Norfolk and Western J Class (1941)

A drawing design of the N&W class J locomotive

In the late 1930s, the Norfolk and Western Railway's (N&W) K2 and K2a 4-8-2 "Mountains" could not handle the rising passenger traffic after the Great Depression abated, so the N&W sought a more powerful and fancy-looking passenger steam locomotive.[3][4] The N&W mechanical department team originally considered a class N 4-8-4 type, but deemed its 63 in (1,600 mm) driving wheels inadequate for the N&W's railway grades.[3][5] N&W mechanical engineer H.W. Reynolds redesigned the drivers' diameter to a 70 in (1,778 mm) design that could be counterbalanced against wheel slippage.[3][6] In 1940, N&W passenger car supervisor Franklin C. Noel originally drew a design, which was based on the Southern Pacific GS class, but the N&W officials rejected it as "too plain".[7][8] Noel reproposed the design with an almost similar specification to the streamlined New York Central Hudson, but was rejected again for being "too fancy".[7][8] On the third and final concept, Noel developed the class J bullet-nosed design to give the locomotive smoothness and beauty along with speed, power, and dependability.[3][7] His wife Louise suggested painting the locomotive black with a Tuscan red stripe wrapped with golden yellow linings and letterings.[3][9] The N&W officials were satisfied with the final design and considered it to be the most beautiful streamlined steam locomotive ever.[7]

In the summer of 1941, the first of the J class, No. 600 was constructed at the N&W's Roanoke (East End) Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, and completed on October 20.[10] It sported a streamlined pilot with a retractable coupler that could horizontally swing out, a bullet-shaped nose with an enclosed headlight mounted into the nose, and a skyline casing that encased the smokestack, sand dome, steam dome, bell, whistle, and safety valves on top of the boiler.[9] Among the running boards, there was a broad skirting mounted from the cab and firebox sides forward over the cylinders, then narrowing as turned into the pilot.[9] The class J tender is a 22D-type, which holds 26 short tons (52,000 lb) of coal and 22,000 US gallons (83,000 L) of water.[11] No. 600 was equipped with Timken roller bearings and lightweight reciprocating parts on it axles, rods, pistons, crossheads, valve gear, and wrist pins, which provided the locomotive a smooth run and quicker acceleration.[9]

The Roanoke Shops built four more locomotives; No. 601 on November 17; No. 602 on December 8; No. 603 on December 24; and No. 604 on January 27, 1942.[12][13] No. 602 was equipped with a trailing truck booster, which increased starting tractive effort from 73,300 lbf (326.05 kN) up to 85,800 lbf (381.66 kN).[13] In December 1945, No. 602's booster was removed for easier maintenance; that same summer, the class had its boiler pressure raised from the original 275 psi (1.90 MPa) to 300 psi (2.07 MPa).[14] The result was an increase in the starting tractive effort of the main engine to 80,000 lbf (355.86 kN) (rendering the booster on No. 602 superfluous), and an increase in maximum drawbar horsepower from 4,700 hp (3,500 kW) to 5,100 hp (3,800 kW) at 41 mph (66 km/h).

The driving wheels were small for a locomotive that was able to pull trains at more than 100 mph (160 km/h).[1] To overcome the limitation, the wheelbase was made extremely rigid, lightweight rods were used, and the counterbalancing was precise – so precise that it could theoretically allow the locomotives to reach speeds up to 140 mph (230 km/h) without the rail damage that could have occurred with conventional designs.[1] One drawback of this highly engineered powertrain was sensitivity to substandard track.[1]

A close-up of No. 611's running gear in 2023.[lower-alpha 1]

While on loan in 1945, No. 610 hauled a 1,015-ton passenger train with 11 to 15 cars at speeds of more than 110 mph (180 km/h) over a section of flat, straight track known as the "racetrack" in the Pennsylvania Railroad's Fort Wayne Division.[16]

The class J locomotives were built with automatic lubricators at 220 points, allowing them to operate up to 1,300 miles (2,100 km) between refills.[1] Despite their comparatively small driving wheels, they rode very smoothly at all speeds: the Pennsylvania Railroad's inspector stated that it rode better than any of their own steam locomotives except for the 6-4-4-6 class S1. They also steam very well due to the large grate.[16]

The first five locomotives (Nos. 600–604) were outshopped between October 1941 and January 1942, costing the railroad $167,000 apiece.[3] The second batch of six locomotives (Nos. 605–610) was delivered in 1943 at a cost of $168,550 each without streamlined casings and lightweight side rods, due to the limitations on the use of certain materials during the war; classifying them as the J1s.[17][18] In 1944, the N&W were allowed to reclassified the J1s as Js with the lightweight rods and streamlined shrouding added. The last batch of three locomotives (Nos. 611–613), rolled out in summer 1950, were marked as the last steam passenger locomotives built in the United States.[19] In the mid-1950s, N&W engineers replaced the duplex (two) coupling rods between the main (second) and third drivers (tandem rods) on Nos. 600, 604, 607, and 611 with a single coupling rod.[20] Additionally, all of the J class locomotives' streamlined front end, underneath the bullet nose, was given access holes to give ventilation for the cross-compound air pumps from behind.[21]

The class J locomotives pulled the N&W's prominent passenger trains, such as the Powhatan Arrow, the Pocahontas, and the Cavalier between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as ferrying Southern Railway's (SOU) the Birmingham Special, the Pelican, and the Tennessean between Lynchburg and Bristol, Virginia.[1][25] Because of their power and speed, the class Js were among the most reliable and efficient engines, running as many as 15,000 miles (24,000 km) per month, even on the mountainous and relatively short route of the N&W.[1] They even haul additional mail trains and local passenger trains.[25][26] Additionally, while pulling N&W's mainline passenger trains each month, the class J locomotives would take in turns to swap each other out in Roanoke and go to the Shaffers Crossing engine terminal for maintenance service and a washdown.[27][28]

During 1941, No. 600 was put on public exhibit display at Bristol, Virginia on October 25; Winston-Salem, North Carolina on October 27; Lynchburg, Virginia on October 28, and Durham, North Carolina on October 29.[29][30] Afterwards, No. 600 began its first revenue run in early November, pulling the Tennessean and Birmingham Special passenger trains as well as the Cavalier and Pocahontas trains.[31][32] No. 603 entered service on December 26, 1941, where it was trialed to pull local passenger trains between Roanoke and Bristol, before being assigned to haul the Pocahontas and Cavalier express passenger trains.[13]

In the summer of 1958, N&W's new president Stuart T. Saunders began to dieselize the railroad by ordering 268 GP9 locomotives from the Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) company.[33] However, Saunders did not received the passenger GP9s and instead leased an E6A and four E7 units from the Atlantic Coast Line along with four E8 units Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad to replace the class J steam locomotives in passenger service.[33][34] The class Js were reassigned to local freight service on the Norfolk Division, running between Norfolk and Crewe, Virginia.[35] Additionally, prior to that, their tender's rear deck was outfitted with a cupola to accommodate the head-end brakeman during early 1958.[36][37] When the ACL E units returned to their railroad to handle heavy winter traffic in Florida, some of the class J locomotives briefly returned to passenger service until being replaced by N&W's new passenger GP9s, which arrived in late 1958.[33] Some of them continued to haul freight trains until their five-year boiler flue ticket certificate expired.[35][36]

• On June 12, 1946, No. 604 hauled the eastbound Powhatan Arrow after departing Cincinnati, Ohio, at 8:10 a.m. for Norfolk.[39] At 3:18 p.m., the locomotive derailed four miles west of Powhatan, West Virginia, due to excessive speed at 56 mph, killing the engineer and fireman.[39] These injuries included 23 passengers, three dining car employees, and one train service employee.[39]
• On February 20, 1948, No. 607 derailed near Franklin Furnace, Ohio, while hauling the Powhatan Arrow, killing its fireman.[39] The cause of the accident was failure to obey an automatic block-signal and entering a turnout at an excessive speed of 77 mph.[39]
• On October 30, 1953, in Wallace, Virginia, just northeast of Bristol, No. 613 rear-ended a local timed freight while drawing the southbound Tennessean, injuring 56 people. The accident was blamed on the fast passenger train for failing to heed warning signals. The loco was repaired and remained in service until 1959.[40][41]
• On January 23, 1956, No. 611 derailed along the Tug River near Cedar, Mingo County, West Virginia, while pulling the Pocahontas.[1] The engineer ran the engine at an excessive speed around a curve and its high center of gravity caused it to flip on its side.[1] The loco was repaired and continued revenue passenger service.[1]
• On May 18, 1986, No. 611 was at the head of a Norfolk Southern employee appreciation train from Norfolk with Robert Claytor at the throttle. One of the passenger cars failed to negotiate a switch on the main line through the Great Dismal Swamp, causing it and 12 other cars of the 23-car train to derail. 177 of nearly 1,000 employees and their family members were injured; some of the more seriously injured had to be airlifted to hospitals in nearby Norfolk for treatment.[42]