Norfolk and Western Class J (1941)

Common card · No. 450801

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 in the U.S. and among the most powerful in the world, the J class were part of the N&W's "Big Three" (along with the class A and Y6 freight locomotives) that represented the pinnacle of U.S. steam technology. They were built to pull N&W's named passenger trains on the N&W main line between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio; they also ferried the Southern Railway's passenger trains between Monroe and Bristol, Virginia, until these trains were taken over by diesel locomotives in the summer of 1958. The class J locomotives were subsequently reassigned to haul local freight trains; all but one were retired and scrapped by the end of October 1959. The lone exception was No. 611, which was donated to the Virginia Museum of Transportation...

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