Return of the General Locomotive (1962)
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- found this awesome footage of the Famous General 4-4-0 locomotive running in 1962. It was on a railroad archive dvd box set.This footage does not belong to me, The video belongs to Mill Creek Entertainment.
As a young boy in 1962, my grandfather got me a ride on the General when it arrived in Atlanta.
I rode this train in 1962 from Gallatin,TN to Nashville. One of my fondest childhood memories. Thanks for posting this!
This video brings back some good memories. I got to tour the baggage car museum when it was on tour in New Orleans, LA. The train backed out of the station maybe 2 blocks. Then stopped, sat for a minute or two and then pulled back into the station. I was disappointed it was such a short ride. But being able to ride in the cab, put the train in reverse and then in forward - plus ring the bell and blow the whistle far made up for the quick trip. My dad worked for the L & N in New Orleans and was instrumental in getting me up close and personal with The General. Thanks for the video memories!
it must have been great to ring the bell and hear the voice of this famous iron horse
My Grandpa worked for L&N and engineered the General on its way through Kentucky.
The General is one of my alltime favorite locomotives! In fact it was't too long ago I got to see the locomotive in person! Although she looks nothing like what she did in the 1860s the General is still a very handsome locomotive.
REALLY nice vintage footage you have here!
A.J. Davis Have you been to the museum in Kennesaw?
Indeed you are right👍🏼
I was 16 when the General came through Nashville on that tour. My grandad, recently retired from the L&N, pulled s few strings and got me in to see her and to ride in that nicely restored combine. What no one mentions today is that was what was called a “Jim Crow” car, with the baggage section in the center, separating the two passenger sections. An ugly reminder of a shameful time in our history.
Lol grow up dude
I'm pretty sure the south had a wider gauge track during the Civil War (5 feet). Yes the General went through a lot of rebuilds but its first rebuild in the 1870s changed the appearance of the locomotive greatly.
would the Texas have been fitted with a water injector after the war like the General?
I rode this train and remember it well, as a 6 year old boy, on a trial run on a small section of track downtown near the waterfront and the Belle of Louisville, in Louisville, KY my home town. It was in early March 1962. I still have the post card of it.
I saw her when she was on display at the Gettysburg Centennial in 1963. I was about the same age as some of those children, and I'm 66 now.
This Civil War era locomotive was built here in New Jersey at Rogers plant in Paterson, The place is now a small museum.
*Many of the updates used on 4-4-0 Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor SerNo 631* (as Western & Atlantic No. 3) were also used for reactivating other 19th-Century locomotives. When the Nevada State RxR Museum overhauled 4-4-0 Baldwin Locomotive Works 8/26-C-78 SerNo 3693 (as Virginia & Truckee fleet no. 22), they used similar procedures for the boiler and injectors but restored the deep wooden pilot with link-and-pin drawbar specified in the original Burnham, Parry, Williams & Co. construction documents. (Sadly, 3693's front brake air hose was deleted - Westinghouse air brakes were in use before Janney couplers on the V&T.)
The general returns in 1962, the famous engine in the great locomotive chase. Louisville and Nashville did a good job on repairing and restoring the engine.
Got to touch this amazing engine last week. Just spectacular!
*****
Awesome, I just love old, or antique vehicles in general, historic places and such. Especially, anything to do with American history, or heritage. :)
Racist Prick.
@@KmanAuto how is that racist if I may ask?
I live near the civil war loco museum and I am so glad I can see the general
I have a copy of a photo from a newspaper of my grandfather who was part of the crew while performing routine checks on this locomotive during an excursion run in June 1963
The GENERAL was the last train out of Atlanta with Sherman's advance, and she was pretty well blown to heck and had to be rebuilt. Gone were the three domes, ankle rails, the signature W & A RR bar cowcatcher, gauge narrowed and made to look almost as she appears today, except different smokestacks. In the 1870s, she burned coal, and even though she has a "wood burning" stack on her today, the diamond coal stack is inside. Too bad black paint covers the Russian iron robin's egg blue boiler!
The General is a fantastic locomotive. If only it would be restored to operating condition today, but I get that it was built back in 1855 and they don't want to wreck it in a derailment or crash it. We almost lost N&W 475 at the Strasburg Railroad when it struck an excavator and sustained minor damage, but the thing is 475 was built back in 1906. Try to imagine to repair a locomotive with wreck damage that was built in 1855 in the 2020s. Oh well, at least on the bright side is the General is displayed inside a climate controlled building and it's a thrill to see the display. Seeing an 1850s locomotive in mint condition on display is just as cool as seeing an operational steamer under power. Steam locomotives are fantastic and wonderful machines that help build a railroad.
I will surely bet you almost nothing is left on that engine native to 1865! I saw it in Kennesaw and examined it real close. It was destroyed by Hood on the exit from Atlanta about Aug. 30. The ammo train was blown up, and several locos including this one were crashed together on purpose just before the cars were torched.
It was put in service again after that. The USMCRR inventoried the remains and the W & A restored it to service.
After that, it was ruined badly after a wreck in the 1880s. It got constant upgrades for years. The front cylinder saddle castings might be original, but I can't imagine what else would be.
I noted this to the guide that day, and he imagined I might be right!
The Texas was, anyway, if not now, in the Cyclorama in Atlanta. It was not restored to run, and it still has a wood switch-engine type pilot and a modern coupler on it. It was used way longer than the General was. General was stored up in about 1893 and rescued for what it was.
Wonderful video, this engine had so much history connected to it, what great shots from 1962, thks for posting, will be one of my favorites
Restoring a Lionel model of this made in 1961, neat video!
I have seen this Short Film about The General on my VHS Copy of Here comes the General along with The Railroad Raiders of 62 and The Short Version of Buster Kenton's The General when I got it from Kennesaw Civil War Museum back in 1998.
+TommyPickles Fan1992 (TommyPicklesfan1992) Oh BTW, On My VHS Copy of Here comes The General which Contains This Short Film,It has Different Music,Some Sound Effects such as The Whistle,The Bell,and some Chugging noises,Extra Footage,and A Different Ending of The Smoke Stack with The Words The End.
Rode the train in 62 from Luray to Front Royal Virginia , was 9 years old
The General is still a 5' gauge locomotive. It was never converted to the standard 4' 8" gauge. I crawled under the engine at the Big Shanty Museum and measured the driving wheel centers and they are still 5'. To accommodate standard gauge, they made extra wide tires that allowed the flange to sit inside the rails. Robert, I was also a conductor at the museum. I formed the "Friends of the General" to build replicas of the General and Texas. On the 150th anniversary, I suggested that they connect an air compressor and at least blow the whistle. It never happened.
I believe in the 1860's this style engine had no brakes. Is this correct ?
Chris Koelmel In those days the locomotive's reversing lever was the brakes, air brakes where not standard on trains until 1870s.
Chris Koelmel
The air brakes on the engine were added in 1962.
Do you think it could be possible to build replicas of the engines like full-size operational replicas?
@@RailPreserver2K anything is possible with enough money. Korey Anderson built a brand new steam traction engine from original blueprints and now he has the only one in the world.
I remember it well as a kid.
Actually the trains in the South had different manufacturers and different gauges as well. The States Rights issue was each state wanted what they wanted, and so, gauges ended at the state line. The W & A is now 4' 8" (CSX) but during the Civil War was 5 foot gauge. Everything had to be reconfigured after the war. To boot, the rail used on the W&A is NOTHING like we see today. I have some slices of rail, and aside from being hollow - is only 3 1/2 inches high and about 2 1/2 wide! FLIMSY!!
Perfectly adequate in its day. Trains weren't as big and heavy then.
i want a pic of 3:04. .u.
when the Ford plant opened in Louisville in 1969, the employees families were invited for the grand opening of the factory. the General was also there, and my dad got to see the General up close. :3
me & my dad also have a theory that the General gave Southern 4501 the motivation to start the steam craze of the 60's.
it's sad to see 665 rotting away at the KRM though...
The general locomotive deserves a chance to operate again oneday
lemme see... the 150 year mark was in 2012! Aww I missed it :(
They didnt even run the locomotive when it came, wished they did. It would be nice for it to run again.
I would love to see that, sadly it probably never will again, the really bad part it it's probably still good enough shape to run with at the most minor boiler work
I saw it at the L&N Deposit in Etowah Tn about that time.
DO you remember when the mayor of Chattanooga seized it when it came though that city.
I will love to see The General in Action if I time travel back to 1962.
Did you see that guy cross the tracks right in front of the engine at 5:29? Insane
5:29
Great video!
great music!!
Yeah I love the music in this video, especially the music towards the end.
I just love the music in this
But I prefer the Music that was featured in Here Comes The General because Its more catchy.
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Lovely Enginie I would love to put 440's specially the if my memory is correct my granpa had the 'general' it looked awsome on his layout I want to put a few on my n scale.
Went to supior wi they have a musem and come face to face with one.and touched one your right if people tell you the 440 is not an attractive Engine they are something.
Ellery - What scale was your grandfather's layout?
@mechanicsnut you are welcome. I was very fortunate to find this footage.
That train is cool :)
I haven't seen the engine unfortunately but I have seen that car it's at the Kentucky Railway musame in horrible shape
I am happy to say, that at one time in mid 80s, I was the curator of the Big Shanty Museum, Home of THE GENERAL. During that time of "growth" - I stopped the city officials from sending over the guys who were in jail for the weekend to "polish" the old train (as they said) and I never let anyone near it again! I did keep her looking the way she was when placed in the museum, but since then, someone has replaced the L&N grey with silver, which looks awful, and way out of character.
The B.E.S.T. locomotive in the WORLD!!!
I am am General
Good thing I'm a quick reader. Those captions go by fast.
The DVD where this footage is sourced from actual plays much slower, for whatever reason, the recording software I used sped it up!
Nice video dude!
Astrogirl1usa thanks! i appreciate it
wow I just noticed that he was lucky
The last part of the video the music is Seneca Square Dance, do you have the exact link to this version, I like it very much.
WOOOOO!!! 1862 FOREVER!!
Actually, what was that last soundtrack playing in this video? 6:00
@@seangannon1919 Seneca Square Dance is the same of the song
at 5:29 some idiot runs in front of the moving locomotive!
If he slipped and fell the locomotive would stop within 50 yards.
I need general 3 steam train 4-4-0 to old West Utah
Probably a railfan... or a corporate photographer! I've had problems with both types....
Do you know whether there was a 150th Anniversary celebration last year for the locomotive?
Too bad they added modern features. When two engines fell off a ship during the 19th century, it was a gold mine, since they had never been updated during the years, so they can be studied. Trains of the South had a narrower gauge then the trains of the North. In 100 years It will not be known what the original General of 1862 actually originally had and looked like.
Is this engine what inspired Buster Keaton's "The General"?
Makuta Miserix yes it certainly was, fun fact Buster Keaton asked if he could use the actual General film, but he was turned down.
how fast do 4-4-0 engines like this one go? 50 mph?
Devin Vaughn During the Great Locomotive Chase, Andrew's raiders supposedly set a record of 60mph.
1862..1962 😀
and counting
0:02 what’s that song called?
Why not restore the"Texas" in the same manner? The "Texas" was the locomotive in pursuit of the "General"
The Texas has been restored a few times, first time in the 1930s when it was put in the cyclorama building in Atlanta, and between 2015-2017 When it was moved to the Atlanta History center. It now has been painted and lettered to how it appeared In the 1880s. Why the Texas wasn't restored along with the General in 1962 could be many things, stuck in the cyclorama, the General being more famous then the Texas, etc.
What is the song being played starting as 6:00?
I actually do not know, been wondering that myself!
Jeremy Wiley I love this so much.
Is it now in a museum again?
Yes, Since 1972.
But why?
Does she still have link & pin couplers?
no the general had modern knuckle couplers installed during this restoration.
the one behind the cowcatcher is still the original form when it was first made.
I have the model
needs commentary.
Air brakes, oil fired, they destroyed this locomotive...
At the same time though if they were going to ride passengers airbrakes we're a must for safety, but they could've fired on coal or wood as short of runs they were most likely running
Train Station brought me here. Thank you pixel federation for the endless fun I've obtained from your game and my general appreciation for trains.