GSMR's No. 321 found?

If any of you may recall from my first post on the Great Smoky Mountains Railway (the one on the coaches) I spoke about a coach numbered 321. This was the first Dillsboro coach, a heavyweight clerestory coach built for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. It was originally numbered 2576.

Photo: David Stewart

From RRPicturesarchives.net

Dillsboro is a unique coach with a design that's hard to find in a coach model, both full-sized and in HO scale. It was used on the Clinchfield Steam Specials as No. 110, the Chessie Safety Express as No. 5 and then on the Seaboard System Railroad as No. 321. Dillsboro arrived on the Great Smoky Mountains Railway in late Autumn of 1988 along with No. 320 Sylva, No. 322 Bryson City, and No. 324 Murphy. It was used quite frequently on the GSMR from 1988 to circa 1993. It had even been used on Steam Engine No. 1702's first run on November 1, 1991. It was sold around 1993. The reasons being that the then owner of the railway, Malcolm MacNeil, disliked the clerestory coaches because of their higher center of gravity. Thusly Dillsboro was replaced and it's namesake given to coach No. 6514. Now where the coaches sold by GSMR have gone is a mystery; no one knows for sure which railway they've been given to. No. 321 is no exception. I've painstakingly scoured across the Internet to see what I could find.

So what I able to find anything?

Well I do have somewhat of a lead; it may not be much but it's the best I've got. There is a coach located at the North Alabama Railroad Museum that has been rusting away on a siding. The museum claims it to be L&N No. 2573. Whilst they got the railway of origin right, I'm inclined to think that this is actually coach No. 2576, or in case: GSMR No. 321.

Photo: Dave Mullison

From RRPicturesarchives.net

Now when comparing this image with the one farther up, you might think to youself: "What? How can that be the same coach? The window arrangements are different." That's true: the window arrangements are different but only because you're seeing one side of the 321. Now look at these screenshots from a video on the GSMR:

These screenshots show the other side of the Dillsboro and if you count the number of windows carefully you'll find that it has the same number as well as the same arrangement as the coach at the North Alabama Railroad Museum. And maybe the NARM coach might have the same arrangement on the other side as the one on the Dillsboro in the first image. "But!" I hear you cry, "The windows on both cars look different. Dillsboro looks like it has framed windows, the NARM coach doesn't." That's also true but I believe the frames on the coach can be easily removable, they're only stuck on for decoration to make it look fancy. The 320, 322, and 324 also appeared to have frames on their windows once upon a time. Now let me give you the big hint as to why I believe the coach at the NARM is actually No. 321: the doors. Have a look at this photograph of the 321 as it appeared on the Clinchfield.

Now compared it with the images above of the 321 on the GSMR and the coach at the NARM. On the Clinchfield the 110 has full doors, on the GSMR the 321 looks like its doors have been cut in half, to let the passengers experience the mountain air, and at the NARM the coach looks like it has whole doors, but wait! There's a seem running across the door at the halfway point. Let me post these images down again for clarification:

Could it be that the coach on the North Alabama Railroad Museum is actually the original 321 Dillsboro? It seems very likely given the evidence. I don't know what the museum has to say about it themselves; I doubt if they even know where this coach has been through. Perhaps one day I'll journey down there to see for myself or someone else might be able to find out for me. But until then here's hoping that it is the 321 and here's imagining it reunited with it's fellow coaches on the GSMR.