SOU 1684

Brooks Moses kept looking and he found this wonderful photo of the 1684 in Southern lettering at Greensboro Station (now known as Gaylon Depot). The location was confirmed by Brooks' sleuthing based upon the sign on the brick building (which is "Greensboro Supply") and supplemented with evidence pointed out by Kevin von der Lippe-the water column seen behind the stack and domes above the engine would be Greensboro station.

Brooks points out: "One interesting thing with 1684 in this photo is the lighter-colored smoke box and the striping on the steam and sand domes. The silver/gray smoke boxes seem pretty common, but I haven't seen many photos of Southern engines with dome striping that weren't passenger-engine green. (I doubt this one is, though; if it were green for passenger-depot switching, sort of like Southern Pacific's occasional switcher in "Daylight" colors, I would expect the full scheme with larger "Southern" on the tender in place of the number, and lining on the cab and tender sides.) Also somewhat unusual is the smokestack is black rather than matching the smoke box; I haven't seen that before."  We have a bit more sleuthing to do!

Click on the image to get a larger size.

This builder's photo of a brother A-7 to the 1684, Southern 1680, appeared with descriptive statistics in The Railroad Gazette circa 1905 and comes from the collection of Tom Daspit (see his Southern Railway site). 

Note the differences in the 1680 as built and the 1684 above with a few "modern" or at least changed appliances. For example the air pump on the 1684 is larger and lower with the running board angling up and over it. The headlight is definitely newer, probably electric instead of an oil lamp given that there is a generator tucked behind the first dome and in front of the bell. The air tank has been moved too.