Southern Railway 401

Southern Railway 401 is one of 2 surviving 25 class "H-4" 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotives the other being Southern Railway 385 in the Whippany Railway Museum.^[1] No. 401 was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in December 1907.^[1][2][3] The H-4 class was generally used in mixed train service, to haul branch line freight trains, and later, as yard switchers. In 1949, the Southern Railway sold No. 401 to the Alabama Asphaltic Limestone Company in Margerum, Alabama were it was primarily used as a switcher engine, moving hopper cars of stone for the company.^[1] In 1964, No. 401 was retired from revenue service and was placed in outdoor storage.^[1]

The locomotive was purchased from Alabama Asphaltic Limestone by the Society for the Preservation of Unretired Railfans (SPUR) in 1967.^[1][2][3] In January 1968, the locomotive was loaded on a flat car by two Southern Railway steam cranes and shipped to Decatur, Illinois.^[1] The No. 401 was unloaded from the flat car in the Norfolk & Western's former Wabash Ry Decatur Shops and set back on its own wheels, then it was stored in the Decatur Yards.^[1] SPUR purchased grounds from the Illinois Terminal Railroad near Monticello, Illinois for its museum and demonstration railroad in February 1970. The name of the organization was changed to Monticello & Sangamon Valley Railway Historical Society (M&SV) to reflect its location near Monticello and the Sangamon River Valley. M&SV had its Monticello site developed enough to receive the No. 401 and other stored railroad equipment in October 1971 and the No. 401 was moved on its own wheels to the museum.^[1] It was cosmetically restored and placed on display at the museum from 1971 to 1995.^[1] M&SV changed its name again to the Monticello Railway Museum (MRyM) in November 1984.^[1]

In 1995, a donor stepped forward with plans to return an operating steam locomotive to service at the museum, after considering several alternative steam locomotive candidates for restoration, it was decided to return No. 401 to operating condition.^[1][4] No. 401's restoration officially began in 1995 by museum volunteers, with work taking fifteen years to complete, included replacing the boiler.^[1] On September 10, 2010, No. 401 moved under steam for the first time in forty-six years, it would later operate its first annual Railroad Days event eight days later.^[1] In 2021, No. 401 would be taken out of service for its Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 1,472-day inspection and overhaul, after a full year of work, it was eventually back in service the following year for the 2022 operating season.^[5]