Norfolk and Western Railway class J (1941)
# Norfolk and Western Railway class J (1941)

The Norfolk and Western class J was a class of fourteen 4-8-4 "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives built by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, from 1941 to 1950. They were operated in revenue service until the late 1950s.

These locomotives were built to pull the Powhatan Arrow, the Pocahontas, and the Cavalier passenger trains on the N&W main line between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio; they also ferried the Southern Railway's Birmingham Special, Pelican, and Tennessean between Monroe, Virginia, and Bristol, Tennessee. The class Js, along with the class A and Y freight locomotives, formed the N&W's "Big Three": locomotives considered the pinnacles of steam technology.

Only one class J locomotive survives. No. 611 was retired in 1959 from revenue passenger service and moved to the Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) in 1962. It has been restored twice: once as part of the Norfolk Southern Railway's steam program in 1982, and again as part of the VMT's Fire up 611! campaign in 2015.

## History

### Design origins

The Norfolk and Western Railway's (N&W) aging E class 4-6-2 "Pacifics" and K class 4-8-2 "Mountains" could not handle the rising passenger traffic at the outbreak of World War II, so the railroad sought a more powerful passenger steam locomotive. Its Mechanical Department originally considered a class N 4-8-4 type in the mid-1920s, but deemed its 63 in (1,600 mm) driving wheels inadequate for the N&W's railway grades. N&W mechanical engineer H.W. Reynolds redesigned the drivers' diameter to a 70 in (1,778 mm) design that could be counterbalanced against wheel slippage and gave more power at the drawbar at 40–50 mph (64–80 km/h). N&W Tool Supervisor Franklin C. Noel proposed a streamlined design to give the locomotive smoothness and beauty along with speed, power, and dependability. After experimenting with four or five concepts, Noel developed the bullet-nosed design. His wife Louise suggested painting the Js black with a Tuscan red stripe wrapped with golden yellow linings and letterings. The class J locomotives were all equipped with an N&W style Hancock long bell 3-chime whistle.

In the summer of 1941, the first of the J class, No. 600 was constructed at the N&W's Roanoke (East End) Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, and completed on October 20. No. 600 produced 80,000 lbf (355.86 kN) of tractive effort, which made the class J the most powerful passenger 4-8-4 locomotive ever $built.^{:4}$ The Roanoke Shops built four more locomotives; No. 601 on November 17; No. 602 on December 8; No. 603 on December 24; and No. 604 on January 27, 1942. No. 602 was equipped with a booster in the rear axle of its trailing truck, which increased the tractive effort up to 85,800 lbf (381.66 kN).

The first 10 class J locomotives (Nos. 600–610) had 275 pounds per square inch (psi) boilers and Timken roller bearings on all axles, rods, pistons, crossheads, valve gear, and wrist pins. After 1945, the boiler pressure was raised to 300 psi (2,100 kPa). The driving wheels were small for a locomotive that was able to pull trains at more than 100 mph (160 km/h). To overcome the limitation, the wheelbase was made extremely rigid, lightweight rods were used, and the counterbalancing was precise – so precise that it could theoretically allow the locomotives to reach speeds up to 140 mph (230 km/h) without the rail damage that could have occurred with conventional designs. One drawback of this highly engineered powertrain was sensitivity to substandard track.

While on loan in 1945, No. 610 hauled a 1,015-ton passenger train with 11 to 15 cars at speeds of more than 110 mph (180 km/h) over a section of flat, straight track known as the "racetrack" in the Pennsylvania Railroad's Fort Wayne Division.

The class J locomotives were built with automatic lubricators at 220 points, allowing them to operate up to 1,300 miles (2,100 km) between refills. Despite their comparatively small driving wheels, they rode very smoothly at all speeds: the Pennsylvania Railroad's inspector stated that it rode better than any of their own steam locomotives except for the 6-4-4-6 class S1. They also steam very well due to the large grate.

The first five locomotives (Nos. 600–604) were outshopped between October 1941 and January 1942, costing the railroad $167,000 apiece. The second batch of six locomotives (Nos. 605–610) was delivered in 1943 at a cost of $168,550 each without streamlined casings and lightweight side rods, due to the limitations on the use of certain materials during the war; classifying them as the J1s. In 1944, the N&W were allowed to reclassified the J1s as Js with the lightweight rods and streamlined shrouding added. The last batch of three locomotives (Nos. 611–613), rolled out in summer 1950, were marked as the last steam passenger locomotives built in the United States. In the mid-1950s, N&W engineers replaced the duplex (two) coupling rods between the main (second) and third drivers (tandem rods) on Nos. 600, 604, 607, and 611 with a single coupling rod. Additionally, all of the J class locomotives' streamlined front end, underneath the bullet nose, was given access holes to give ventilation for the cross-compound air pumps from behind.

Table of orders and numbers :

| Quantity | Serial Nos. | Year built | N&W No. | Tender No. | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 | 311–315 | 1941–1942 | 600–604 | 220076-220080 | Built with multiple-bearing crossheads and originally built with spoke pilot wheels. Re-equipped with solid steel pilot wheels in the 1950s. |
| 6 | 347–352 | 1943 | 605–610 | 220112-220117 | Built with alligator crossheads and originally built with spoke pilot wheels and without streamlining shrouds. Re-equipped with solid steel pilot wheels in the 1950s. |
| 3 | 388–390 | 1950 | 611–613 | 220165-220167 | Built with alligator crossheads and solid steel pilot wheels. No. 611 in excursion service. |

### Revenue service

The class J locomotives pulled the N&W's prominent passenger trains, such as the Powhatan Arrow, the Pocahontas, and the Cavalier between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as ferrying Southern Railway's the Birmingham Special, the Pelican, and the Tennessean between Monroe, Virginia, and Bristol, Tennessee. Because of their power and speed, the class Js were among the most reliable and efficient engines, running as many as 15,000 miles (24,000 km) per month, even on the mountainous and relatively short route of the N&W.

During 1941, No. 600 was put on public exhibit display at Bristol, Virginia on October 25; Winston-Salem, North Carolina on October 27; Lynchburg, Virginia on October 28, and Durham, North Carolina on October 29. Afterwards, No. 600 began its first revenue run in early November, pulling the Southern Railway's (SOU) Tennessean and Birmingham Special passenger trains as well as the Cavalier and Pocahontas trains. No. 603 entered service on December 26, 1941, where it was trialed to pull local passenger trains between Roanoke and Bristol, before being assigned to haul the Pocahontas and Cavalier express passenger trains.

### Retirement

In the summer of 1958, N&W's new president Stuart T. Saunders began to dieselize the railroad by leasing some EMD E6 and E7 units from the Atlantic Coast Line and E8 units Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroads, then ordered EMD GP9s to replace the class J steam locomotives in passenger service. The class J locomotives were bumped down to local freight trains service, where their tenders' rear deck were outfitted with doghouses to accommodate the head-end brakeman.

N&W J class locomotive retirement details :

| Nos. | Retirement date | Disposition |
| - | - | - |
| 600 | June 16, 1959 | Scrapped at Lambert's Point, Norfolk, Virginia |
| 601 | March 27, 1959 | Scrapped in Portsmouth, Ohio |
| 602 | January 8, 1959 | Scrapped in Roanoke, Virginia |
| 603 | April 24, 1959 | Scrapped in Bluefield, West Virginia |
| 604 | October 24, 1958 | Scrapped at Shaffers Crossing, Roanoke, Virginia |
| 605 | June 15, 1959 | Scrapped in Williamson, West Virginia |
| 606 | May 22, 1959 | Scrapped in Bluefield, West Virginia |
| 607 | February 25, 1959 | Scrapped at Shaffers Crossing, Roanoke, Virginia |
| 608 | May 22, 1959 | Scrapped in Bluefield, West Virginia |
| 609 | May 22, 1959 | Scrapped in Bluefield, West Virginia |
| 610 | August 21, 1959 | Scrapped in Crewe, Virginia |
| 611 | October 27, 1959 | Preserved at the Virginia Museum of Transportation, Roanoke, Virginia |
| 612 | August 21, 1959 | Scrapped at Lambert's Point, Norfolk, Virginia |
| 613 | March 27, 1959 | Scrapped in Portsmouth, Ohio |

### Accidents and incidents

* On June 12, 1946, No. 604 hauled the eastbound Powhatan Arrow after departing Cincinnati, Ohio, at 8:10 a.m. for Norfolk. At 3:18 p.m., the locomotive derailed four miles west of Powhatan, West Virginia, due to excessive speed at 56 mph, killing the engineer and fireman. These injuries included 23 passengers, three dining car employees, and one train service employee.
* On February 20, 1948, No. 607 derailed near Franklin Furnace, Ohio, while hauling the Powhatan Arrow, killing its fireman. The cause of the accident was failure to obey an automatic block-signal and entering a turnout at an excessive speed of 77 mph.
* On October 30, 1953, in Wallace, Virginia, just northeast of Bristol, No. 613 rear-ended a local timed freight while drawing the southbound Tennessean, injuring 56 people. The accident was blamed on the fast passenger train for failing to heed warning signals. The loco was repaired and remained in service until 1959.
* On January 23, 1956, No. 611 derailed along the Tug River near Cedar, Mingo County, West Virginia, while pulling the Pocahontas. The engineer ran the engine at an excessive speed around a curve and its high center of gravity caused it to flip on its side. The loco was repaired and continued revenue passenger service.
* On May 18, 1986, No. 611 was at the head of a Norfolk Southern employee appreciation train from Norfolk with Robert Claytor at the throttle. One of the passenger cars failed to negotiate a switch on the main line through the Great Dismal Swamp, causing it and 12 other cars of the 23-car train to derail. 177 of nearly 1,000 employees and their family members were injured; some of the more seriously injured had to be airlifted to hospitals in nearby Norfolk for treatment.

## Preservation

One locomotive, No. 611, has been preserved. Its survival was in part due to its excellent condition after its 1956 derailment and subsequent repair, and also in part to the efforts of attorney and railfan W. Graham Claytor Jr., who offered to salvage the locomotive from the scrap line. The No. 611 locomotive was donated to the Roanoke Transportation Museum in 1962, where it sat on static display for two decades. Since then, it has had two excursion careers: from 1982 to 1994, after Norfolk Southern Railway restored the locomotive, and from 2015 onwards by the VMT.

