Southern Railway "''Maud''" 1509 is the oldest surviving steam locomotive of the
Southern Railway. The engine was built by
Baldwin in December 1879 for the
Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway, originally numbered 27 and named ''Talullah''. The railroad was later absorbed by the
Richmond and Danville Railroad which itself became the Southern Railway, and thus, ''Talullah'' ultimately became Southern #1509.
Very little is known about the engine's history prior to the 1903 renumbering and company records from that time are largely either missing, incomplete, and/or contain conflicting data. The 1509 was likely used for passenger service, particularly with suburban or commuter runs, and when renumbered, it received the ''A'' class designation, being a switcher engine used in yard service.
Southern rebuilt the engine in 1903, and from then until retirement, it served as a switcher for the railway's Pegram Shops in Atlanta. There, it was given the name, ''Maud'' by the shop employees. ''Maud'' was retired June 29, 1950, and moved to
Inman, Georgia Inman is an unincorporated community in Fayette County, Georgia, Fayette County, in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia.
History
A post office called Inman was established in 1887, and remained in operation until 1967. Inman was incorpo ...
, where it was to be scrapped. However, the shop's workers had favored ''Maud'', and wrote to then Southern Railway president
E. E. Norris requesting the engine be preserved. Norris obliged, and ''Maud'' was placed on display outside of the shops until 1960. That year, the engine was donated to the Atlanta chapter of the
National Railway Historical Society, who had placed it in their
Southeastern Railway Museum
The Southeastern Railway Museum ( initialised SRM, AAR code SMRX) is a railroad museum located in Duluth, Georgia, in suburban Atlanta.
The museum was founded in 1970 by the Atlanta Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. There are o ...
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 ...
.
Current status
As of November 2020, Southern Railway 1509 is stored, disassembled outside the Southeastern Railway Museum's shops, where it is awaiting restoration.
References
* The "Hot Box" as edited by George Weber, April 1961 & May 1990
*
*
*
External links
Southern Railway 1509 at Steam Locomotive.infoLocomotives Used on Southern Railway Steam Specials, NS Steam
{{Steam Locomotives of the Southern Railway
Steam locomotives of Southern Railway (U.S.)
0-4-4T locomotives
Baldwin locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1880
Forney locomotives
Individual locomotives of the United States
Standard gauge locomotives of the United States
Preserved steam locomotives of Georgia