The massive 1401 Southern Railways steam locomotive stands in the Hall of Transportation like a metallic, fire-breathing mastodon of ages past. Mammoth, ponderous, yet beautifully designed and intricately crafted, the 1401 awes most visitors. It dominates the hall to such a degree that one finds it difficult to relate the engine to anything else. It stands alone.

Try to imagine the 1401 in its workaday world. Highwheeled locomotives such as this one pulled fast freight and passenger cars. See the train roll through the American landscape. Her steam whistle cracks shrilly through a pine forest, black smoke billows and bends low for a moment as the engine emerges from a mountain tunnel. A mile of cars rides between rounder and caboose, moving along straight as a lance through midwestern wheat prairies. The 1401 still dominates the scene.

Try relating the 1401 to one of the legendary trains of American railroad lore: Orange Blossom Special, Panama Limited, Silver Meteor, Wabash Cannonball. Put Casey Jones at the throttle; Jimmie Rodgers, the yodeling brakeman, in the caboose.