I guess the N&W subscribed to the old adage…
“It’s your Railroad, Run what you want”.
Pay no attention to the caption. That’s a Y and a K2.
the PRR used several K4 and G5 engines for freights when needed. The Delmarva penisula for perishables and the Pittsburgh area for commuter engines come to mind.
The superintendent of motive power had to assign the power he had available, not the power he would prefer to have available.
At least he didn’t have the modelers’ problem of how to get two wildly variant locomotives to operate as a smooth-running doubleheader.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
The Class K2 was basically a USRA heavy mountain and thus a powerful dual service engine. Pulling freight was normal for such an engine on many railroads – it is the streamline shrouding that comes as a surprise in that wonderful photo.
Dave Nelson
How can you tell from that image. Is the original much bigger and clearer?
Zepher,
If you click on the image, it will enlarge. You, or at least I can clearly see the big Y pipe going to the cylinders of the Y6b and the cover over the BL feedwater heater on the streamlined K2.
Even without enlarging, the low-pressure humongucylinders and SA feedwater heater identify the Y6b, and the K2’s low-hanging ‘sidearm’ (BL feedwater heater cover) is equally obvious. Apparently the caption writer was not very familiar with the appearances of N&W locos.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)