Recreating a moment when Norfolk & Western steam was king

I’ve always admired this photo – the one of the magnificent three — Norfolk & Western’s best steam locomotive creations, from left, the J, the Y, and the A. The image was made April 13, 1943, when building these incredible machines was an every day occurrence at the Roanoke, Va., shops. The aim was to move coal, merchandise, and people between N&W’s namesake Tidewater city and Cincinnati, Ohio. The result was mechanical bliss. Just imagine, the world’s best steam passenger 4-8-4, the J; the heavy haul 2-8-8-2, the Y6; and the incredibly versatile fast freight 2-6-6-4, the A. All built by the same railroad, by the same people, at the same place, all at one time. It’s difficult to think about a more perfect gathering of the pinnacle of steam motive power.

This photo, of course, was made for publicity purposes at a time when the nation was at war, and moving people and war supplies was paramount. During World War II, there wasn’t much time to admire this stationary 1-2-3 knockout punch of steam. And then, a few years later, it was gone. The N&W, which held out to the end with steam, dropped its last fires in 1960.

But now, it may be possible to glimpse this trio in unison once more. Norfolk Southern is set to move Y6A No. 2156 from its long-time berth at the Museum of Transportation near St. Louis to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke soon, possibly in February.

There it will join Class A No. 1218 on display at the museum for the last 20 years after an all too brief excursion career between 1987 and 1991. The folks rebuilding Class J No. 611 at Spencer, N.C., should be close to a successful hydrostatic test of the locomotive’s boiler any day now. Once No. 611 returns to Roanoke late this spring, all three types will be back in the city of their birth. Knowing my good friend Bev Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Virginia Museum of Transportation, I am sure he’s already thinking about a good location to recreate this line up from 72 years ago, when steam was king on the N&W. Just imagine, the J, the Y, and the A, together once more, and you’re standing there with a camera — and a smile.