Norfolk and Western 475

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Preserved N&W class M 4-8-0 locomotive

Norfolk and Western 475 at the East Strasburg station in October 2022

Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Builder	Baldwin Locomotive Works
Serial number	28343
Build date	June 1906

Specifications
Configuration:
• Whyte	4-8-0
• UIC	2′D
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia.	27 in (0.686 m)
Driver dia.	56 in (1.422 m)
Wheelbase	58.37 ft (17.79 m)
• Engine	26.42 ft (8.05 m)
• Drivers	15.50 ft (4.72 m)
Adhesive weight	169,800 lb (77,000 kg)
Loco weight	206,200 lb (93,500 kg)
Tender weight	167,500 lb (76,000 kg)
Total weight	373,700 lb (169,500 kg)
Tender type	USRA
Fuel type	Coal
Fuel capacity	16 tonnes (35,000 lb)
Water cap.	10,000 US gal (38,000 L; 8,300 imp gal)
Firebox:
• Grate area	45 sq ft (4.2 m)
Boiler pressure	200 psi (1.38 MPa)
Heating surface:
• Firebox	173 sq ft (16.1 m)
• Total surface	2,940 sq ft (273 m)
Cylinders	Two
Cylinder size	21 in × 30 in (533 mm × 762 mm)
Valve gear	Stephenson (inside); later Baker
Loco brake	Air

Performance figures
Tractive effort	40,163 lbf (178.65 kN)
Factor of adh.	4.23

Career
Operators	Norfolk & Western Railway Strasburg Rail Road
Class	M
Number in class	101
Numbers	N&W 475 SRC 475
Retired	1959
Restored	November 4, 1993
Current owner	Strasburg Rail Road
Disposition	Operational

References:

Norfolk and Western 475 is a M class 4-8-0 "Twelve-wheeler" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works as part of the Norfolk and Western Railway's (N&W) first order of M class numbered 375–499. It was first assigned to haul freight trains on the N&W mainline before being reassigned to branch line duties on the Blacksburg Branch in the 1920s.

Retired from N&W revenue service in 1959, No. 475 was sold to various different owners in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Iowa until 1991 when it was purchased and restored by the Strasburg Rail Road (SRC) in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, where it currently runs tourist excursion trains in the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside. Since then, No. 475 became the only 4-8-0 locomotive operating in North America and the oldest operating steam locomotive on the SRC. It was also featured in the 2000 feature-length film Thomas and the Magic Railroad.

In 2010, 2017, and 2019, No. 475 was temporarily backdated to resemble its extinct sister locomotive No. 382 for Lerro Productions' Virginia Creeper photo charter runbys, paying homage to O. Winston Link's photography work. Also in that latter year, No. 475 was reunited with fellow ex-N&W steam locomotive J class 4-8-4 No. 611 for the first time since 1959. In late 2022, it was involved in a head-on collision with an excavator and was repaired with a new front smokebox plate and headlight.

History

Design change and cab configuration

No. 475 is the 101st member of 125 M class steam locomotives built for N&W in 1906–07, rolling out of the Baldwin Locomotive Works in June 1906 at a cost of $15,179.90. It was originally equipped with Stephenson valve gear and a 6-A type tender, which holds 10 short tons (9,100 kg; 20,000 lb) of coal and 6,000 US gallons (23,000 L) of water. Sometime during the 1930s, No. 475 was re-equipped with Baker valve gear and a United States Railroad Administration (URSA) type tender, which holds 16 short tons (15,000 kg; 32,000 lb) of coal and 10,000 US gallons (38,000 L) of water. No. 475 was one of the many M class locomotives that were not re-equipped with superheaters, excluding Nos. 382, 386, 429, 439, 447, 457, 459, 482, 493, and 495. In the 1940s, No. 475 was re-equipped with a longer tender that holds 20 tonnes (44,000 lb) of coal and 12,000 US gallons (45,000 L) of water. Additionally, it originally came from either a Y2 2-8-8-2 or a K1 4-8-2.

Inside the M class locomotives' cab, the engineer sits on the right beside the firebox, which is fitted farther away from the back of the cab, similar to the camelback design. Additionally, the firemen has to shovel coal on the tender deck instead of the cab deck. On the engineer's side, the throttle lever is mounted above the firebox and the reverser lever is in front of the engineer against the side of the firebox. On the fireman's side, the water glass, injector controls, and steam gauge are located on the other side of the firebox.

Revenue service and changing ownership

No. 475 worked on the N&W, hauling freight and coal trains on the mainline until the 1920s, when it was reassigned to pull short mixed freight trains on the 9-mile (14-kilometre) Blacksburg Branch between Christiansburg and Blacksburg, as bigger locomotives, including the Y class 2-8-8-2s and K class 4-8-2s, arrived on the N&W. In August 1957, No. 475 was backdated to look like an 1880s locomotive with brass boiler bands, a fake diamond smokestack and oil headlamp for the 75th anniversary of Roanoke, which was an event known as the Diamond Jubilee. It was also paired with a USRA tender. A month later, No. 475 joined its sister locomotives Nos. 405 and 449 to haul a special National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) tripleheader excursion from Roanoke to Blacksburg. Afterwards, No. 475 only saw limited use until it was retired in 1959 and stored at the Shaffer's Crossing roundhouse alongside 4-8-4 class J No. 611, which recently retired after it pulled a Rail Museum Safari excursion.

In March 1961, No. 475 was sold to the Virginia Scrap Iron & Metal Company scrapyard. The following year, the locomotive was purchased by William Armagost from Hollsopple, Pennsylvania for $5,000 scrap value. Armagost made plans to restore No. 475 to operating condition for use in pulling tourist trains on a former Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) branch line, but for reasons unknown, those plans had fallen through. In May 1980, the No. 475 locomotive was sold to H. Stuart Kuyper of Pella, Iowa, and the locomotive was then conveyed to the Pella Historical Society, being stored at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois. In 1982, it was purchased by C. Rosenberg and his daughters, who subsequently donated it to the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad (B&SV) in Boone County, Iowa around 1985. The intention of the donation was for No. 475 to be used in the B&SV's operations, but after the railroad imported a newly-built China Railways JS class 2-8-2, No. 475 was deemed surplus in the B&SV's collection.

Excursion service at the Strasburg Rail Road

In January 1991, after searching for a steam locomotive to restore and operate alongside their existing fleet, the Strasburg Rail Road (SRC) of Strasburg, Pennsylvania, purchased No. 475 from the B&SV for $100,000. After arriving at SRC property on July 20, the locomotive underwent a thorough two-year restoration; many parts of the locomotive were reworked, with the tender tank being rebuilt, the smokebox being replaced with a newly-fabricated duplicate, and the running gear being reconditioned.

No. 475 returned to operating condition on November 4, 1993 hauling a test extra, and it began operating in excursion service, pulling tourist trains in the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside between Strasburg and Paradise on the SRC. Since then, No. 475 was the only operating 4-8-0 in North America and the oldest operating steam locomotive on the SRC. However, the locomotive was the least favorite of the SRC crew due to its cramped cab.

In October 2004, No. 475 was backdated to its 1920s-30s appearance with an oil-headlight bracket, Pyle-National headlight and number wedge for Jim Gunning and John Craft's Rolling Mud Fence photo charter with CN No. 89 also running that day. In 2010 and 2017, No. 475 was cosmetically altered to resemble its extinct sister locomotive No. 382 for Lerro Productions' Virginia Creeper photo charters as a tribute to O. Winston Link's photography work. In late 2018, it was taken out of service for its 15-year mandated Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) inspection and rebuild. It returns to active service in September 2019, backdated to its 1940s-50s appearance with the headlight being mounted to the center of the smokebox door. That same month, No. 475 was reunited with No. 611, which visited the SRC between 2021 and 2023. This would mark the first time since 1991 that two ex-N&W steam locomotives operated together. No. 475 was also backdated to resemble No. 382 again for the double header photo runbys with No. 611.

Accident

On November 2, 2022, while running around a passenger train at Leaman Place Junction in Paradise, No. 475 collided head-on with an excavator parked on a siding. The impact punched a hole in the front smokebox plate, giving minor damage to the cinder screen netting, shattered the smokebox door and knocked the headlight onto the ground. Luckily, the excavator arm did not puncture the locomotive's front flue sheet, while none of the crew or passengers were injured, and the damage done was deemed relatively minor. The collision was broadcast live via Virtual Railfan camera and was caught on video via cellphone by one of the passengers on board the train that day. The accident was caused by a misaligned switch, which was left opened by a maintenance of way (MOW) worker the night prior. SRC's EMD SW8 diesel switcher No. 8618 was called in to take No. 475's train back to East Strasburg and later returned to Leaman Place Junction in the evening to tow the damaged No. 475 locomotive to the SRC workshop for repairs.

"I elected not to have them do that, to leave it as a ‘witness mark’ to remind our crews"

—Brendan Zeigler

SRC announced on November 3, the day after the accident, that repairs on the No. 475 locomotive had begun. No. 475 was repaired and returned to service on November 7 with a new front smokebox plate and headlight since the originals were completely destroyed. The smokebox door itself was repaired by braze-welding the broken shards together, along with the addition of a reinforcing steel ring on the inside of the door. The decision was made by SRC's chief mechanical officer Brendan Zeigler to leave the welded seams from the brazing process visible on the door as a reminder of the incident.

Appearances in media

No. 475 was featured in the 2000 movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad. An interview with SRC's former Chief Mechanical Officer Linn Moedinger, who revealed that the film's producer Phil Fehrle called him looking for an American locomotive to use. When Moedinger inquired as to what exactly he was looking for, Fehrle told him that the film's director, Britt Allcroft liked the locomotives pictured in a book by O. Winston Link, in particular the M-Class locomotives (of which 475 is a member).

During filming, No. 475 and three of Strasburg's passenger cars (of which only two were used) were lettered for the fictional Indian Valley Railroad. The locomotive ventured off SRC trackage to the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg. The ferry move to Harrisburg from Leaman Place by Amtrak, as well as the filming, was unannounced so as not to attract a crowd.

Gallery

No. 475 pulling a tourist excursion in 2004
Strasburg No. 475 pulling a single hopper car at Cherry Hill Rd. in 2013
No. 475 running around the train in April 2014
No. 475 passing the J Tower at East Strasburg station

Notes

Before SRC subsequently settled on purchasing No. 475, they had originally considered in acquiring Florida East Coast No. 148, Lake Superior and Ishpeming No. 34, and Crab Orchard and Egyptian No. 17.

References

^ Dressler, Thomas (August 1995). "Norfolk & Western's remarkable 4-8-0s". Railfan & Railroad. Carstens Publications. pp. 40–48. Archived from the original on May 8, 1998. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
^ Moedinger, William M. (1993). The Road to Paradise: The Story of the Rebirth of the Strasburg Rail Road (3rd ed.). The Strasburg Rail Road Shop. p. 25.
^ Kraft, Randy (December 26, 1993). "STRASBURG'S 'NEW' LOCOMOTIVE TAKES TOURISTS ON TRIP TO THE PAST". The Morning Call. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
^ Bell (1995), p. 46
^ King (1998), p. 72
^ Boyd, Jim (2000). The Steam Locomotive: A Century of North American Classics (1st ed.). Barnes & Noble. p. 41. ISBN 0-7607-1627-7.
Keefe, Kevin (March 21, 2019). "Mileposts: The 611 will look fine on the Strasburg". Classic Trains. Kalmbach Media. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
Miller, Ken (November–December 2009). "One fine August day, 1957" (PDF). Turntable Times. National Railway Historical Society. pp. 7–8. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
King (1998), p. 71
Nichols (1997), p. 73
Miller, Kenneth L. (2000). Norfolk and Western Class J: The Finest Steam Passenger Locomotive (1st ed.). Roanoke Chapter, National Railway Historical Society, Inc. pp. 117–119. ISBN 0-615-11664-7.
Warden, William E. (1987). Norfolk and Western Railway A and J Class Locomotives (1st ed.). Andover Junction Publications. p. 12. ISBN 0-944119-02-6.
^ Bell (1995), pp. 47–48
"N&W 4-8-0 475". Railfan & Railroad. Vol. 10, no. 5. Carstens Publications. May 1991. p. 44.
Bell (1995), p. 49
Bell (1995), p. 50
"Equipment Roster" (PDF). Strasburg Rail Road. July 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
^ Solomon, Brian (2009). Steam Power (1st ed.). Voyageur Press. pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-0-7603-3336-5.
"October 2004: The "Rolling Mud Fence" Photo Special with Norfolk & Western 4-8-0 475" (PDF). July 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
"May 21st Membership Meeting" (PDF). Whistle Stop. Vol. 32, no. 5. Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society & Museum. May 2012. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
"Everett and Strasburg Charters". Lerro Photography. Lerro Productions. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
^ Pollock, Christopher (December 2019). "N&W 611 Storms Strasburg". Railpace Newsmagazine. White River Productions. pp. 23–26.
^ Hensley, Timothy B.; Miller, Kenneth L. (2021). Norfolk and Western Six-Eleven - 3 Times A Lady, Revised Edition (2nd ed.). Pocahontas Productions. pp. 110–112. ISBN 978-0-9899837-2-3.
"611 At Strasburg - The Farewell Tour". Strasburg Rail Road. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
"Society News" (PDF). Talk Among Friends. Norfolk and Western Historical Society. November 20, 2019. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
Lavey-Heaton, Megan. "Norfolk & Western 611 steam locomotive visits Strasburg Rail Road". PennLive.com. The Patriot-News. Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
^ Cupper, Dan (November 2, 2022). "Strasburg collision damages No. 475, no one hurt". Trains. Kalmbach Media. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
^ Cupper, Dan (November 9, 2022). "Strasburg details 96-hour repair to engine No. 475". Trains. Kalmbach Media. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
"Train crashes into equipment at Strasburg Railroad in Lancaster County". WGAL. November 2, 2022. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
"Strasburg 475 Damaged in Collision With Excavator". Railfan & Railroad. White River Productions. November 2, 2022. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
Franz, Justin (November 3, 2022). "Strasburg Begins Repairs to N&W 475 Following Collision". Railfan & Railroad. White River Productions. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
"Strasburg No. 475 back in service after accident". Trains. Kalmbach Media. November 7, 2022. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
^ "Interview with Linn Moedinger". Sodor Island Fansite. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2022.

Bibliography

Bell, Kurt (September 1995). "N&W 475: From Blacksburg to Strasburg". Railfan & Railroad. Vol. 14, no. 9. Carstens Publications. pp. 46–50.
King, Ed (1998). Norfolk & Western in the Appalachians: From the Blue Ridge to the Big Sandy. The Golden Year of Railroading (1st ed.). Kalmbach Publishing. p. 71. ISBN 0-89024-316-6.
Nichols, Jim (1997). Norfolk & Western in Color Volume 1: 1954-1964 (1st ed.). Morning Sun Books. ISBN 1-878887-72-6.