The 1987 Suwanee Steam Special ran from Southern Railway's Simpson Yard in Jacksonville, Fl to Valdosta, Ga, a distance of 106.5 miles each way. Norfolk & Western Class A 2-6-6-4 1218 was the power this day. N&W 1218 was built by N&W's Roanoke Shops in 1943. She is a simple articulated locomotive with 70 inch drivers, boiler pressure of 300 lbs, Baker valve gear, and four 24 × 30 in cylinders. She could exert up to 114,000 pounds of tractive effort. On March 26, 1987, 1218 ran a break-in run from the steam shops at Irondale (Birmingham), Alabama to Wilton, Alabama. Soon after she entered excursion service and headlined many excursion trains until the end of the 1991 season. After meeting a southbound freight, N&W 1218 gives us a display of brute power as she starts her heavy consist.
