As far as steam engines go, the scrappy Southern Railway 630 locomotive is on the small side, but from 1904 to the 1960s, it was prized for its ability to keep rolling over hills, through tunnels and across shaky bridges.
But the little engine that could has seen better days. Mothballed for nearly 20 years, its flat-black boiler no longer bubbles, its headlight is off and its whistle is quiet as it sits beneath humming fluorescent warehouse lights at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.
But old No. 630 won’t be silent forever. Every day — one piece at a time — Shane Meador and a crew of seven or so men bring the locomotive back to life. The work is tedious. Volunteers and experts like Meador and his crew have rebuilt nearly every part of the 100-year-old engine, and they hope to power it up for tourists by spring.
Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free Press
David Pugh, left, and Charles Walker walk past a steam-powered locomotive while working on it Thursday at the Tennessee Valley Railroad shop.“For me, it sometimes seems like the work is going slowly, but when you come in and see progress and you see the train coming together, it’s a real motivation to keep going,” Meador said.