N&W 611 and 382: The Last Days of Steam

Like us on Facebook! In the late 1950’s the like-new J Class 4-8-4’s, owned by the Norfolk & Western, found themselves on their last duties hauling short passengers and local freights before finally being retired and eventually scrapped due to the advent and arrival of first generation diesels. Only one member of the iconic J Class avoided that fate, which is preserved and operated by the Virginia Museum of Transportation, and that’s #611. Joined by her smaller and much older counterpart at the Strasburg Railroad, M Class 4-8-0 #475 is dressed up as sister engine #382, famous in O. Winston Link’s photographs of the Abingdon Branch of the Norfolk & Western, as a part of Lerro Photography’s Photo Extravaganza weekend. Both engines are hauling consists similar to the ones the Mighty J Class and the Venerable M Class might have pulled, such as the Virginia Creeper for the 382, or perhaps a short fre