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This black & white film shows Norfolk & Western steam locomotive trains that ran in the Blue Mountain region of the United States with the footage shot in Virginia. This was filmed by Fred McLeod primarily in 1958 and released in 1963. Two primary classes of motive power are seen -- the Y6B class and the J class. The Y6b class locomotives were a group of 30, 2-8-8-2, articulated steam locomotives built between 1948 and 1952. They were decommissioned and scrapped roughly a decade later. The elegant, streamliner class J was used primarily for passenger service. Along with the class A and class Y freight locomotives, these represented Norfolk and Western's "Big Three" and the pinnacle of steam technology. One class J locomotive, #611, survives today. One Y6A also survives, #2156, the sole survivor of the railroad's Y5, Y6, Y6a and Y6b classes. After a series of mergers, the Norfolk and Western is known today as Norfolk Southern Railway.

Opening title cards (:06). A Norfolk & Western passenger train pulled by the J-class streamliner 601, the Powhatan Arrow, coming down the tracks (1:03). Its route ran from Norfolk to Cincinnati. The Cavalier (1:39). Norfolk & Western passenger train, the Pocahontas (1:49). The Pocahontas (2:16) pulled by J-class engine 606(2:41). The Pocahontas leaves Bedford, VA and passes by another train (3:15). Norfolk & Western long hood diesel locomotive pulls cars filled with coal (3:44). A-class articulated 2-6-6-4 steam locomotive hauls coal (4:23). Norfolk & Western A-class 2-6-6-4 locomotive 1214 pulls coal as it goes down the tracks (4:50). From far in the distance, a train starts to come down the tracks and gets closer and closer (6:41). Locomotive pulling railcars (7:34). Norfolk & Western 1214 pulls cars filled with coal (7:56). N&W locomotive pulls railcars, some with coal through a mountainous region (8:42). Pusher assistance from a Y6B class, 2-8-8-2, four-cylinder, compound articulated, "Mallet" type steam locomotive, to help a N&W train move forward when the grade is steep (9:44). A N&W train on the rails gets pusher assistance from a #2152, a Y6B class 2-8-8-2, at the rear (10:22). A N&W train on the rails gets pusher assistance from a Y6 class 2-8-8-2 at the rear up a hill (11:34). A N&W locomotive #2178 gets pusher assistance from Y6 class (12:13). A N&W locomotive gets traction assistance from A-class (12:50). A N&W locomotive #2142 gets help from an A-class (13:17). A N&W train gets pusher assistance from A-class #2142 (14:30). A N&W train gets pusher assistance from an A-class on the rear (14:54). A N&W train gets pusher assistance from an A-class #2179 (15:28). Norfolk & Western locomotive #2152 goes by followed #2156 (17:02), followed by the Southern Railroad's Tennessean (16:39), pulled by an E8A type diesel locomotive. A long Norfolk & Western freight train passes by (17:56). The steam age has ended. End credits (18:39).

The Norfolk and Western class J was a class of fourteen 4-8-4 "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives built by the railway's Roanoke Shops located in Roanoke, Virginia from 1941 to 1950. They were operated by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) in revenue service until the late 1950s. These locomotives were built to run on the N&W main line between Norfolk, Virginia and Cincinnati, Ohio, pulling the Powhatan Arrow, the Pocahontas and the Cavalier passenger trains as well as ferrying the Southern Railway's the Birmingham Special, the Pelican and the Tennessean between Monroe, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee.

The Y6b class were a class of 30 2-8-8-2 articulated steam locomotives built at the N&W's Roanoke Shops between 1948 and 1952, numbered 2171-2200. They were used generally for freight service on the N&W, even on time freights (which is unusual work for a Mallet). They were eventually replaced by the EMD GP7s and GP9s through the late 50’s. In 1959, locomotive 2174 hauled a "Farewell to Steam" excursion, and shortly thereafter it was sold to a Roanoke area scrap yard, where it languished for 16 years, thanks in part to a manager who had a soft spot for steam engines. The rest of the class was scrapped between 1958 and 1961.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com