Norfolk & Western Railway

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Norfolk & Western Railway – N&W

The Norfolk & Western Railway’s motto of ‘precision transportation’ was consistent throughout the railroad’s history, always delivering exemplary service and financial results. The N&W was primarily known for carrying coal from the Appalachian Mountains to their port at Norfolk VA. However, it also prospered with manifest freight, and provided an excellent passenger train service.

‘Precision Transportation’ was also exemplified by the N&W designing and building many of its own steam locomotives in its Roanoke VA shops.

Norfolk & Western Railway

Photo: N&W’s Pocahantas Passenger Train in Cincinnati, by Roger Puta

Norfolk & Western - N&W's Pocahantas Passenger Train, Cincinnati OH, 1970 - Photo by Roger Puta

Ohio River to the Atlantic Ocean

The Norfolk and Western was the 3rd railroad to span the central Appalachian Mountains, reaching the Ohio River in 1892, about 4 years after the Chesapeake & Ohio. Both railroads followed the Ohio River to Cincinnati OH.

The N&W also built a line north to Columbus OH. Cincinnati and Columbus remained the N&W’s two western terminuses for many years.

Because of the N&W’s strong and consistent financial performance, it was able to purchase and merge with several other key railroads between 1959 and 1964, including the Virginian, Nickel Plate, and the Wabash.

Norfolk & Western Railway Stats

  • Reporting Mark: N&W
  • Operated: 1870-1982
  • Mainline Length: 7,595 miles
  • Mainline: Norfolk VA to Cincinnati OH, Toledo to St. Louis MO, Buffalo NY to St. Louis MO, Detroit MI to Kansas City MO, Wheeling WV to Chicago IL, Toledo OH to Chicago IL, Omaha NE to St. Louis MO
  • Primary Cities: Norfolk VA, Roanoke VA, Cincinnati OH, Columbus OH, Detroit MI, Chicago IL, St. Louis MO, Kansas City MO, Omaha NE, Buffalo NY,
  • Headquarters: Roanoke VA
  • Passenger Trains: Powhatan Arrow, Pocahontas, Cavalier
  • N&W Today: Part of Norfolk Southern

Mercedes of Steam, N&W #1218 by Ron Flanary

Norfolk & Western #1218 - Photo by Ron Flanary

“The Mercedes of Steam”

That was how N&W steam historian Ed King described the Norfolk & Western Class A simple articulated 2-6-6-4s in his excellent book with that title. Remarkably, one of these splendid locomotives (of 43, the last of which was constructed in 1950) survived the scrap yard. Retired from service in 1959, No. 1218 and two other As were sold to Union Carbide in Charleston, West Virginia for use as stationary boilers. F Nelson Blount, the millionaire who launched the original Steam Town in Bellows Falls, Vermont, purchased the 1218 in 1965 and moved it to New England. She was the best of the trio, but the other two were scrapped. When Blount was killed in a plane crash, the N&W re-acquired the big engine and brought it “home” to Roanoke in 1971, where it was displayed for years at Wasena Park, joining Class J 4-8-4 No. 611 there.

NS president and CEO Robert Claytor had dreamed of restoring both the 611 and 1218 to active service. For the 611, that happened in 1982, while it would be another three years before two NS units pulled the 1218 from the park over temporary track. From there it underwent a very extensive rebuild in the company’s contract steam shop in Irondale (Birmingham), Alabama. At last, she was back in service by March 1987.

This was 1218’s first public excursion–a very rainy April 25, 1987. High water and downed trees almost ended the trip westbound near Narrows, Virginia, but the way was cleared and the run continued.

At Ada, West Virginia–on the last pull into the yard at Bluefield–1218 was putting on a show. The sound was just as incredible as the sight in my Nikon FM2 viewfinder when I squeezed the shutter release. The weather was so bad I was shooting Kodachrome 200–faster than my usual K64, but quite grainy. It was necessary to get a little faster shutter speed that day.

Alas, it didn’t last nearly long enough. The 1218 was withdrawn from service for major boiler and firebox work at the end of the 1991 NS steam excursion season. When the company pulled the plug on the entire program in 1994, the engine was literally in parts inside the shop in Irondale. The projected return to service year had been 1996, but it became a moot point.

Eventually the big engine was put back together, at least on the outside, and returned to Roanoke. She’s under the big shed at the Virginia Museum of Transportation now. It’s certainly not impossible that 1218 could have a fire on her grates and 300 psi of boiler pressure again, but that’s a long shot at best.

The sound of the “Mercedes” hammering toward the road crossing at Ada, with the “hooter” whistle screaming out two longs, a short, and a long, are among the best experiences of my life. It was still raining, but I was oblivious to being soaked. At such a moment, personal comfort isn’t a concern.

Lambert’s Point Coal Exporting Facility at Norfolk VA

Lambert’s Point was opened in 1886 and grew exponentially over the decades. Pier 6 is the fastest and largest coal loading facility in the Northern Hemisphere.

Photo by F. J. Conway

Norfolk & Western Railway Lambert's Point

N&W Map 1964 – Merger of N&W, NKP, and Wabash

Map courtesy of Railsandtrails.com

N&W Railway Map 1964

N&W Map 1965

N&W Railway Map 1965

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