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Vol. 1 No. 3
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Winter 2008
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The Oakdale Express is published
four times a year with the next
issue planned for April/May.
To submit a story, photo, or an
idea, please send an email to:
headdenr121@oakdale-eagles.org
or mail to:
Regina Headden
434 Hillside Drive #19
Harriman, TN 37748.
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Engine 6330's bell was given to
the town of Oakdale. Learn the
story of how the bell was saved
and find out where it is today.
Engine 6330's Bell
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For decades, people jokingly referred to Oakdale as "Smokedale" because of the
black smoke bellowing from the steam engines entering and leaving town every few
minutes. The hill sides along the railroad were almost barren as most of the
vegetation had been choked to death by the smoke and soot from the engines. Rail
traffic through Oakdale was so heavy that at one point, there were more than 3,000
railroad employees working in shifts to keep the trains moving on the largest railway
in the country.
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From Oakdale School:
Oakdale's Art Gallery
The Passing of a Former Principal
People who return to Oakdale
today after having been gone for
years are shocked to see the
changes. Follow the link below to
see photos of Oakdale then and
now.
Oakdale: Then and Now
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Citizens of Oakdale grew accustomed to
the smoke and soot, along with the heavy
odor that filled the air every time a train
passed through town.
Southern Railway began to phase out its
steam engines in the 1940s, replacing
them with faster and more efficient diesel
engines. Some of the steam engines were
parked on unused tracks up and down the
rail line until they could be moved to a
major rail yard to be scrapped.
By mid-June 1953, most folks were not
even aware that the last remaining
Southern Railway steam engine was
parked in Oakdale. Giving less than
24-hours notice, Southern Railway
president, Harry DeButts, announced that
the railway's last steam engine would make
its final run the next day, thus making
Southern Railway the largest all-diesel
railway in America.
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And finally...
Some Parting Thoughts
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This photograph is one that can never be taken again
on the Southern. Flanked here by the "Best Friend of
Charleston" and a modern 4 -unit diesel locomotive at
Chattanooga, Southern engine No. 6330 had just
finished the last run to be made by a steam locomotive
on the Southern Railway' System.
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Ideas for future submissions:
- Stories about growing up
in Oakdale
- Stories about local
"heroes", veterans,
memorable sporting
events, etc.
- "Remember When ..."
- Old Oakdale Photos
- Reflections on life in
Oakdale
- News about reunions or
upcoming events
concerning Oakdale or
Oakdale School
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On the morning of June 17,1953, the
all-Chattanooga crew of Engine 6330
prepared to make their final run with a
steam engine. The train would leave
Oakdale, headed south to Chattanooga
where Engine 6330's fire would be
extinguished forever.
"By 10:30 a.m., churning under the
impatience of a 225- pound head of
steam boiled up within her by the orange
flames that licked her sides, 6330
screamed out a "highball" and tore along
the tracks skirting the Emory River."
(Chattanooga Times article)
"Twice during the course of the run she
was shunted to a siding to allow a diesel
freight and the streamlined Royal Palm to
take the main track. Once, nonetheless,
the yellow light showed above the red,
indicating that some other unit had been
sided to allow her to keep her course. But
that was only a small work crew riding
aboard a single-unit diesel engine. It
wasn't another train at all. "(Chattanooga
Times article)
At 3:00 p.m. on that Wednesday
afternoon, Engine 6330 pulled into the
Chattanooga rail yards, ending an era,
an age, an epoch - the likes of which will
never be seen again.
"After greeting ceremonies, 6330 was
shunted to ash pit and the bottom folded
out of her boiler, the orange-red
steaming coals dumped on the ground.
She had come to the very end of the line.
Her bell will be given to (the town of
Oakdale); her whistle to a factory. That is
all that will be saved."(Chattanooga
Times article)
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Clouds of steam arose as Walter Gay hosed down the
ashpan after the fire was dumped from No. 6330, last
steam locomotive to be operated on the Southern.
Photo at top of the page: The start of the history-making
run of Engine 6330. This heavy Mikado is shown leaving
Oakdale with its train as the last steam locomotive to
operate on the Southern Railway System. In Chattanooga
it "lined" up" with the replica of the " Best Friend of
Charleston," a wood-burning steam locomotive with
which a Southern predecessor line established, in 1830,
the first regularly-scheduled railroad service on this
continent.
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Information and direct quotes were obtained from the July 1953 issue of TIES
magazine which reprinted R.F. Siemanowski's article from The Chattanooga
Times. The reporter was on the train for the entire journey from Oakdale to
Chattanooga.
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