New Member & Tallulah Falls Railway #73

[NW Mailing List]

Hello,

After more or less unsuccessfully searching for information on the 
history of the N&W, I decided that the logical thing to do would be to 
join this list, and ask for help.  So here I am. :)

A little about myself and my interests, for those that may be 
interested:  I'm a locomotive engineer for NS, working out of Linwood, 
NC (toward Roanoke, VA, whenever I can manage it).  I've been a model 
railroader and railfan all my life, with a particular focus on steam and 
anything unusual.  I am currently working on an HO scale layout in a 
spare bedroom, modeling Southern Ry. in the late '40s/early '50s.  I am 
also working with a friend to model a portion of the Norfolk, Franklin, 
and Danville Ry. as it exists today.  And just to offend the purists in 
the world, on my bench at the moment is a high nosed SD30, which will 
wear black with a tuscan stripe, to match a J in excursion service.

On to my question at the moment...

My model railroad is a fictional extension of the Tallulah Falls 
Railway, from Franklin, NC to Almond, NC, where it meets up with 
Southern's Murphy Branch.  In researching the history of the TF's motive 
power, I found that at least two locomotives came from the N&W.  One was 
a consolidation, #72, which is shown as being N&W #354, and/or(?) #202. 
  It was built in 1897 by Baldwin, builder's number 15154.  While I 
would like to learn more about that locomotive, it is the other that I 
am interested in at the moment.  Everything I know about this locomotive 
can be summed up in the following line -

#73 - 4-6-0 - BLW 23848 3/04 - orig. TF #3 - 17x24-56 - orig. N&W

This must have been a relatively small ten wheeler, to have 56" drivers. 
  Does anyone know what class or number this may have been on the N&W? 
Ideally, does anyone have photos, or at least a little more information 
about her?  I have a small drivered Bachmann ten wheeler (lettered for 
Southern) which I am hoping would be a reasonable stand-in for this engine.

Thanks in advance,
Kenneth Rickman