I know that the Class J was the premiere passenger engine for N&W, but were there ever any instances of it pulling a fast freight in the last days of steam?
It may have done that job. Remember most steam were bumped by the desiels to lessor jobs until they were retired. I dont have in front me anything specifically stating that a passenger J pulled onery coal cars or whatever… but images of Hagerstown Maryland are full of J’s next to other power in the roundhouse being serviced.
If the NW used it to run freight, it will probably dispatch the engine on routes that are flat and away from the Y6b country.
After leased RF&P passenger diesels bumped the Js off N&W’s passenger trains, some of them had ‘dog houses’ (head-end brakeman’s shelters) welded to their tender decks. It’s a safe bet that those locos were used to move priority freight.
Unfortunately, I do not know which road numbers were involved. The N&W historical societies might.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964
knewsom,
There are quite a few pictures showing the J’s in freight service. The pics are scattered around in different books, so you’ll find one or two here and there. Quite a few of the pics show the J’s in local freight service and I’ve seen one handling some coal.
Sometimes the diesels couldn’t handle the pressure (pun intended) and the J’s were called upon to do the job. So, there are also a few pics around of the J’s in passenger service with the “doghouse”.
A very nice book that has newly been released is “Norfolk & Western Steam in Color” by Bill McClure.
Thanks everyone for the input. I just got a Class J and a N&W caboose for my n-scale layout and I wanted to use it to pull freight instead of passenger cars. I just wanted to check to see if it was done in real life. None of the N&W books that I have show them in freight service, but I thought that they must have at some point.
In the May/June 2006 issue of N&W Historical Society’s magazine, The Arrow, there’s a first person story of 607 in freight service, early 1958, written by Louis Newton. A train of 12,297 tons was moved from Williamson Portsmouth, 111 miles in 3 hrs 48 min. Much of the run was above 35 mph, and a maximum speed of 41 mph. Time Freight 85 (4,818 tons) was handled at an average speed of 37.6 mph between the same points. Maximum speed was 48 mph.
During the last few months of R. H. Smith’s presidency, the N&W was dead-serious about using the J’s in freight service. Everything changed on April 1, 1958.
The J’s were built strictly for passenger service and were used as such. During the latter steam period after 1958 when they were replaced by RF&P and ACL E-units they were used for local freight trains. I have not seen any info or photos showing them being used on mainline freight. The N&W was rather standardized with the freight operations based on a specific length of train using the class A’s and Y’s. The J’s would have messed up the pattern so I doubt if they were used that way.
As to the N&W-PRR Shomo Yard operation in Hagerstown, MD and the Shenandoah Division from Hagerstown to Roanoke I believe you’re mistaken. The J’s were generally not operated on that Division. It was the domain of the sister K-2 streamlined engines, K-1, Y, Z and M classes. The mixed trains on this line normally used the streamlined K-2’s as well. There were basically just enough J’s to handle the mainline passenger trains and have a couple down for maintenance at any given time.
The same goes for the line to Winston-Salem, NC. It was streamlined K-2’s on the trains.
My 2¢
Roger
I seem to remember someone in reviewing the Bachmann Spectrum “freight version” of the J (with auxillary tender and doghouse on the tender) saying that at the end of it’s career the J’s did some work on freight trains, but can’t remember if it was in Model Railroad News or MR or RMC…or ?? I’d like to think Bachmann’s “freight version” isn’t just a flight of fancy.
The article in The Arrow indicates the J’s were tried in freight service over a two to three-month period and they were pretty good at it. The consists were real and so were the performance figures. The first runs were Jan 6-7 1958. Several trips were made in February with 606 in time freight service. Another trip was made with 607 Feb 28. Entries in the 1958employee timetables indicate that J’s were rated between Williamson and Portsmouth with coal trains and time freights, both east and westbound. They were also listed in the timetables for Roanoke to Crewe and Roanoke to Petersburg. The program did not get off the ground because it was ended by R. H. Smith’s successor. The Arrow article is a real eye-opener; read it if you can get a copy.
Roger,
I can’t remember exactly what video it was on (maybe Feltonhill knows - a Pocahontas Glory volume maybe), but, one showed a J bringing coal into Norfolk. Even though it may have been used on a “Local”, it is still on the mainline and there are too many photos to support the fact that the J’s were used in freight service.
Many railroads would place a newly overhauled steam locomotive on a local freight so that it would be close to the shops in case a major problem was found. I do not know for sure that N&W did this but many lines did and you could see anything from Atlantics to Articulateds on a local.
Probably the only railroad that didn’t break in freshly shopped locomotives on local freights was L&N, which used a slip track behind South Louisville Shops for this purpose. The track was well-oiled to minimize adhesion so a newly shopped locomotive could open the throttle wide and not go anywhere.
There’s a J on a coal train to Lamberts Point on Herron’s Pocahontas Glory Vol. 4.