For Strel: Did You Know

[Daumantas]

(related to our earlier Amtrak discussion)...did you know that two of the locomotives used by Norfolk Southern on its late, lamented steam-powered fan trips were former mainline locomotives of the Norfolk & Western Railway, the last railroad to build steam locomotives for its own use in its own on-line shops? The N&W completed its last steam locomotives at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Va., in 1944.

 

[Strelnikov]

Never knew the provenance of those particular locos, but I've seen them. The last one they used was a 2-8-2 heavy freight type (Mallet type? Don't have my references handy) which to a purist looked odd pulling passenger coaches. BTW loco and coaches were done up in N&W's old maroon and gold livery, though the lettering said "Norfolk Southern."

I'm old enough to remember steam locos in regular service. We vacationed every year at a family resort on a lake north of Toronto. CN still used steamers on the line that ran nearby. My grandfather used to walk around the lake with my brother and me after breakfast. We would stand on the platform of the old depot, closed years before, to watch the train go by. I've never forgotten the sound of the whistle, and the way the loco would stamp and pound and spatter us with droplets of condensate.

Did you know: That bridge design manuals include standard load diagrams that are similar to real world situations. The diagram for R-80 Loading, which is still current, shows the weight distribution of a 2-8-2 steam loco.

Strelnikov