N&W Y6a #2156

Source?

Rusty

Trainorders.com

Linky

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---PCJ

Oh joy!  This could be just the beginning.....Once in Roanoke, who will be able to resist all that 170K TE.  and 5600 DBHP !   I'd rather see 2156 up and running than 1218, truth be known.  Can you pronounce Elephant Fever !   YOY ! ! ! 

Now that will be excellent, the big 3 all in Roanoke where they belong.  The J, A and the Y6.....ahhh yes.

Although I'm sad that it is leaving St. Louis - the MOT is a nice day trip from here - I'm glad that it is going to Roanoke to complete the Trifecta.  A trip to pay them homage may be in order...

Edit... here she is in July of 2013:

Fire that Bad Boy up.  Y not!

I'm with ya!   

So watch for the dimensions of the maintenance building they build for 611 carefully. 

All these interesting moves appears to be an unexpected benefit the NS steam program; they appear willing to move older equipment that before would have been out side their management comfort zone.  I wonder if they have developed standard requirements for these moves by now.  Now if CSX could loosen up a bit... if not just for moves like this.

Bob

I'm kinda thinking that if a Y6 is on display, the absence of an A might not be noticed.

CSX did wye 630 recently, and 630 is sitting in a CSX owned yard presently.

I think the Y would put on a "show", due to it being a mallet!  I bet she would be LOUD!

With a heavy load on her, and in simple...or even just the booster valve open....you'll get some mighty awesome talk from the Ivory Queen !

May 28, 2014
 

St. Louis Museum of Transportation and Virginia Museum of Transportation to trade historic locomotives
 
NORFOLK, VA. – The Museum of Transportation, St. Louis, and the Virginia Museum of Transportation are in discussions to bring Norfolk and Western Y6a steam engine #2156, currently in the St. Louis museum, back to its place of origin at Roanoke, Va., on a five-year loan for display at the Virginia museum, in a transaction facilitated by Norfolk Southern.
 
In exchange, the Virginia museum will send to St. Louis a Southern Railway diesel General Motors EMD FTB unit to complement the St. Louis museum’s FTA demonstration unit.
 
“This will reunite the last surviving Y-class locomotive, one of the hardest pulling steam locomotives ever built, with the J-611 and the A-1218 in Roanoke, where all three were designed and built by Norfolk and Western,” said Molly Butterworth, cultural site manager for the St. Louis Museum of Transportation. ”In return, our historic FTA, built in 1939 to demonstrate to the rail industry the efficiency of diesel power, will be reunited with its complimentary B unit.”
 
“We are thrilled to welcome the Y6a home again,” said Bev Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Virginia Museum of Transportation. “We’re grateful to the St. Louis Museum of Transportation for this opportunity to reunite three powerful sisters of steam in their home town.”
 
The Museum of Transportation, a St. Louis County Park in west St. Louis County, Mo., houses what has been recognized as one of the largest and best collections of transportation vehicles in the world. With over 70 locomotives, half of them "one-of-a-kind" or "sole survivors" of their type, the Museum has one of the most complete collections of American railroad motive power, and its collections of automobiles, buses, streetcars, aircraft, horse-drawn vehicles, and riverboat materials are constantly expanding to reflect the ever-changing nature of transportation.
 
The Virginia Museum of Transportation, Virginia’s official transportation museum, is home to two of the most powerful steam locomotives in existence today: the N&W Class A 1218 and the N&W Class J 611. The Museum attracts visitors of all ages from across the U.S. and around the world. Through exhibits, artifacts, and an outstanding collection of rail equipment, cars, trucks, airplanes, and more, the Museum tells the story of Virginia’s rich transportation history.
 
Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway Company subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal, automotive, and industrial products.
 

Norfolk Southern contacts:
 
(Media) Robin Chapman, 757-629-2710 (Robin.Chapman@nscorp.com)
(Investors) Katie Cook, 757-629-2861 ( InvestorRelations@nscorp.com)

Wow!  Interesting news! 

Taken in 2007.....This is great news for the trifecta of steam!

Actually, the 2156 isn't the last surviving Y-class.

Y3a #2050 is at IRM.

Rusty

Yes and that Y3a is a beast...I just love looking at it when I'm out at the IRM.

Sadly, we could have had three additional Y6 locomotives...not to mention two FM Train Masters, all there at Roanoke.  The fan base fell asleep at the switch (and that's putting it in printable terms!), and by 1982, all was lost.  The amazing thing is that the three Mollies survived in horrible condition until recently...when they were rescued.  Lesson here: Be diligent...just when you think you're safe...you aren't ! Let Espee 4450 be a wake up call for everybody!

Maybe after the J is up and running she will be next. If they are building a brand new shop to house 611 might as well make it big enough to hold two engines.

Thank you, St Louis! We were there for the 611's going away party. As soon as a date is announced, we'll be there to greet 2156!

Gilly

While it would be nice to see them restore this engine to operation, I'd be willing to go out on a limb and say it isn't gonna happen.

The "Y" class engine is a "couple everything in the yard together" and drag it 150 miles at 25 MPH. It's not a speedster. The drivers are just too small for it to be balanced enough to run much more than 30-35 comfortably. Running a whole division at 40MPH with a passenger train behind it would be iffy IMHO.

Actually, the Y-5's and Y-6's were balanced to be able to run safely up to 50 MPH.  The use of light weight main and side rods, coupled with cast bed frames, roller bearings, and better valve ports permitted them to run at such speeds (tonnage, curves, and grades permitting).

Stuart

when is this planned and will this move go through the PA region on the NS pittsburgh line? or another way?  thanks chris

Well, that is the prevailing myth that has been passed down through the years by the uninformed, isn't it? If the purveyors of that myth would have actually done their homework by asking those engineers on the Shenandoah and Bristol lines that ran the Y6 what they could do, maybe the truth would be more widely known. Maybe if they would have camped out along the flatlands instead of on the uphill side of some mountain, the truth would be more widely known.

While the Y6 wasn't a passenger engine, it could hold its own on the flatlands running 50+ mph. Once again, as the words rolled out over the old engineer's lips..."You didn't want to run 'em much over 63 mph. After that, they started to get shakey". 

Running comfortably at 40 mph with a passenger train wouldn't be out of the question. It's too bad that Bud Swearer's tapes are not now available to the non-believers. He captured the sounds of the Y's stepping pretty high.

Most true!  These elephants can get out of their way pretty quick, when they need to. Suggested reading....N.J. Custom Brass soft cover ...USRA 2-8-8-2 Mallets, 2nd edition. Learn all about the highs and lows of these fantastic machines.

There is actually quite a bit of footage out there of the Y's making some good time on some of the Herron videos.  The Y's could definitely run 50+ w/o any problem as Big Jim stated.

So it's settled then!   We fix 2156...and reunite the Big Three back in Roanoke, thus causing a rip in the space / time continuum.  Works for me !

I live near by the museum of transportation in st. Louis and don't want to see the Y6 leave. I know that we are getting a engine to fill in the void for 5 years but that's a might large void to fill in!  It's one of a few engines that you can climb inside and ring the bell and check out the engineer/fireman point of view. Hopefully it will posted here when the big move will be so I can send it off properly and welcome it back in 5 years!

"to bring Norfolk and Western Y6a steam engine #2156, currently in the St. Louis museum, back to its place of origin at Roanoke, Va., on a five-year loan"

Five-year loan???? It will not be a happy time when the 5-year term is up! Why not a permanent swap?

Swap or not, Let's swipe a page from the PRR T1 Trust and go ahead and roll our own Y6b !   Be a LOT easier than a T1, cuz we have all the plans plus a live chooch to work with (with a few detail differences)!   Have it assembled in Roanoke, more or less, and away we go.

Yeah 5 years will be great, but they'll go by quickly.  I really wish there was a way to keep it in Roanoke where she belongs.  Having the Y and the A together would be spectacular and add in the 611....ahhhh harmony restored...

I have friends down in the St. Louis area and they're telling me that it'll be a real chore to get 2156 out from where it's stored?? Me thinks Roanoke isn't about to let Cheyenne get one up on them