One of three oil burning Consolidation type (2-8-0) locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1920 for the Charlotte Harbor & Northern Railway (#71-#74), this engine shuttled between various small towns along Florida's west coast as #72.
The CH&N’s main work was transporting phosphate mined along the Peace River and in the Bone Valley region of
Central Florida to the South Boca Grande port at Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor. It also carried passengers to the community of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island, and is
largely responsible for making it a popular tourist destination. Part of the line, now owned and operated by CSX Transportation, remains in service today between Mulberry and Arcadia.
When the CH&N was acquired by the Seaboard Air Line in 1928, the three engines were converted to coal burners and renumbered #929-#932, #72 becoming #930. The engine was bought by the Gainesville Midland in 1951 where it was renumbered #301 and, over the next eight years, ran between Gainesville and Athens, GA.
An oil burner, #301 weighs 177,000 lbs, 156,000 lbs on its 54”
drivers. The engine wheelbase is 24’ 6” and the driver wheelbase is 16’. With Walschaert valve gear, 21” x 28” cylinders, a 40 sq ft grate, 178 sq ft firebox and total heating surface of 2,182 sq ft including 366 sq ft superheating, it operated at a boiler pressure of 180 psi delivering 34,986 lbs tractive effort. The tender weighs 146,000 lbs light and had a capacity of 7,000 gallons of water and 3,000 gallons of oil.
The locomotive was retired by the Gainesville Midland in 1958 and was then donated to the City of Charlotte, NC. It is on display in Freedom Park, sadly looking the worse for its exposure to the elements.
