| Norfolk and Western A class | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Norfolk & Western No. 1206 at the New York World's Fair on June 17, 1939 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
Upon delivery on the class starting in 1936, starting with 1200 and 1201, they were tested and proved successful. The railroad was satisfied with the class and bought eight more the following year. During testing, N&W officials were very impressed with their performance, as they were capable of pulling 4,800 tons at 25 mph on a 0.5% grade and 7,500 tons at 64 mph on level track. During World War II, the railroad built 25 more "A"s between 1943 and 1944 and finally eight more between 1949 and 1950. They were some of the last mainline steam locomotives to be put into service.
The locomotives had a cast-steel frame and Timken roller bearings on nearly every surface. The last five had McGill MultiRol roller bearings in the side and main rods, making them the only articulateds to take such friction-reducing measures. They were assigned to freight service and have pulled slower heavy freight trains as well as fast time freight. They were rated at 13,000 tons of drag freight between Williamson, West Virginia and Portsmouth, Ohio, and could reach speeds up to 42 mph pulling such a load. Between Portsmouth and Columbus, Ohio, they were rated at 5,200 tons of fast freight and could reach 65 mph. On passenger runs, they could reach 70 mph. Over the Kenova District, the railroad increased the "A"'s slow freight tonnage ratings from 13,000 to 14,500 tons. To reduce the amount of stops for water, they ran with auxiliary tenders with capacities of up to 20,800 gallons of water. This also increased gross ton-miles per train hour (GTM) 31% on the 112-mile Kenova District between Williamson and Portsmouth, Ohio.
In 1952, the N&W tested one of the "A"s and Y6b-class locomotives against a four-unit Electro-Motive Division (at that time, of General Motors) 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. As successful as the class was, diesels eventually replaced them. Retirement started in 1958 and by 1959, all of the "A"s had been retired. [2]
Only one "A" class has been preserved, No. 1218. It was retired in 1959 and on the same year, it was purchased by the Union Carbide Co. in Charleston, West Virginia, where it was used as a stationary boiler at a chemical plant. [3] In 1965, it was repurchased by New England millionaire F. Nelson Blount for his locomotive collection at Steamtown, U.S.A. in Bellows Falls, Vermont. [3] Three years later, its former owner Norfolk & Western did a cosmetic restoration on 1218 at their East End Shops in Roanoke, Virginia (the same place where it was built). [3] After that, it was put on display at the Roanoke Transportation Museum in 1971. [3] It was restored and operated in excursion service for the Norfolk Southern steam program between 1987 and 1991 and went for an overhaul. The program was then canceled in 1994 and the locomotive was eventually put back on display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia. It is the only surviving 2-6-6-4 steam locomotive in the world.
| Year built | Quantity | Serial nos. | N&W no. | Notes |
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| 1936 | 2 | 266–267 | 1200–1201 | Scrapped May 1958. |
| 1937 | 8 | 273–280 | 1202-1209 | Scrapped June 1958. |
| 1943 | 15 | 332–346 | 1210–1224 | No. 1218 preserved, ran excursions between 1987 and 1991, sole remaining 2-6-6-4. Remainder scrapped October 1958-December 1959. |
| 1944 | 10 | 353–362 | 1225–1234 | Scrapped July 1959. |
| 1949–1950 | 8 | 380–387 | 1235–1242 | Scrapped August to September 1959. Nos. 1238-1242 equipped with Timken Roller Bearing Rods. |
| Norfolk and Western 1240 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Norfolk and Western no. 1240 at Norfolk, Virginia c. 1956 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| References: [5] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Norfolk and Western 1240 was a four-cylinder simple articulated 2-6-6-4 steam locomotive, built in May 1950 by the Norfolk and Western's (N&W) East End Shops in Roanoke, Virginia as part of the N&W's class "A" fleet of fast freight locomotives.
Norfolk and Western 1240 was manufactured in May 1950 by the Norfolk and Western Railway at their own Roanoke Shops. 1240 was the third member of the final batch of five class A 2-6-6-4 locomotives built with roller bearing side rods. [6]
No. 1240 was retired from active service on the Norfolk and Western Railway when they began replacing steam locomotives with diesel locomotives.
No. 1240 would be fired up again on July 11, 1959 and used on the N&W's Farewell to Steam excursion train along with class Y6b No. 2174. [7] No. 1240 pulled the excursion from Roanoke, Virginia to Bluefield, West Virginia, where the train was transferred to No. 2174. The 2174 pulled it through the N&W's Pocahontas Division to Iaeger, and then it travelled over the Dry Fork Branch to Cedar Bluff. No. 2174 returned the excursion to Bluefield, and then No. 1240 returned the train to Roanoke. [8]
When the Farewell to Steam excursion had ended that same year in 1959, No. 1240 was sold for scrap.
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.
In the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotive wheel arrangement, a 2-6-6-4 is a locomotive with a two-wheel leading truck, two sets of six driving wheels, and a four-wheel trailing truck. All 2-6-6-4s are simple articulated locomotives.
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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 leased the property in July 2023.
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.
The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad (WMSR) is a heritage railroad based in Cumberland, Maryland, that operates passenger excursion trains and occasional freight trains using both steam and diesel locomotives over ex-Western Maryland Railway (WM) tracks between Cumberland and Frostburg. The railroad offers coach and first class service, murder mystery excursions, and special seasonal trips.
Southern Railway 4501 is a preserved Ms class 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotive. Built in October 1911 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, No. 4501 was the first of its wheel arrangement type for the Southern Railway (SOU). In July 1948, the locomotive was retired from the railway in favor of dieselization and was subsequently sold to the shortline Kentucky and Tennessee Railway (K&T) in Stearns, Kentucky, to haul coal trains.
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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.
The Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) is a museum in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, that is devoted to the topic of transportation.
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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.
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