What it was in the past, what it is today, I cannot say. When that picture was taken in 1976 two men, including myself, hand stoked that engine from Birmingham to Chattanooga. I would pay to have that honor again. My father was the Road Forman of Engines and he personally supervised operations every time the 4501 or NW 611 ran on the Crescent Division tracks of the Southern Railroad. The 611 had (has) a mechanical stoker.
|
|
