Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 576
NC&StL No. 576 on static display at the Centennial Park in December 2008
Type and origin
References:[1][2]
Power typeSteam
DesignerClarence M. Darden
BuilderALCO's Schenectady Works
Serial number69786
Build dateAugust 1942
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-8-4
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.70 in (1,778 mm)
Minimum curve19°
WheelbaseOverall: 86 ft 6 in (26,365 mm)
Height15 ft 5 in (4.70 m)
Axle load66,622.5 lb (30,219.5 kilograms; 30.2195 metric tons)
Adhesive weight228,000 lb (103,000 kg)
Loco weight400,500 lb (181,700 kg)
Tender weight285,000 lb (129,000 kg)
Total weight685,500 lb (310,900 kg)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity36,000 lb (16 tonnes)
Water cap.15,000 US gal (57,000 L; 12,000 imp gal)
Fuel consumption4 t (3.9 long tons; 4.4 short tons) of coal per hour
7,000 US gallons (26,000 L) of water per hour
Firebox:​
 • Grate area77.30 sq ft (7.2 m2)
Boiler pressure250 psi (1.72 MPa)
Feedwater heaterWorthington Type SA
9,000 US gal/hr cap
SuperheaterElesco Type E
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size25 in × 30 in (635 mm × 762 mm)
Valve gearWalschaerts
Performance figures
Maximum speed90–110 mph (145–177 km/h)
Power outputEstimated 4,000 hp (3,000 kW)
Tractive effort57,000 lbf (253.5 kN)
Factor of adh.4.01
Career
Operators
Class
  • J3-57
Number in class7 of 20
Numbers
  • NCSt&L 576
Nicknames
  • "Yellow Jacket"
  • "The Stripe"
LocaleTennessee
First runAugust 18, 1942
RetiredSeptember 2, 1952
PreservedSeptember 20, 1953
Current owner
DispositionUndergoing restoration to operating condition

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 576 is a 4-8-4 "Dixie" (Northern) type steam locomotive built in August 1942 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York, for the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (NC&StL) as a member of the J3 class. Designed with some of the latest locomotive technological features of the time, the J3s were used to haul heavy freight and troop trains to aid the American war effort during World War II.

Faced with dwindling traffic and the onset of dieselization, the J3s were retired from revenue service and scrapped by September 2, 1952, with the exception of No. 576, which was donated to the City of Nashville, Tennessee, and put on display at the Centennial Park as the sole surviving steam locomotive of the NC&StL Railway.

The No. 576 locomotive is being restored to operating condition by the Nashville Steam Preservation Society (NSPS) for use in excursion service on the shortline Nashville and Eastern Railroad. The restoration work is expected to be completed by late 2024 or early 2025.

History

Design and appearance

During the outbreak of World War II, the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (NC&StL) were unable to order more diesel locomotives for the increased passenger train traffic.[2] They decided to go for steam power with the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) proposing a streamlined 4-8-4 J3 locomotive similar to the Norfolk and Western J class locomotives, but was rejected by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) due to the expensive design cost.[2]

The NC&StL's Superintendent of Machinery, Clarence M. Darden designed ten J3 (Nos. 570-579) locomotives delivered between July and August 1942 from ALCO in a non-streamlined design with yellow skirting panels, a bullet nose cone, boxpok drivers, and a large semi-Vanderbilt tender holding 16 tonnes (16,000 kg) of coal and 15,000 US gallons (57,000 L) of water.[2] The NC&StL locomotive crews nicknamed the J3s as the Yellow Jackets due to their yellow skirting design.[2] In 1943, ALCO built ten more J3s (Nos. 580-589) without the yellow skirting panels due to wartime restrictions so their running board edges were painted yellow, giving them the nickname Stripes.[3] The same treatment was given to the 1942 J3 locomotives as their yellow skirting panels were removed in 1947 for easier maintenance and even the bullet nose cones were removed on all of the J3s.[2] As opposed to the 4-8-4s nicknamed the Northerns, the J3s were nicknamed the Dixies.[2]

Revenue service and retirement

No. 576 was built at a cost of $166,500 and delivered to the NC&StL Railway, where it entered revenue service on August 18, 1942.[1] No. 576 and the other J3s handled the critical war-time material, armament and troop train movements during the rapid buildup and mobilization of the American war effort during World War II.[2] They were only assigned to run between Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee, due to the turntable limitations in Atlanta, Georgia, until the 110-feet turntables were eventually installed for the J3s to be turned around in Atlanta.[2] When the war ended in 1945, the J3s were reassigned to dual freight and passenger service.[4] The J3 class ran up to 11,000 miles (18,000 km) per month.[2]

As the NC&StL began to dieselize, all of the J3s were retired and scrapped between 1951 and 1952, excluding No. 576, which was chosen for preservation and was subsequently donated to the City of Nashville, where it was put on display at the Centennial Park on September 20, 1953.[1][5] There were originally plans to restore No. 576 to operating condition in 2001, but the Nashville Board of Parks and Recreation at the time declined it.[1] In 2004, a shelter shed was built over the No. 576 locomotive to protect it from the elements.[6]

Restoration

In April 2016, the newly formed Nashville Steam Preservation Society (NSPS) proposed plans of restoring No. 576 to operating condition and run it on the shortline Nashville and Eastern Railroad (NERR), pulling the Tennessee Central Railway Museum's (TCRM) excursions.[1][7] In June 2016, the Nashville Board of Parks and Recreation approved idea of the NSPS leasing No. 576.[8] In April 2017, the NSPS volunteers inspected that No. 576's boiler was in good condition.[9] In October 2018, the NSPS had successfully raised $500,000 to relocate and transport No. 576 out of the park and into the TCRM's restoration facility.[10]

On January 13, 2019, the No. 576 locomotive was moved out of the Centennial Park via flatbed truck and placed on the Nashville and Western rails on February 6, where it was prepared to be moved to CSX trackage.[11][12] The No. 576 locomotive made its final public appearance at the former Nashville Union Station on March 9, 2019, and the next day, moved to the TCRM's workshop where the restoration work on No. 576 began.[13][14] The restoration cost was estimated at $2.5 million.[15] During the restoration work, a new cab was fabricated from scratch since the locomotive's original cab was discovered to be in deteriorated condition.[16] In June 2019, the NSPS received two boxcars from CSX Transportation to store the restoration equipment and materials needed throughout the locomotive restoration progress.[17] Additionally, No. 576's whistle was temporarily used on the Nickel Plate Road 765 locomotive.[18]

On March 25, 2021, a violent storm damaged the TCRM's workshop facility where No. 576 was stored.[19][20] The locomotive was undamaged with the workshop rebuilt shortly after and the restoration work has resumed.[21] On April 15, Trains Magazine donated $600,000 to the NSPS for the renovation of No. 576's driving wheels and trucks while the boiler has to be hydrostatically tested.[22] On June 17, 2021, No. 576's boiler and frame were completely disassembled from its wheels and running gear.[23][24] Additionally, the driving wheels were sent to be repaired at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee.[23] On July 12, 2023, the reassembly of No. 576 begin.[25] In October 2023, TVRM donated a former NC&STL tender to NSPS, where they would eventually restore and convert it to an auxiliary water tender for use behind the No. 576 locomotive.[26] The restoration work of No. 576 is expected to be completed around late 2024 or early 2025.[24][27]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ibata, David (April 26, 2016). "Team to restore a 'Dixie' 4-8-4". Trains. Kalmbach Media. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Morgan, David P. (December 1963). "Gliders, Yellow Jackets, and Stripes". Nashville Steam Preservation Society. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  3. ↑ Drury (2015), p. 228.
  4. ↑ "A Brief History Of #576". NC&StL Preservation Society. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Challenge Coin, Centennial Park Commemorative". Nashville Steam Preservation Society. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  6. ↑ Moriarty, Megan (January 30, 2004). "Park Train To Get Protection". The Nashville City Paper. Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  7. ↑ Wrinn, Jim (April 15, 2016). "NC&StL No. 576 Proposed Restoration Announcement". Nashville Steam Preservation Society. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Park Board Approves Lease of No. 576". Nashville Steam Preservation Society. June 7, 2016. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  9. ↑ Bryan, Joey (April 2, 2017). "NSPS Performs Boiler Inspection, Pleased with Condition". Nashville Steam Preservation Society. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  10. ↑ Bryan, Joey (October 11, 2018). "NSPS Steam Reaches Initial Fundraising Goal". Nashville Steam Preservation Society. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  11. ↑ Bryan, Joey (December 13, 2018). "No. 576 to Leave Centennial Park on January 13th!". Nashville Steam Preservation Society. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  12. ↑ Bryan, Joey (February 6, 2019). "No. 576 Move Out of Centennial Park A Success!". Nashville Steam Preservation Society. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  13. ↑ Hilt, Eric (March 10, 2019). "Locomotive No. 576 moves to old home". WTVF. Archived from the original on June 21, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Historic steam train arrives at Nashville museum for restoration". WKRN-TV. March 11, 2019. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Nashville, Chattanooga, & St. Louis Number 576". Tennessee Central Railway Museum. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  16. ↑ Bryan, Joey (March 2021). "Nashville Steam Preservation Society - NSPS - 576 Update" (PDF). The Order Board. Vol. 41, no. 3. Tennessee Central Railway Museum. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  17. ↑ Bryan, Joey (June 17, 2019). "CSX Donates Two Boxcars for 576 Restoration". Nashville Steam Preservation Society. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  18. ↑ Bryan, Joey (November 2021). "Nashville Steam Preservation Society NSPS - 576 Update" (PDF). The Order Board. Vol. 41, no. 11. Tennessee Central Railway Museum & Model Railroad Club Nashville Chapter NRHS. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 17, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Nashville Steam facility, museum damaged by violent storm". Trains. Kalmbach Media. March 26, 2021. Archived from the original on March 26, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  20. ↑ Overdeep, Meghan (March 30, 2021). "Steam Shop Restoring Historic Nashville Train Suffers Serious Damage in Storm". Southern Living. Archived from the original on March 31, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  21. ↑ Nolan, Davis (April 21, 2021). "Restoration of Old Locomotive 576 resumes after March storm damage". WKRN-TV. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  22. ↑ Bryan, Joey (April 15, 2021). "Trains Magazine Announces Nashville Steam as the Next Preservation Partner". Nashville Steam Preservation Society. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  23. 1 2 Bryan, Joey (June 17, 2021). "NSPS Completes Engine Lift and Wheel Removal". Nashville Steam Preservation Society. Archived from the original on June 20, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  24. 1 2 Freeman, WaTeasa (June 18, 2021). "Progress continues to restore former Centennial Park locomotive to operation". The Tennessean. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Nashville Steam Begins to Reassemble NC&StL 576". Railfan & Railroad. White River Productions. July 12, 2023. Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Bestowing a Legacy: Gifting the NC&STL Tender from Our Collection". Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. October 18, 2023. Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Nashville Steam launches matching campaign to complete restoration of No. 576". Trains. Kalmbach Media. March 1, 2023. Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023.

Bibliography

  • Drury, George H. (2015). Guide to North American Steam Locomotives (2nd ed.). Kalmbach Media. ISBN 978-1-62700-259-2.

Further reading

  • Prince, Richard E. (2001). Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway: History and Steam Locomotives (2nd ed.). Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-33927-0.
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