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Great Smoky Mountains Railroad 1702 is an S160 class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive built in September 1942 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally for the U.S. Army Transportation Corps during World War II. After the war ended, the No. 1702 locomotive worked on two railroads in Arkansas and one in Nebraska.
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 GSMR No. 1702 at Bryson City, North Carolina, on June 18, 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In late 1991, the No. 1702 locomotive was purchased by the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (GSMR) in Bryson City, North Carolina, where it hauled tourist train excursions on the half of the former Southern Railway Murphy Branch, which spans 53 miles (85 kilometers) of track between Dillsboro and Nantahala, North Carolina. In 2005, it went out of service due to firebox issues but was later restored back to operating condition and returned to service in 2016. No. 1702 is currently one of twenty-six S160 steam locomotives preserved in the United States and abroad.
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No. 1702 is an S160 steam locomotive built in September 1942 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally for the U.S. Army Transportation Corps, where it was stationed for training purposes at the Fort Bragg military base in Fayetteville, North Carolina during World War II.[1][2] In 1946, a year after the war ended, the No. 1702 locomotive was sold to the Warren and Saline River Railroad (WSR) in Warren, Arkansas, where it was assigned to haul lumber trains.[1][2][3] When first built, No. 1702 was originally equipped with buffers and chain couplers, which were eventually replaced with knuckle couplers.[4] Additionally, its firebox was modified to burn fuel oil as opposed to coal.[1]
When WSR was dieselized in 1961, the No. 1702 locomotive was sold to the Reader Railroad (RERX) in Hot Springs, Arkansas in 1964, where it was upgraded with a larger tender that was originally used behind a Rock Island steam locomotive and holds 3,600 US gallons (14,000 L) of fuel and 10,000 US gallons (38,000 L) of water.[1][5] Afterwards, the No. 1702 locomotive served tourist operations on the RERX.[1] In 1985, it was sold again to the Fremont and Elkhorn Valley Railroad (FEVR) in Fremont, Nebraska, where the No. 1702 locomotive ran tourist trains on the former Chicago and North Western line between Fremont and Hooper, Nebraska.[6]
In late 1991, the No. 1702 locomotive was purchased by the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (GSMR) in Bryson City, North Carolina, where it was significantly altered with a taller smokestack, a larger sand dome, and a wider cab to resemble a more typical American steam locomotive.[1][5] Afterwards, in 1992, the GSMR operated the No. 1702 locomotive with the Nantahala Gorge and Tuckasegee River tourist excursions on the half of the former Southern Railway Murphy Branch, which spans 53 miles (85 kilometers) of track between Dillsboro and Nantahala, North Carolina.[7][8] When working on these excursions, No. 1702 uses 400 US gallons (1,500 L) of fuel and 3,500 US gallons (13,000 L) of water per round trip.[1]
In 2005, the No. 1702 locomotive was sidelined due to firebox issues and became disassembled outside the GSMR's workshop area in Dillsboro, North Carolina, exposed to the elements.[9] In April 2012, the GSMR made an agreement with the Swain County of North Carolina, who donated $700,000 to construct a new steam locomotive workshop for the restoration of No. 1702 and installing a new turntable in Bryson City for the locomotive to be turned around.[10] Afterwards, the restoration work of No. 1702 began in May 2014 and completed on July 21, 2016 with the locomotive returned to service five days later.[11][a]
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- No. 1702 made its first cameo appearance in the 1966 film This Property Is Condemned.[1][11]
- In 1972, No. 1702 made its second cameo appearance in the film Boxcar Bertha.[13]
- Originally, No. 1702's reentry to service was scheduled for July 22, 2016, but the locomotive was sidelined with an overheated bearing.[12]
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