N&W J-Class -
Butane
Fired
Prototype Background
Some would argue that the Norfolk & Western Railway’s J-class represents the zenith
of steam passenger locomotive development in the United States. The class was
introduced towards the end of steam on U.S. railroads, but was designed and built
without compromise to do the job in style. Conceived and assembled at N&W’s East
End Shops in Roanoke, Virginia between 1941 and 1950, these elegant 4-8-4s only
ever numbered fourteen examples. The first five were streamlined from the outset, the
next six examples only being thus fitted later due to wartime economies, while the final
three once again emerging fully streamlined from the start. Unusually for a passenger
design, the class were only equipped with 70 inch driving wheels, which required
perfect balancing of the wheel sets and drive train and the adoption of light-weight
rods to allow 100mph running. However, the relatively small drivers and 300psi boiler
pressure gave a very high tractive effort, 80,000 pounds, making the J-class the most
powerful 4-8-4s built without requiring a booster.
The class quickly gained a reputation for hauling heavy trains at high speeds with
an enviable record of reliability, often accumulating 15,000 miles per month. Despite
this, the writing was on the wall for steam. Towards the end of the 1950s, N&W began
receiving more diesels with a view toward replacing their steam fleet. In 1959, J-class
#611 hauled a last special – the remainder of the class were scrapped. N&W #611,
however, was lucky, thanks partly to an accident in 1956 when the loco derailed at
speed near Cedar, Virginia. Due to its consequent good condition following a rebuild,
and partly to the efforts of the legendary railroad photographer O. Winston Link, #611
was given to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke in 1960.
After twenty years of inactivity, #611 was taken to Birmingham, Alabama for overhaul
at the Southern Railway’s Norris Yard workshops, emerging in 1982 to haul specials on
the newly created Norfolk Southern railroad until 1994. In 1995, after a serious accident
related to Norfolk Southern’s steam program, #611 was once again confined to the
museum at Roanoke.
In 2014, the Virginia Museum of Transportation’s “Fire Up 611” committee undertook
efforts to rebuild and prepare this fine locomotive for service again. The #611 was
moved to the North Carolina Transportation Museum’s complex at Spencer, North
Carolina, where the work was be performed. In 2015 and 2016, to the delight of many
thousands of fans and spectators, N&W #611 was active on several steam excursions
under full steam!
Working together with the N&W Historical Society and the Virginia Museum of
Transportation’s Fire Up 611, Accucraft’s 1:32 scale Norfolk & Western #611 represents
an exceptionally accurate example of this fine locomotive.
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