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...Exciting Products for the HO Scale Model Train Enthusiast |
The Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W) was organized in 1881 out of the failed Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad which had been a consolidation of earlier railroads attempting to build westward from Norfolk to Ohio. The Shenandoah Valley Railroad already under construction at that time was eventually purchased by the N&W in 1890. Another railway in the northcentral part of Virginia, the Chesapeake Western Railway, came under N&W control in 1954.
The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) gained control of the N&W in 1901. The railroad was required to divest its interest in the N&W as a condition of its merger with the New York Central Railroad in 1968 in the creation of Penn Central.
On June 1, 1982 the Norfolk & Western, along with the Southern Railway, became subsidiaries of Norfolk Southern Corporation, a newly formed holding company. Finally on September 1, 1998 Norfolk & Western's corporate existence ended as it was merged into Norfolk Southern Corporation.
The Norfolk & Western Railway built a fleet of fourteen (road numbers 600 through 613) 4-8-4s that were an excellent balance of strength and speed. They were built by the N&W's own forces in its shops in Roanoke, VA.
In 1941, the first five, (road numbers 600 through 604) were designated Class J and were of a streamlined design and had 70" drivers, 27 x 32 cylinders and a boiler pressure of 275 psi. They weighed 494,000 lbs and had a tractive effort of 73,000 pounds. The Class Js could achieve speeds that exceeded the steam locomotives rule of driver diameter plus 10 and could cruise at speeds well into the 90 mile an hour range.
In 1944, six more, (road numbers 605 through 611), this time designated Class J-1, were built without streamlining because of wartime shortages of materials. They were otherwise identical to the Class Js. After World War II, they were refitted with streamlining and with light weight rods. Number 610 was loaned to the PRR for testing and during tests was able to hold a steady speed of 110 miles per hour.
In 1950, after the big three steam locomotive builders had stopped building steam locomotives, the Norfolk & Western Railway built three more Class J-1s (road numbers 611 through 613). These last three were the last steam passenger locomotives built for an American railroad and were identical to the other eleven. By 1950, all of the Class Js and J-1s had their boiler pressure raised to 300 psi which increased the tractive effort to 80,000 pounds.
During the 1940s and 1950s on the Norfolk & Western, locomotives were kept in top shape in facilities that were modern, clean and well-equipped. The Js could be fully serviced in just about one hour. With this efficiency, this small group of locomotives could handle 80% of the N&W's passenger trains. They operated daily between Cincinnati and Norfolk, pulling such trains as "The Powhatan Arrow", "The Pocahontas" and "The Cavalier".
On Christmas Eve, 1957, O. Winston Link made the now famous recording of the Norfolk & Western #603 at Rural Retreat, VA. The recording features 'Silent Night' being played on a church chimes as the train passes.
There is one surviving Class J 4-8-4, #611, which is now at the Virginia Museum Of Transportation in Roanoke, VA.
Features include: DCC-ready operating headlight separately applied metal parts alligator cross heads Die cast boiler with see-through frame RP25 wheels E-Z Mateฎ Mark II couplers Complete interior cab detail with painted crew figures Opening cab windows Realistically detailed coal load.
The model is authentically recreated with standard painting: black boiler, red stripe on the running boards outlined in yellow, yellow road number and name. The tender has its matching side stripe running the entire length of the body shell.
Requires a 22" radius curve minimum.
Roadname: Norfolk & Western #603
Item Number: 82104; Internet Price: $182.00
Suggested Retail Price: $260.00 - You Save 30%
Built by Alco and Baldwin between 1918 and 1926, the USRA Heavy Mountain 4-8-2 steam locomotive was the faster, more powerful version of the USRA Light Mountain. Used for high speed passenger and freight service, the USRA Heavy Mountains larger boiler helped power the locomotive over rough mountain terrain. These locomotives have prototypically accurate detail parts that make each roadname unique.
Features include: DCC ready glowing firebox precision can motor hidden drive train metal motor bearings balanced flywheel separately applied domes, stack and cab die cast detail parts including, stanchions, bell, whistle, handrails, grab irons, cut levers, and flying pumps (accurate per prototype) metal piping and sanding lines flush cab window glazing lettered builders plate detailed cab interior painted crew figures all metal valve gear with blackened or polished siderods (per prototype) die cast driver spokes and counterweights RP25 metal wheels realistic load in tender E-Z Mateฎ Mark II couplers
Roadname: Norfolk & Western #120
Item Number: 82504; Internet Price: $135.00
Suggested Retail Price: $225.00 - You Save 40%
Silver Seriesฎ rolling stock features: blackened metal wheels body mounted couplers non-magnetic axles
Roadname: Norfolk & Western
Manufacturer: Bachmann
Item Number: 18642; Internet Price: 12.25
Suggested Retail Price: $17.50 - You Save 30%
Silver Seriesฎ rolling stock features: blackened metal wheels body mounted couplers non-magnetic axles
Roadname: Norfolk & Western
Manufacturer: Bachmann
Item Number: 17742; Internet Price: 12.25
Suggested Retail Price: $17.50 - You Save 30%
