As of today via on the Facebook page for of the Great Smokey Mountains Railway, they have announced that they have finally at long last gonna get started on getting the restoration of Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 722 underway at long last! :D

There's bad news and good news regarding it though:

The bad news is that the locomotive will be converted to run on Oil instead of Coal.

Probably for safety reasons I assume.

But the good news? :)

722 WILL GET TO STAY IN HER GREEN AND GOLD PAINT DURING THE RESTORATION!!! :D :D :D

Wow it’s so nice that to have another American steam engine being restored. Even if she is going to be converted to oil.

7838094
And of course being one of the classic fan favorites from the memorable Southern Railway/Norfolk Southern Steam Program from the 1960's to 1994. :)

7837669

7838094
I would bring up (yet again) the CSR biocoal project, but it seems like progress has stalled since their last update over a year ago, as they last cited the pandemic as causing a major delay.

7839010
True

7839103
Oh yeah! I got something that might peak your interest. It’s about CSX and their new up coming heritage fleet.

Think about it! CSX’s softening tone towards steam locomotives and excursions, the B&O’s 200th anniversary, sponsoring the 2716’s restoration, allowing Clinchfield 800 to pull the Santa train on its old stomping grounds, and the new heritage units including CSX/B&O 1827. It’s all communicating into the beginning of a steam program which means… we’re going to be seeing mainline steam on CSX rails real soon. And probably to kick it off is the newly restored C&O 2716 pulling a excursion on her old stomping grounds on the Hinton Subdivision or invite NKP 765 to pull a excursion trip since it was a frequent visitor to the CSX system in the 80s and early 90s.

7839877
Of course I know that.

7839920
Can’t wait.

7839926
Same =3