This locomotive was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, PA, in 1911 as #10 for the Raleigh & Southport Railway in Raleigh, NC. It was outshopped as one of a pair (the other going to the Elkin & Alleghany and shown on the Elkin & Alleghany #100 page of this website).
In 1911, the Norfolk Southern Railroad formed the Raleigh, Charlotte & Southern Railway as a consolidation of several smaller companies including the Raleigh & Southport Railway, the Aberdeen & Asheboro Railroad, the Durham & Charlotte Railroad and the Sanford & Troy Railroad. Three years later, the lines were folded into the Norfolk Southern. #10 was renumbered NS #203 and stayed on the Raleigh to Fayetteville line until 1948 when it was sold to the Atlantic & Western in Sanford, NC, and renumbered #12. There, it was reunited with its production-line companion, now bearing ATW #10.
#12 worked on the line between Sanford and Lillington, NC, until 7th October 1950 when it was replaced by a new diesel-electric, GE 70 Tonner #100. The engine never saw service again and was officially retired from service at the end of 1955.
A Consolidation type (2-8-0) locomotive, #12 weighs 144,000 lbs, 128,000 lbs on its 50”
drivers. It has an engine wheelbase of 22’ 1” and driver wheelbase of 14’. With Walschaert valve gear and 20” x 24” cylinders, it had a 30 sq ft
grate and 155 sq ft firebox. The total heating surface is 2,033 sq ft and, operating at a boiler pressure of 200 psi, it delivered 32,640 lbs tractive effort.
In 1966, #12 was donated to the Railroad House Historical Society, and is now on display in Depot Park in Sanford, NC.
