N&W's Class J 4-8-4 Passenger locomotives

[Enginecrew]

I was asked by a couple of people to start a thread on N&W?s Class J?s so here we go for however long it lasts.

In my opinion, having worked for N&W and being around those engines to a small degree, they were beautiful locomotives, well balanced and extremely powerful for their day. From the crews point of view they were all of the aforementioned along with being relatively easy to operate and fire but like all coal burning steam locomotives they were dirty and contrary to what some my think they weren?t smooth riding like the later diesels, i.e. EMD?s GP-9?s, in fact when you?d look out the cab window at speed things would seemingly vibrate by in a blur. Looking forward wasn?t so back for whatever reason but tending the fire then looking out and meeting one of the Class Y?s coming at you on the adjacent track would surely get your attention. Another thing crews liked about these engines was their ability to make up time if for some reason you were held up and became late. They were good steaming locomotives and if you had straight track (fifty some miles of straight track between Suffolk and Petersburg, VA) you could open the throttle and easily make up several minutes as speeds of 95 + M.P.H. were commonplace on this stretch of track, with these engines.

OK, enough from me, what do you guys think? Did you like ?em (some may only recall 611 in excursion service though in the steam era there were 14 of this class) or did you prefer something else, like N&W?s Class A #1218 or maybe Southern?s #4501. SOU men will say 4501 was the best and while I thought she looked great and was a good engine she was never mean to pull passenger trains, as I?m sure you know. This isn?t to say she didn?t do a fantastic job as Bill Purdee (spelling??) and the SOU steam crew put a lot of loving time in her to bring her back to life and I for one appreciate they're efforts and hard work. I?m getting off topic here so I?ll sit back and read what others may have to day about the Class J?s, or other steam locomotive that were your favorites and why.

[Batman]

I liked them all ,  my favorite was ex T & P 610 and the former C & O 2716 which ran for a short time on the SOuthern.

[Tweetsiefireman]

Never got to see the J run but have seen days worth of video in surround sound of them. Got to climb in the cab of 4501 as an 8 year old in North Carolina. Love the J for its beauty and design. It dosent really matter to me personally, as long as it is steam I appreciate and love it. Well as long as it is not Thomas the Tank Engine! The T&P 610 was a nice engine as well, not a fan of oil firing however.

[Enginecrew]

(IN PART)... The T&P 610 was a nice engine as well, not a fan of oil firing however.

Can't say I was a huge fan of oil fired locomotives either but ya gotta admit, when your shift was over and you climbed down out of the cab you weren't covered with coal dust and cinders. They were good steamers as long as the fireman knew what he was doing, same as with coal fired engines. In reality T&P 610, and sisters, were good engines from what I've heard, strong and got the job done, which is what it's all about.

As a side note; the thing to remember when it comes to steam locomotives is we view them different than railroad management. Most look at them as a thing of beauty and just enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of a steam locomotive whereas railroads viewed then the same as they do diesels, a machine to get the job done and make money for the company, nothing more.