Southern Railway "Maud," 1509 is the oldest surviving steam locomotive of the Southern Railway. The engine was built by Baldwin in 1880 for the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway, originally numbered 27 and named "Talullah." The railroad was later absorbed by the Richmond and Danville Railroad which itself became the Southern Railway, with the engines being renumbered, and as such, the Talullah had ultimately become Southern #1509.
A misprint in one of the Southern's early locomotive rosters had confused the engine with number 1101, a Baldwin 4-6-0. As a result, many believed the engine was originally built as a 4-6-0 for the Washington City, Virginia Midland, and Great Southern Railway (presumably 1101's original owner). Such mistakes were quite common from the Southern Railway's formation to the 1903 renumbering, with much of the locomotive records during that time being either incomplete or containing conflicting information. Thus very little of the 1509's early career is known, however, most railroad historians have concluded that the 1509 had most likely been built either as a 0-4-4T or possibly as a 0-4-0, as opposed to the larger 4-6-0 design.
Southern rebuilt the engine in 1925, and from then until retirement, served as a switcher for the railway's Pegram Shops in Atlanta. There, it was given the name, "Maud" by the shop employees. Maud was retired in 1949, and moved to Inman, GA where it was to be scrapped. However, the shop's workers had favored the Maud, and wrote to then Southern Railway president E. E. Norris requesting the engine be preserved. Norris obliged, and the Maud was placed on display outside of the shops until 1960. That year, the engine was donated to the Atlanta chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, who had placed it in their Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, GA.
Current status
As of January 2015, Southern Railway 1509 is stored, disassembled outside the Southeastern Railway Museum's shops, where it is awaiting restoration.
References
The "Hot Box" as edited by George Weber, April 1961 & May 1990[full citation needed]
