Norfolk & Western 2-6-6-4 Class A type steam locomotive pulls an excursion train in 1988.
Jim Wrinn
2-6-6-4
•YEARS BUILT: 1934 to 1950
•YEARS BUILT: 1934 to 1950
•MANUFACTURERS: Baldwin Locomotive Works, Norfolk & Western
•OPERATED ON: Pittsburgh & West Virginia, Seaboard Air Line, Baltimore & Ohio, and Norfolk & Western
•NAME: Norfolk & Western referred to the model as the Class A
•QUANTITY: 60; N&W had the most with 43
•BOILER PRESSURE: 300 psi
•KNOWN FOR: High speed freight and some passenger service
•STATUS: Only remaining example is N&W 1218, on display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Va.
Now, if only the Virginia Museum of Transportation could hurry it up and form a “Fire Up 1218” committee.
The 2-6-6-4’s that the B&O had were bought from the Seaboard Air Line in the late 1940’s when the demand for diesels was so high and EMD couldn’t keep up fast enough on fulfilling orders. The former Seaboard steamers operated for the most part between Cumberland and Brunswick, MD on merchandise freights and some coal drags, where the grades were not as steep.