Norfolk & Western 1218
Encyclopedia
Norfolk & Western 1218 is a steam locomotive
that at one time was the strongest-pulling operational steam locomotive in the world. It is a four-cylinder simple articulated locomotive with a 2-6-6-4
(Whyte system
) wheel arrangement. The Norfolk & Western Railway built it in 1943 at its Roanoke Shops
in Roanoke, Virginia
, and it was part of the Norfolk & Western's "A class". It was retired from regular rail service in 1959, but Norfolk & Western successor Norfolk Southern Railway
operated it in excursion service from 1987 to 1992. Today it is on display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation
in Roanoke.
During 1218's excursion career, it was the most powerful operational steam locomotive in the world, with a tractive effort
of 114000 pound-forces (507.1 kN), well above the next-strongest-pulling operational steam locomotive (Union Pacific 3985
, with a tractive effort of 97350 lbf (433 kN)). Despite its high tractive effort for starting heavy trains, it could easily run 70 miles per hour (113 km/h) and more.
Famed railroad photographer O. Winston Link
's most famous photograph, "Hotshot Eastbound", was of one of 1218's sister engines at speed, passing a drive in theater in Ieager, WV in August 1956.
After Norfolk & Western retired 1218 in 1959, Union Carbide
bought it to use as a backup boiler in an industrial plant. In 1965 steam preservationist F. Nelson Blount
bought 1218 for his Steamtown
collection, which today the National Park Service
operates. According to Steam Over Scranton: The Locomotives of Steamtown by Gordon Chappell, "Eventually, the transportation museum at Roanoke, Virginia, had obtained 1218 on loan from the Steamtown Foundation in Vermont for temporary exhibit. Over a period of years that museum came to regard the locomotive as its property, not a loan, and the Norfolk and Western (Norfolk Southern) eventually got into the matter when it desired to overhaul the locomotive for operation for publicity purposes, railfan excursions, and other special events. While the Steamtown Foundation apparently had a clear title to the locomotive and the Roanoke museum did not, the N&W put further pressure on the Steamtown group by indicating it would never allow the locomotive to move over its rails out of Roanoke, effectively the only way Steamtown could get it back. Since Steamtown had no answer to this stand, and was by then in the process of moving to Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Steamtown Board decided to accept two diesel- electric locomotives from the Norfolk and Western, which by then had come under the corporate umbrella of the Norfolk Southern, in exchange for giving the Norfolk Southern clear title to No. 1218."
Norfolk Southern offered two diesel locomotives - Nickel Plate GP-9, No. 514, and former Wabash SW-8, No. 132 - in exchange for No. 1218.
Chappell continues, "In 1982, Norfolk & Western merged with Southern Railway to become today's Norfolk Southern Railway
, and Norfolk & Western president Robert B. Claytor
became the first president of Norfolk Southern. Bob Claytor's brother W. Graham Claytor, Jr. had started a steam excursion program at Southern Railway when he had been an executive, and then its president, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Both Claytor brothers were great rail preservationists and champions of maintaining some historic steam operations. Bob Claytor had Norfolk Southern restore 1218 for its steam program. On May 10, 1985, Norfolk Southern pulled 1218 from its park display for restoration, on January 16, 1987 it was fired up, and on March 26, 1987, 1218 ran a break-in run from the steam shops at Irondale, Alabama
to Wilton, Alabama
. It entered excursion service and pulled many excursion trains until the end of the 1991 season, when it went for an overhaul. This overhaul was in progress when Norfolk Southern canceled its steam program in late 1994."
, where they are the star attractions in the museum's Claytor Pavilion. It has been cosmetically restored, though not operational, since the overhaul started in 1992 was never completed. Although the undertaking would be considerable, she is very capable of being returned to operation, with the uncompleted boiler and firebox repairs being the primary scope of work remaining from her aborted overhaul. No. 1218 does get out a bit, on rare occasions. In 2007, Norfolk Southern pulled it (cold), with 611, to its Roanoke Shops
for the shops' 125th anniversary celebration.
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
that at one time was the strongest-pulling operational steam locomotive in the world. It is a four-cylinder simple articulated locomotive with a 2-6-6-4
2-6-6-4
In the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotive wheel arrangement, a 2-6-6-4 is a locomotive with a two-wheel leading truck, two sets of six driving wheels, and a four-wheel trailing truck...
(Whyte system
Whyte notation
The Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte and came into use in the early twentieth century encouraged by an editorial in American Engineer and Railroad Journal...
) wheel arrangement. The Norfolk & Western Railway built it in 1943 at its Roanoke Shops
Roanoke Shops
thumb|250px|[[Norfolk Southern]] Roanoke Shops in 2004.The Roanoke Shops of the Norfolk and Western Railway in Roanoke, Virginia were founded in 1881 as the Roanoke Machine Works. It came under the control of the railroad in 1883. Locomotive production started in 1884 and 152 locomotives were...
in Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
, and it was part of the Norfolk & Western's "A class". It was retired from regular rail service in 1959, but Norfolk & Western successor Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
operated it in excursion service from 1987 to 1992. Today it is on display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation
Virginia Museum of Transportation
The Virginia Museum of Transportation is a museum devoted to the topic of transportation located in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.A..- History :...
in Roanoke.
Historic significance
Norfolk & Western 1218 is the sole survivor of the railroad's A class, and indeed the only surviving 2-6-6-4 steam locomotive in the world. While smaller than Union Pacific's famous and more numerous Challenger Class of 4-6-6-4 locomotives, Norfolk and Western's design racked up unmatched records of performance in service.During 1218's excursion career, it was the most powerful operational steam locomotive in the world, with a tractive effort
Tractive effort
As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force is the pulling or pushing force exerted by a vehicle on another vehicle or object. The term tractive effort is synonymous with tractive force, and is often used in railway engineering to describe the pulling or pushing capability of a...
of 114000 pound-forces (507.1 kN), well above the next-strongest-pulling operational steam locomotive (Union Pacific 3985
Union Pacific 3985
Union Pacific 3985 or UP 3985 is a four-cylinder simple articulated 4-6-6-4 Challenger-type steam locomotive owned by Union Pacific Railroad. The UP 3985 locomotive was built in 1943 by the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, New York...
, with a tractive effort of 97350 lbf (433 kN)). Despite its high tractive effort for starting heavy trains, it could easily run 70 miles per hour (113 km/h) and more.
Famed railroad photographer O. Winston Link
O. Winston Link
Ogle Winston Link , known commonly as O. Winston Link, was an American photographer. He is best known for his black-and-white photography and sound recordings of the last days of steam locomotive railroading on the Norfolk & Western in the United States in the late 1950s...
's most famous photograph, "Hotshot Eastbound", was of one of 1218's sister engines at speed, passing a drive in theater in Ieager, WV in August 1956.
Operational history
Norfolk & Western used 1218 and the other A-class locomotives primarily for fast freight trains, but they also pulled heavy coal trains on the flatter districts of the Norfolk & Western system, and reportedly even pulled heavy passenger trains at times.After Norfolk & Western retired 1218 in 1959, Union Carbide
Union Carbide
Union Carbide Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. It currently employs more than 2,400 people. Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some are high-volume...
bought it to use as a backup boiler in an industrial plant. In 1965 steam preservationist F. Nelson Blount
F. Nelson Blount
F. Nelson Blount was president and founder of Blount Seafood Corporation, and as a millionaire collector of vintage steam locomotives and rail cars, he founded Steamtown, USA, which was operated by the non-profit corporation, the Steamtown Foundation. Steamtown was a steam train museum that ran...
bought 1218 for his Steamtown
Steamtown, USA
Steamtown, USA was a steam locomotive museum that ran steam excursions out of North Walpole, New Hampshire, and Bellows Falls, Vermont, from the 1960s to 1983. Founded by millionaire seafood industrialist F. Nelson Blount, Steamtown was operated primarily by the non-profit Steamtown Foundation...
collection, which today the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
operates. According to Steam Over Scranton: The Locomotives of Steamtown by Gordon Chappell, "Eventually, the transportation museum at Roanoke, Virginia, had obtained 1218 on loan from the Steamtown Foundation in Vermont for temporary exhibit. Over a period of years that museum came to regard the locomotive as its property, not a loan, and the Norfolk and Western (Norfolk Southern) eventually got into the matter when it desired to overhaul the locomotive for operation for publicity purposes, railfan excursions, and other special events. While the Steamtown Foundation apparently had a clear title to the locomotive and the Roanoke museum did not, the N&W put further pressure on the Steamtown group by indicating it would never allow the locomotive to move over its rails out of Roanoke, effectively the only way Steamtown could get it back. Since Steamtown had no answer to this stand, and was by then in the process of moving to Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Steamtown Board decided to accept two diesel- electric locomotives from the Norfolk and Western, which by then had come under the corporate umbrella of the Norfolk Southern, in exchange for giving the Norfolk Southern clear title to No. 1218."
Norfolk Southern offered two diesel locomotives - Nickel Plate GP-9, No. 514, and former Wabash SW-8, No. 132 - in exchange for No. 1218.
Chappell continues, "In 1982, Norfolk & Western merged with Southern Railway to become today's Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
, and Norfolk & Western president Robert B. Claytor
Robert B. Claytor
Robert Buckner Claytor was an American railroad administrator. He became President of the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1981 and was instrumental in the merger of the Southern Railway and the Norfolk & Western in 1982...
became the first president of Norfolk Southern. Bob Claytor's brother W. Graham Claytor, Jr. had started a steam excursion program at Southern Railway when he had been an executive, and then its president, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Both Claytor brothers were great rail preservationists and champions of maintaining some historic steam operations. Bob Claytor had Norfolk Southern restore 1218 for its steam program. On May 10, 1985, Norfolk Southern pulled 1218 from its park display for restoration, on January 16, 1987 it was fired up, and on March 26, 1987, 1218 ran a break-in run from the steam shops at Irondale, Alabama
Irondale, Alabama
Irondale is a city adjacent to Birmingham, Alabama, United States northeast from Homewood and Mountain Brook. At the 2010 census the population was 12,349. The book Fried Green Tomatoes, by Irondale native Fannie Flagg, is loosely based around the town and the landmark Irondale Cafe, known as The...
to Wilton, Alabama
Wilton, Alabama
Wilton is a town in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. This town is part of the Birmingham–Hoover–Cullman Combined Statistical Area. At the 2000 census the population was 580.-Geography:Wilton is located at .According to the U.S...
. It entered excursion service and pulled many excursion trains until the end of the 1991 season, when it went for an overhaul. This overhaul was in progress when Norfolk Southern canceled its steam program in late 1994."
Current status
Today 1218 is owned by the O. Winston Link Museum in Roanoke, Virginia, and is displayed alongside former stable-mate Norfolk & Western 611 at the Virginia Museum of TransportationVirginia Museum of Transportation
The Virginia Museum of Transportation is a museum devoted to the topic of transportation located in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.A..- History :...
, where they are the star attractions in the museum's Claytor Pavilion. It has been cosmetically restored, though not operational, since the overhaul started in 1992 was never completed. Although the undertaking would be considerable, she is very capable of being returned to operation, with the uncompleted boiler and firebox repairs being the primary scope of work remaining from her aborted overhaul. No. 1218 does get out a bit, on rare occasions. In 2007, Norfolk Southern pulled it (cold), with 611, to its Roanoke Shops
Roanoke Shops
thumb|250px|[[Norfolk Southern]] Roanoke Shops in 2004.The Roanoke Shops of the Norfolk and Western Railway in Roanoke, Virginia were founded in 1881 as the Roanoke Machine Works. It came under the control of the railroad in 1883. Locomotive production started in 1884 and 152 locomotives were...
for the shops' 125th anniversary celebration.