Norfolk and Western 2156

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Norfolk and Western 2156
Norfolk and Western Railway 2156.jpg
N&W 2156 on display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia, on May 28, 2017
Type and origin
References: [1] [2]
Power typeSteam
Builder Roanoke Shops
Serial number317
Build dateMarch 19, 1942
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 •  Whyte 2-8-8-2
 •  UIC (1′D)D1′ hv4
Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia. 20 in (508 mm)
Driver dia.58 in (1,473 mm) (as built 57 in (1,448 mm))
Trailing dia. 20 in (508 mm)
Tender wheels33 in (838 mm)
Wheelbase 103 ft 8+1⁄4 in (31.60 m) ​
 • Engine58 ft 0 in (17.68 m)
Length:
​
 • Over couplers114 ft 10+1⁄2 in (35.01 m)
Height15 ft 8+7⁄16 in (4.79 m)
Adhesive weight 522,850 lb (237.2 tonnes)
Loco weight582,900 lb (264.4 tonnes)
Tender weight143,200 lb (65.0 tonnes)) (empty)
378,600 lb (171.7 tonnes)) (loaded)
Total weight961,500 lb (436.1 tonnes))
Fuel type Coal
Fuel capacity16 t (16 long tons; 18 short tons)
Water cap.22,000 US gal (83,000 L; 18,000 imp gal)
Firebox:​
 • Grate area106.2 sq ft (9.87 m2)
Boiler:
​
 • Model104 in (2,642 mm)
 • Small tubes2+1⁄4 in (57 mm)
 • Large tubes5+1⁄2 in (140 mm)
Boiler pressure300  psi (2.07  MPa)
Safety valve 4 Ashton 3+1⁄2 in (89 mm)
Feedwater heater Worthington BL-2
Heating surface:​
 • Firebox371 sq ft (34.5 m2)
 • Arch tubes59 sq ft (5.5 m2)
 • Flues5,226 sq ft (485.5 m2)
 • Total surface7,431 sq ft (690.4 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • TypeType A
 • Heating area1,775 sq ft (164.9 m2)
Cylinders Four: two low-pressure (front), two high-pressure (rear)
High-pressure cylinder25 in × 32 in (635 mm × 813 mm)
Low-pressure cylinder39 in × 32 in (991 mm × 813 mm)
Valve gear Baker
Performance figures
Maximum speed50 mph (80 km/h)
Power output5,600 hp (4,200 kW) (as built 4,400 hp (3,300 kW))
Tractive effort (Simple: 166,000 lbf (738.4 kN)) (Compound: 126,838 lbf (564.2 kN)) (as built 152,206 lbf (677.0 kN))
Factor of adh. 3.30
Career
Operators Norfolk and Western Railway
Class Y6a
Number in class2 of 16
Numbers
  • N&W 2156
Locale United States, South and Midwest
RetiredJuly 1959
Restored1985 (cosmetically)
Current owner National Museum of Transportation, St. Louis, Missouri
DispositionOn static display, based in St. Louis, Missouri

Norfolk and Western 2156 is a four-cylinder compound articulated class "Y6a" "Mallet" type steam locomotive with a 2-8-8-2 (Whyte notation) wheel arrangement. The Norfolk & Western Railway built it in 1942 at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia as a member of the N&W's Y6a class. It is the strongest-pulling extant steam locomotive in the world, although it is not operational. It was retired from regular rail service in July 1959 and is now owned by the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri.

Contents

In 2014, the museum leased it for five years to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia. It was towed from St. Louis to Roanoke on May 10, 2015, and towed back to St. Louis on June 10, 2020.

History

Historic significance

Norfolk and Western 2156 is the sole survivor of the railroad's Y5, Y6, Y6a and Y6b classes (in final form referred to as the "Improved Y5/Y6 class"). These locomotives developed 152,206 pounds of tractive effort when built, with later modifications bringing them closer to 170,000 pounds. By comparison, the Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives developed 135,375 pounds-force (602.2 kN) of tractive effort. The only successful steam locomotives that developed somewhat more tractive effort, the Virginian AE class 2-10-10-2s, pulled trains at about 8 mph (13 km/h), while the N&W Y6's regularly pulled trains 50 mph (80 km/h), and some anecdotal evidence exists that they pulled trains up to 63 mph (101 km/h).[ citation needed ]

N&W 2156 is also one of the Y6a's that received a new firebox with an extended combustion chamber of the type used on the Y6b class, which increased drawbar horsepower from 4,400 hp (3.3 MW) at 20 mph (32 km/h) to 5,600 hp (4.2 MW) at 25 mph (40 km/h).

Steam versus diesel tests, upgrades, and controversies

Coal traffic was N&W's largest source of revenue, and it had arguably the most modern and efficient steam locomotives of any major U.S. railroad. Accordingly, N&W resisted conversion from coal-burning steam locomotives to oil-burning diesels longer than most. In 1952, N&W tested its A-class and Y6b-class locomotives against a four-unit Electro-Motive Division F7 diesel set. The tests indicated that fuel costs and similar items were roughly the same, and the test was considered a tie. However, diesels eventually won out for lower maintenance and other operational costs.

Retrospective analyses of these tests have led to suggestions that diesel locomotive builder EMD and N&W cheated in the competition by using locomotives with secret modifications unsuited for daily work. [3] [4] However, the greater weight of evidence and analysis indicates that N&W did not cheat on these tests, and that the only improvements were the ones N&W publicized and later incorporated into many locomotives. [5] [6] Also, the major participants in this debate all appear to agree that N&W did ultimately modify most of its Y5, Y6, Y6a, and Y6b locomotives (including N&W 2156) with a new "intercepting/reducing valve" and ballast on the front engine, which increased their tractive effort. [7]

Operational history

The N&W used 2156 and the other Y6-class locomotives primarily for slower, heavy freight trains in the more mountainous districts in the Pocahontas, Radford and Shenandoah Divisions. They mostly hauled manifest freight and coal trains. [8]

When diesel locomotives took over the mainline steam operations, the Y6-type locomotives spent their last two years mostly on mine and other coal-field runs.

Preservation years

In July 1959, N&W donated 2156 to the National Museum of Transportation (MoT), and the locomotive was put on static display at their property in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1985, No. 2156 received a cosmetic restoration performed by members and volunteers of the St. Louis Steam Train Association, with the intention of having the locomotive displayed at the St. Louis Union Station during the building's renovation ceremony. [9] [10] In August that same year, restoration work was completed, and No. 2156 was temporarily displayed at the station next to Union Pacific EMD E9 No. 951. [11]

In 2014, the MoT agreed to lease No. 2156 to Norfolk Southern and the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia, in return for an EMD FT B unit. [12] On May 9–12, 2015, the locomotive was towed to its temporary home. On May 31, 2015, 2156 was reunited with N&W Class A No. 1218 and the recently restored Class J No. 611 as N&W's "The Big Three". [13] [14] On June 10, 2020, 2156 left the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, VA to go back to the St. Louis Museum of Transportation. [15] It arrived back at the St. Louis Museum of Transportation on June 15, 2020. The locomotive remains on static display in St. Louis as of 2023.

Related Research Articles

In railway engineering, the term tractive effort describes the pulling or pushing capability of a locomotive. The published tractive force value for any vehicle may be theoretical—that is, calculated from known or implied mechanical properties—or obtained via testing under controlled conditions. The discussion herein covers the term's usage in mechanical applications in which the final stage of the power transmission system is one or more wheels in frictional contact with a railroad track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streamliner</span> Vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance

A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired upright and recumbent bicycles. As part of the Streamline Moderne trend, the term was applied to passenger cars, trucks, and other types of light-, medium-, or heavy-duty vehicles, but now vehicle streamlining is so prevalent that it is not an outstanding characteristic. In land speed racing, it is a term applied to the long, slender, custom built, high-speed vehicles with enclosed wheels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginian Railway</span> Defunct American railroad

The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk and Western Railway</span> Former US Class I railroad (1838–1982)

The Norfolk and Western Railway, commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precision Transportation"; it had a variety of nicknames, including "King Coal" and "British Railway of America". In 1986, N&W merged with Southern Railway to form today's Norfolk Southern Railway.

A 2-8-8-2, in the Whyte notation for describing steam locomotive wheel arrangements, is an articulated locomotive with a two-wheel leading truck, two sets of eight driving wheels, and a two-wheel trailing truck. The equivalent UIC classification is, refined to Mallet locomotives, (1'D)D1'. These locomotives usually employ the Mallet principles of articulation—with the rear engine rigidly attached to the boiler and the front engine free to rotate—and compounding. The 2-8-8-2 was a design largely limited to American locomotive builders. The last 2-8-8-2 was retired in 1962 from the N&W's roster, two years past the ending of steam though steam was still used on steel mill lines and other railroads until 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD FT</span> American cab locomotive

The EMD FT is a 1,350-horsepower (1,010 kW) diesel-electric locomotive that was produced between March 1939 and November 1945, by General Motors' Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC), later known as GM Electro-Motive Division (EMD). The "F" stood for Fourteen Hundred (1400) horsepower and the "T" for Twin, as it came standard in a two-unit set. The design was developed from the TA model built for the C,RI&P in 1937, and was similar in cylinder count, axle count, length, and layout. All told 555 cab-equipped ”A” units were built, along with 541 cabless booster or ”B” units, for a grand total of 1,096 units. The locomotives were all sold to customers in the United States. It was the first model in EMD's very successful F-unit series of cab unit freight diesels and was the locomotive that convinced many U.S. railroads that the diesel-electric freight locomotive was the future. Many rail historians consider the FT one of the most important locomotive models of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roanoke Shops</span> Railway workshops in Roanoke, Virginia

The Roanoke Shops is a railroad workshop and maintenance facility in Roanoke, Virginia. Between 1884 and 1953, the shops produced 447 steam locomotives, all for the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W). The Roanoke Shops built the N&W's famous Big Three class steam locomotives; the 4-8-4 class J, the 2-6-6-4 class A, and the 2-8-8-2 class Y6. In late 1953, the Shops built their final steam locomotive, making it last standard gauge steam locomotive built for revenue service in the United States. In 2020, N&W's successor, Norfolk Southern abandoned the Shops and Genesis Rail Services acquired the property in July 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2-6-6-6</span> Articulated locomotive wheel arrangement

The 2-6-6-6 is an articulated locomotive type with two leading wheels, two sets of six driving wheels and six trailing wheels. Only two classes of the 2-6-6-6 type were built. One was the "Allegheny" class, built by the Lima Locomotive Works. The name comes from the locomotive's first service with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway beginning in 1941, where it was used to haul loaded coal trains over the Allegheny Mountains. The other was the "Blue Ridge" class for the Virginian Railway. These were some of the most powerful reciprocating steam locomotives ever built, at 7,500 hp, and one of the heaviest at 386 tons for the locomotive itself plus 215 tons for the loaded tender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD SD45</span> Class of diesel-electric locomotives

The SD45 is a six-axle diesel-electric locomotive class built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1965 and 1971. It has an EMD 645E3 twenty-cylinder engine generating 3,600 hp (2,680 kW) on the same frame as the SD38, SD39, SD40, and SDP40. As of 2023, most SD45s have been retired, scrapped or rebuilt to SD40-2 standards.

<i>Powhatan Arrow</i>

The Powhatan Arrow was a named luxurious passenger train, operated by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) in the United States. It made its inaugural operation on April 28, 1946, and proclaimed as one of America's first new postwar streamliners, despite not having new equipment. The Powhatan Arrow had two trains; Nos. 25 and 26, which both ran 676 miles (1,088 km) daily at daylight on the N&W mainline between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio in opposite directions. It takes about 15 hours and 45 minutes for both trains to run per day. They were hauled behind N&W's streamlined 4-8-4 class J steam locomotives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk and Western J Class (1941)</span> Class of 14 American 4-8-4 locomotives

The Norfolk and Western J class was a class of 14 4-8-4 "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives built by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, between 1941 and 1950. The most powerful 4-8-4 locomotives ever produced, the J class were part of the N&W's "Big Three" that represented the pinnacle of steam technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Museum of Transportation</span>

TheNational Museum of Transportation (TNMOT) is a private, 42-acre transportation museum in the Kirkwood suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1944, it restores, preserves, and displays a wide variety of vehicles spanning 15 decades of American history: cars, boats, aircraft, and in particular, locomotives and railroad equipment from around the United States. The museum is also home to a research library of transportation-related memorabilia and documents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Museum of Transportation</span> Transport museum in Roanoke, Virginia

The Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) is a museum in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, that is devoted to the topic of transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk and Western 1218</span> Preserved N&W class A locomotive

Norfolk and Western 1218 is a preserved four-cylinder simple articulated 2-6-6-4 steam locomotive, built in June 1943 by the Norfolk and Western's (N&W) Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia as part of the N&W's class "A" fleet of fast freight locomotives. It was retired from regular revenue service in July 1959, and was later restored by Norfolk Southern for excursion service for their steam program, pulling excursions throughout the eastern United States from 1987 to 1991. It is currently on display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk and Western 611</span> Preserved American 4-8-4 steam locomotive based in Virginia

Norfolk and Western 611, also known as the "Spirit of Roanoke" and the "Queen of Steam", is the only surviving example of Norfolk and Western's (N&W) class J 4-8-4 type "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives. Built in May 1950 at N&W's Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, it was one of the last mainline passenger steam locomotives built in the United States and represents one of the pinnacles of American steam locomotive technology.

The 21st Century Steam program was conducted by the Norfolk Southern Railway from 2011 to 2015, featuring four classic steam locomotives pulling passenger excursions along Norfolk Southern rails in the eastern United States. The last train was to be Southern 4501's Piedmont Limited excursion trip from Atlanta, Georgia, to Toccoa, Georgia, but cancelled on October 1 due to Hurricane Joaquin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nickel Plate Road 763</span> Preserved NKP S-2 class 2-8-4 locomotive

Nickel Plate Road No. 763 is a class "S-2" 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive. It was built in August 1944 by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio, as the ninth engine of its class. It is a high powered fast freight locomotive that carried perishables between Chicago and Buffalo, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk and Western A class</span>

The Norfolk and Western A was a class of 43 2-6-6-4 simple articulated steam locomotives built by the railroad's own Roanoke Shops between 1936 and 1950 and operated until the late 1950s. The locomotives hauled fast and heavy freight trains for the railroad and only one has been preserved, No. 1218.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake and Ohio class H-8</span> Class of 60 American 2-6-6-6 locomotives

The Chesapeake and Ohio class H-8 was a class of 60 simple articulated 2-6-6-6 steam locomotives built by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio between 1941 and 1948, operating until the mid 1950s. The locomotives were among the most powerful steam locomotives ever built and hauled fast, heavy freight trains for the railroad. Only two units were preserved; Nos. 1601 and 1604.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk and Western 2050</span> Preserved N&W class Y3a 2-8-8-2 locomotive

Norfolk and Western 2050 is a class "Y3a" 2-8-8-2 Mallet steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) at their own Richmond Works for the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1923.

References

  1. ↑ Dixon, Parker & Huddleston (2009), p. 85
  2. ↑ Dixon, Parker & Huddleston (2009), p. 99
  3. ↑ Le Massena, Robert A. (November 1991). "N&W's secret weapons". Trains. pp. 64–69.
  4. ↑ "Second section". Trains. May 1992. pp. 64–70.
  5. ↑ Newton, Louis M. (May 1994). "Setting the Record Straight on the Steam vs. Diesel Tests". The Arrow. Vol. 10, no. 3. pp. 14–17.
  6. ↑ Stephenson, David R. (January 1998). "Steam vs. Diesel: Did N&W Cheat?". The Arrow. Vol. 14, no. 1. pp. 14–18.
  7. ↑ "Less is More... (more or less)". The Arrow. Vol. 16, no. 5. September 2000. pp. 10–12.
  8. ↑ "National Museum of Transportation". SteamLocomotive.com.
  9. ↑ Jackson, André (December 1988). "1522: Mountain Railroading". Railfan & Railroad. Vol. 7, no. 12. Carstens Publications. p. 53.
  10. ↑ Keefe, Kevin P. (March 1989). "Steam renaissance in the Midwest" . Trains. Vol. 49, no. 5. Kalmbach Publishing. p. 25. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Railroad News Photos" . Trains. Vol. 46, no. 2. Kalmbach Publishing. December 1985. p. 11. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  12. ↑ Norfolk Southern (May 28, 2014). "St. Louis Museum of Transportation and Virginia Museum of Transportation to trade historic locomotives" (Press release).
  13. ↑ Allen, Mike (May 16, 2015). "Norfolk & Western "Warhorse" back in Roanoke for steam engine reunion". The Roanoke Times.
  14. ↑ "Norfolk & Western's 'Big Three' to reunite May 31". Trains Magazine. May 19, 2015.
  15. ↑ Anderson, Chris (May 19, 2020). "N&W Y6a to return to St. Louis after five years in Virginia NEWSWIRE". Trains.com.

Further reading

See also

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