After the cancellation of the very highly anticipated Atlanta-Toccoa round trips the weekend prior, Southern 4501 returns to Chattanooga under steam one last time on NS rails in 2015 in style--by dragging her 10-car train and a 368,000-pound paperweight up the 0.75% grade out of the Chattahoochee River Valley at Nickajack. Of course with totally new management coming in at the upper levels, there's no telling how much longer this wonderful 21st Century Steam program could last. If it's gone, then thanks to everybody involved in making these beasts of the past come alive and tour the eastern part of the country for the last four years. If not, I look forward to many more experiences with these wonderful machines, as do the rest of us.
