Originally Posted by jaygee:
Mr. King....N&W is only one of two RRs in Roanoke ! But even so, work was found for the C16, I think the 2-8-4 might have been a possible replacement for the K2 on that
other Roanoke pike, had such a thing been available.
VGN just barely had enough work for five BAs.
The C-16 was a good yard engine as both N&W and VGN found out. They allowed N&W to retire a lot of old yard engines and VGN to do the same. But saying that VGN could have satisfactorily employed more 69"-drivered freight engines would be a stretch.
And I'm not sure what VGN K-2 you're talking about. If you're suggesting the Kanawha could successfully replace N&W's K-2 Mountains- well, maybe. But why? Just because they were a more modern wheel arrangement?
The N&W K-2 and K-2a Mountains had been thoroughly rebuilt and modernized after WWII, and were probably as economical to operate on a dollar basis as the C&O K-4. I don't have any data on that, but it's an educated guess.
I've always wondered why C&O bought ninety of them. I wonder, on a mileage basis, how much of that Super Power the railroad actually benefitted from. Dragging coal off of Peach Creek and from there to Russell is not what Will Woodard intended them for.
EdKing
