Southern Railway Historical Association

05/23/2026

We were proud to contribute to Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s restoration (sponsored by ScaleTrains) of the Southern 4501 back to its excursion era green.

We provided paint color and lettering diagram information as well as reference images and consulting to support an authentic appearance of the locomotive from its time in green between 1966 and 1996. Paint colors were matched to paint swatches from 1968 as well as samples from the original tender tank.

SRHA is always proud to assist its partners in preservation.

05/09/2026

Happy National Train Day! Enjoy the day safely along the rails!

The Crescent, led by E8A 6904, makes its scheduled station stop in Atlanta at Peachtree Station on a clear December day in 1972.

David W. Beach Photo

04/25/2026

SRHA now over 7700 followers on Facebook! Thank you all for your support and continuing to enjoy, comment on, and share our posts. We are so happy that so many of you all are fans of the Southern Railway and seeing all the railroad history that we share.

We want to challenge all our followers. While we have this many followers, help share and like and follow our page to get us to 8000 followers. But more importantly, to help us keep sharing this material, we would love for many of you to consider becoming SRHA members. Our member count is at 630 members and we would love to have many more of you become members.

SRHA has several membership tiers all including our quarterly TIES Magazine, where we share so many more interesting stories from the Southern. Sustaining memberships help to contribute to the archives and helps us to preserve our Southern Railway historical materials for generations to come. Please see the link in the comments or our profile to join today!

Southern 630 leads a 21st Century Steam Program excursion through Rising Fawn, GA heading back to Chattanooga after a trip to Attalla, AL on November 09, 2013.

Allyson Shannon Photo

04/18/2026

One of the most treacherous sections of railroad in the country will reopen today. For the first time since Hurricane Helene devastated the mountainous region of North Carolina in September 2024, a through train will travel across the famous loops between Swannanoa and Old Fort.

While this 1952 scene has changed in different ways over the years, the history of the loops continues to live on.

The back of the photo reads, "That's the old stage road to Asheville that they used to use 6 white horses on a stage and connect with the Western North Carolina Railroad at Old Fort. A night run."

Mill Creek, March 22, 1952.
R. B. Carneal Photo. Marvin Black Collection. SRHA Archives.

04/11/2026

Did you know SRHA has brand new merch? Follow this link to check it out!

Your purchase helps to preserve Southern Railway history for generations to come!

We appreciate your support!

We are so glad to add some new Southern Railway merchandise to the GRAB Store. Featuring several new collections of merchandise, we think all Southern fans

04/04/2026

The Southerner was introduced in 1941 as part of Southern's attempt at introducing new streamlined trains to the system. Although World War II prevented Southern from introducing any other all coach trains at this time, Southern also managed to also start the Tennessean from Washington to Memphis via Chattanooga.

The Southerner ran from New York to New Orleans via a slightly different route than the flagship Crescent train that held the same end points. The Southerner, after leaving the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks in Washington DC, would continue to New Orleans via an all-Southern Railway route. The Crescent left Southern tracks in Atlanta running via the A&WP/WofA to Montgomery, Alabama, where the L&N took the train the rest of the way to New Orleans. The Southerner took Southern's Birmingham Division line from Atlanta to Birmingham, Alabama, and then down to New Orleans via the subsidiary AGS and NO&NE lines.

While the beautiful EMD E6's no longer grace the front of the train, the consist is largely similar in this 1967 photo, with one of the distinctive RPO cars behind the F3-E8 duo (4139-2927) leading the train. The Southerner would continue until 1970 when the Southerner and the Crescent combined to the Southern Crescent, taking the Southerner's route and the Crescent's sleeper consist until Southern exited passenger service in 1979.

Richard Baldwin Photo.

03/27/2026

We’re having a great time here at the Central Georgia Railroad Prototype Modelers meet in Macon! Stop by this afternoon or tomorrow if you’re in the area! 800+ models on display!

03/25/2026

Train No. 53 departs Inman Yards in Atlanta, bound for Macon, with Southern No. 1466 4-8-2 Ts taking the lead in June 1947. Just like No. 53, SRHA will be bound for Macon this weekend for the Central Georgia Railroad Prototype Modelers meet! If you're in the area be sure to stop by and check out the model displays and a variety of vendors. There is a full schedule of clinics happening throughout Friday and Saturday. See you there!

Oscar Kimsey Collection, SRHA Archives

03/19/2026

Come join us!

March 21 - Regional History Fair
Soddy Daisy High School, Soddy Daisy, TN
soddydaisymuseum.org/events

March 27 - 28 - Central Georgia Railroad Prototype Modelers
Lundy Chapel, Macon, GA
https://centralgarpm.com

03/17/2026

On this day in 1916, a span of the Tennessee River bridge in Chattanooga, TN collapsed while a southbound freight train crossed. The doubleheaded train was carrying steel center sills when the load shifted as it crossed over the first and second spans. The first span was struck slightly, but the second was shifted considerably causing 10 loaded freight cars to tumble into the Tennessee River 55 feet below.

The accident occurred at nearly 10:00pm and by daylight the next morning crews were busy starting the cleanup and rebuild. The Queen & Crescent went to their bridge experts. With their help and the help of two shifts of 150 men from the Vang Construction Company working day and night with the use of pile driving, and river equipment repairs were completed in 13 days. The crews from Vang were already in town constructing the Market Street bridge in downtown Chattanooga at the time of this incident.

The broken span of the bridge was the second north of the draw and was 260 feet long. It was replaced in sections, and three temporary piers were constructed to support this work. The NC&StL Railway assisted in the speedy completion by giving two steel girders which were stretched across two of the sections. The AGS and CNO&TP’s bridge forces also assisted.

While the bridge was out of service, regular scheduled freight and passenger trains were rerouted via Harriman Junction and Knoxville. Local passengers were taken to either side of the bridge and ferried across the river by boat to the other side to proceed by rail.

On the evening of March 30, the first passenger train, Train No. 11 The Royal Palm, crossed over the completed bridge and business returned as usual.

Today you will notice one lone surviving stone pillar from the original bridge. In this photo that is the pillar the locomotive is approaching.

The SRHA is located just a few miles down the road from this now popular train watching location, TenBridge. Photos and histories like this and more can be found at our Archives. To learn more about the SRHA and how to join as a member, click the link in our profile.

First passenger train over repaired Tennessee River Bridge. 03-30-1916.
Southern Railway Photo, B. F. Roberts Collection, SRHA Archives

03/13/2026

A fitting photo to remind you that we're only two weeks away from the Central Georgia Railroad Prototype Modelers meet in Macon! We're looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones!

Macon, GA., April 1966, J. David Ingles Photo