Should we be grateful for what we have or hopeful for what we don't?
While #1702 is the only operating steam locomotive on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, she's not the only one they own. The ex-Army 2-8-0 Consolidation is a foreigner to the line, but her adopted sibling is not. Southern Railway #722, another Consolidation, once hauled freight on this line, the historic Murphy Branch, after her construction in 1904. Here 1702 passes the 39 year older locomotive's rusting tender. Restoration has been a floating rumor for years, recently hyped by 1702's return.
