Norfolk and Western Class J

what is it?

The Norfolk and Western J class was a class of 14 4-8-4 "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives built by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, between 1941 and 1950. The most powerful 4-8-4 locomotives ever produced in the U.S. and among the most powerful in the world, the J class were part of the N&W's "Big Three" (along with the class A and Y6 freight locomotives) that represented the pinnacle of U.S. steam technology. They were built to pull N&W's named passenger trains on the N&W main line between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio; they also ferried the Southern Railway's passenger trains between Monroe and Bristol, Virginia, until these trains were taken over by diesel locomotives in the summer of 1958.

who runs it

Norfolk and Western Railway

base stats

• power 3.8 MWpower output
• weight 224 tin working order
• built 14made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

• 🎂First built 85 years ago, in 1941.
• 🚗3.8 MW is about 45 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
• 🐘Weighs about as much as 37 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 📏33.2 m long: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
• ⌛Served for 18 years (1941–1959).

steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.

spec sheet

built

1941–1950

in service from

1941

retired

1959

status

preserved

number built

14

kind

Steam

traction

steam

origin

🇺🇸 United States

builders

Roanoke Shops

designer

H.W. Reynolds, G.P. McGavock, C.H. Faris, Franklin C. Noel

operators

Norfolk and Western Railway

top speed

—

power

3.8 MW

gauge

1,435 mm standard gauge

wheel arrangement

4-8-4

length

33.2 m

weight

224 t

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.