Tennessee Valley Railroad No. 610

Tennessee Valley Railroad No. 610 is an As class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type coal-fired steam locomotive built by the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation for the U.S. Army Railroad in 1952.
610 was one of eight steam locomotives for use on the U.S. Army Railroad and was used to train soldiers in railroad operation in maintenance.
610 was also used for transport on the 31-mile Fort Eustis Military Railroad to an interchange with the U.S. Army Railroad at a junction in at Lee Hall, VA.
The Army used 610 as a training locomotive, preparing crews to operate on European railroads if the need arose.
Following its decommissioning of steam operations on the Fort Eustis Military Railroad in 1972, 610 was obtained by the Wiregrass Heritage Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society in Dothan, AL.
In 1978, 610 was donated to the Tennessee Valley Railway Museum, and following its restoration in 1991, it served as primary motive power on all TVRM excursions, mainly the Summerville Steam Special and the Missionary Ridge Local.
Today, 610 is still at the TVRM, but was taken out of service in November 2010 and is currently down for its FRA 1,472-day federally mandated boiler inspection and is awaiting an eventual overhaul. Once its overhaul is complete, 610 will once again run excursions at the TVRM alongside Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 630 and 2-8-2 No. 4501.
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==Trivia==
*This locomotive was featured in country singer Josh Turner's music video for his hit song Long Black Train in 2003.
*This is the only steam locomotive built by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation for service in the USA. 20 2-8-2s were also built by BLH in 1952 for the New South Wales Government Railways, and 50 5 ft 6in gauge Class WG 2-8-2s for India during 1954-55 (tenders by the Vulcan Iron Works, Wilkes Barre PA).
*When 610 operates at the Tennessee Valley Railroad she was remodeled to look more like a typical civilian 2-8-0.
*Following the completion of the restoration of Southern Railway No. 630 in 2011, No. 610 was moved to the facilities' Soule Shops, where it currently awaits an overhaul. When the overhaul is completed, TVRM No. 610 is to serve along Southern Nos. 630 and 4501 where it will be invited to the 21st Century Steam Program, which was inaugurated on Labor Day weekend 2011.
*No. 610 is based on the 1942 USA S160 class, two thousand, one hundred and twenty of which were built for heavy freight work in WWII Europe, although a number stayed stateside.
*No. 610 starred in the film Water for Elephants as a Southern Pacific locomotive to pull the Benzini Brothers' Circus train. However, it is dubbed with CN 3254s iconic 5-chime whistle heard EVERYWHERE!
*No. 610 also featured in Our Country, The Adventures of Ociee Nash, Leatherheads, and The Lost Valentine.
*As of 2023, No. 610 is now relocated to the Grand Junction station in Chattanooga, TN for public display at the entrance, but whether or not it will ever return to service again anytime soon is still yet to be determined. It has been re-lettered back to the U.S. Army.
==See also==
*Gallery
Category:2-8-0 steam locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:American locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Eight-coupled locomotives
Category:2-8-0 locomotives
Category:Locomotives featured in media
Category:Built in 1952
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Excursion locomotives
Category:United States Transportation Corps
Category:USATC
Category:Wartime locomotives
Category:Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
Category:Standard gauge locomotives of the United States
Category:Preserved locomotives
Category:Preserved steam locomotives
Category:USATC S160 Class