The Christmas season of 2023 would be a bittersweet one for East Tennessee railfans, as after 13 years of service, Southern Railway 154 made what are anticipated to be it's last runs on the Three Rivers Rambler for quite some time. All twenty-one "Christmas Lantern Express" trains across four weekends were sold-out, and a crowd of railfans were following each run from downtown Knoxville to the forks of the river to say goodbye to this 133-year-old workhorse.
Built by the Schenectady Locomotive Works in 1890 as East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia 466, this engine worked an impressive six-decade career before being retired by the Southern Railway upon dieselization in 1953. As the 154 had spent much of its time working in and around Knoxville, it was donated to the city and put on display in Chilhowee Park, where it remained until being acquired by the Knoxville & Holston River Railroad in 2008. The K&HR impressively rebuilt the engine in under two years, and 154 entered service on their Three Rivers Rambler excursion trains in the summer of 2010. 154 worked alongside Washington & Lincolnton 203 "Lindy" until it was withdrawn for a rebuild in 2015, and has been the Rambler's sole steam power for the past eight years. Now 154 is finally due for an FRA-mandated 15-year overhaul, and the 203 is expected to return to service and take over in 2024. Hopefully this won't be the last time we see this Knoxville icon steaming along the Tennessee River.
7 сен 2024
