA Heavy Pacific design and have a very similar appearance to the Southern Railway Ps-4 class.. No. 290 was assigned to the Atlanta and West Point Railway (A&WP), while No. 190 served the Western Railway of Alabama (WRA).. Both roads were under the common control of the

Georgia Railroad Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and all operated as essentially one railroad, although being legally separate. As a result, it was not uncommon to find one railroad's locomotives on another's line. Nos. 190 and 290's job was to ferry the Southern Railway's ''Crescent'' passenger train between Atlanta and Montgomery. While one locomotive was traveling southbound with the ''Crescent'', the other would take the northbound counterpart. The locomotives would then be turned around at their terminal point for the reverse run. As a result, it was common to see both locomotives in both Atlanta and Montgomery. However, WRA and A&WP crews would swap in

West Point, Georgia West Point is a city in Troup County, Georgia, Troup and Harris County, Georgia, Harris counties in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is located approximately halfway between Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery, Alabama and Atlanta ...

where the two lines met. When the train arrived in Montgomery, the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

(L&N) would complete the final leg of the ''Crescent'' train's journey to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

First retirement and attempted lease

In 1954, the No. 190 locomotive was retired and scrapped, but No. 290 was rescued by a group called the ''290 Club'' who persuade the A&WP to donate the latter locomotive for preservation.. No. 290 was put on static display at the City of Atlanta's Lakewood Park before it was donated to the Atlanta Chapter, National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) in 1965. During that time, Southern Railway's president W. Graham Claytor Jr. attempted to lease the No. 290 locomotive and significantly alter its appearance by repainting it in Southern's passenger Virginian green and gold paint scheme to resemble a Southern Railway Ps-4 locomotive for use on their steam excursion program.. However, the A&WP was not keen on the idea and threaten to sue Claytor from using ''their'' No. 290 locomotive.

Excursion service

In 1986, the New Georgia Railroad (NGRX), a sponsored tourist excursion railroad operated by the Georgia Building Authority in Atlanta, restored No. 290 to operating condition in 1989, running excursion trips on

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...

(NS) and

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

trackage out of Atlanta to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Augusta, Brunswick, Macon, and

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

.. In early 1991, No. 290 was sent to the Norfolk Southern's Norris Yard Steam Shop in

Irondale, Alabama Irondale is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is a suburb of Birmingham, northeast of Homewood and Mountain Brook. At the 2020 census, the population was 13,497. Irondale is the location of the Irondale Cafe. Author Fan ...

to have its

crown sheet Boilers for generating steam or hot water have been designed in countless shapes, sizes and configurations. An extensive terminology has evolved to describe their common features. This glossary provides definitions for these terms. Terms which re ...

inspected. Shortly thereafter, the NGRX made an agreement with NS to borrow No. 290 as a substitute to Norfolk and Western 611 and 1218, which were both under maintenance at that time. On April 6 and 7, No. 290 hauled two round trip excursions from

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

for the Heart of Dixie Chapter NRHS and the following weekend round trips out of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457. Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metr ...

for the

North Florida North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and near ...

Chapter NRHS.. Afterwards, the locomotive returned to the NGRX to continue haul more excursion trips in Georgia. On Friday, August 21, 1992, No. 290 ran the highly anticipated excursion trip from Atlanta, Georgia to Montgomery, Alabama for the Atlanta Chapter NRHS on both ex-A&WP and WRA rails, via CSX. On the next day, No. 290 ran five round-trip excursions out of Montgomery to

Dothan, Alabama Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner, ...

before returning to Atlanta on August 23. By the end of 1992, No. 290 was taken out of service for extensive repair work to its running gear.

Second retirement

There were originally plans to have the No. 290 locomotive be ready in time for the 1994 Atlanta Chapter NRHS convention, but the NGRX program was shut down due to its sponsorship with the Georgia state government being discontinued. Additionally, both NS and CSX railroads banned main line steam excursion trips on their trackage the following year due to

liability insurance Liability insurance (also called third-party insurance) is a part of the general insurance system of risk financing to protect the purchaser (the "insured") from the risks of liabilities imposed by lawsuits and similar claims and protects the i ...

.. The No. 290 locomotive is currently disassembled inside the Southeastern Railway Museum's backshop in Duluth, Georgia, waiting for a full cosmetic restoration. There are currently no plans to restore the locomotive back to operating condition again. Therefore, it will be put back on display once the cosmetic restoration work is finished.

In popular culture

In 1991, No. 290 made its first ever film appearance in the

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film ''

Fried Green Tomatoes ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' is a 1991 American comedy-drama film directed by Jon Avnet and based on Fannie Flagg's 1987 novel ''Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe''. Written by Flagg and Carol Sobieski, and starring Kathy Bates, Jessic ...

'', starring

Kathy Bates Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actor and director. Known for her roles in comedic and dramatic films and television programs, she has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, includ ...

and

Mary Stuart Masterson Mary Stuart Masterson (born June 28, 1966) is an American actress and director. She has starred in the films '' At Close Range'' (1986), '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' (1987), '' Chances Are'' (1989), ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' (1991) and '' Benny & ...

References

Bibliography

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External links

Southeastern Railway Museum Locomotives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlanta And West Point 290 Individual locomotives of the United States 4-6-2 locomotives Atlanta and West Point Railroad Lima locomotives Preserved steam locomotives of Georgia Railway locomotives introduced in 1926 Standard gauge locomotives of the United States