Norfolk and Western Thunder On The Blue Ridge 

What I wouldn’t give to go back in time for a day just to see these things in action during their heyday.

i rode the old N&W from cinncy to Norfolk,va in 1959. very nice folks ran the rr then' a conductor used to come thru the car with the news butcher, "peanuts , popcorn, cracker jacks! hey sailor how about a baby ruth!! that was the was it was in the summer of 1959. Baggage room had one 25 Watt light bulb hanging down from the ceiling. great place for a young sailor to haul a seabag up to a bus on Granby St. of course after Easy main St. (East Main) no body cared! Yep! everything changes.. Damn , i still love ya norfolk!!!!!

The 2 people that disliked this are out of their minds. This is incredible footage. Seeing the J side by side with a diesel freight flying past is ominous. I hear tell from ex N&W employees that at least one Y6 mallet was in service in the Blue Ridge coal mines well into the 60's because it did it's job that much better than the diesels of the era. One Y did the work of 4 or more GP9s. The N&W was truly the pinnacle of steam locomotion. Would love to see more like this. Cheers from a fellow diehard N&W enthusiast.

The last of these I saw was when I was 8 years old, 67 years ago ! Just wonderful to be able to see them again ! Thanks !

Norfolk and Western Railroad. Manufactured their steam locomotives. At their Roanoke shops. They also manufactured their hopper cars. The majority of their steam power were articulated steam locomotives. They were a class 1 railroad . That was thinking, always how best that they could improve their on time performance. Throughout the system. And provide transportation, to and for their shippers. And provide outstanding passenger transportation. That was safe, on time, and economical. To the passengers pocketbook. Norfolk and Western prided themselves upon these philosophys. And deeply cared about people. That is solid testimony, as to why that . Railroad was an undisputed leader in the transportation industry. For so many many decades.....

3:23 Man, that's one long train, hauled by a single A! Those 2-6-6-4s never disappoint.

I've been fascinated by the Norfolk & Western Railway (it used the English description rather than the American "Railroad") since visiting an exhibition in London of O. Winston Link's evocative "Rail, Steam and Stars" photographs of the railway The "J" Class were probably the ultimate in Passenger express train steam power, and the "articulateds" hauling their amazing loads over the grades of the Appalachians make stirring viewing of the end of the "steam age", though when I hear the term" "Blue Ridge" I just think of Laurel & Hardy and their song!

A shame that no K2A's were saved. They may not have been as mighty as the Js, but they were beautiful, hardworking engines.

Great video of the steam locomotives pulling various trains on the Norfolk & Western during the late 1950’s. The Norfolk & Western railroad was the king of steam locomotives. The very best steam locomotive whistles were on the Norfolk & Western railroad.

I love how the sound is perfectly in sync.

What memories here !!! My father worked for that railroad ...part of my childhood

Wow, those Y6B's, with 39 inch bore low pressure cylinders, short stocky, purposefully beautiful.

What a beautiful video. Great shots of those fantastic steam locomotives. Just a great video, period!! Thank you for the upload!!

Wow! Live sound!

Solid film, as usual. Thank You so much for such heartwarming film....!!!

How exciting it must have been to stand trackside and see all this action. I love ll the freight cars with road names, advertising slogans and no graffitti!

One of the best videos I've seen of aesthetic video from the era awesome thanks

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GREAT....

Wow beautiful footage

Those Y-6b's we're beasts!! Comparable to a modern day SD-70 !!

Nice video! 👍🚂

That whistle with high tone in the background 5:56♥️

Totally awesome!

That shot of the diesel train following close after the steam train was sort of ominous.

It's nice to see the video of the steam trains I really think they should bring them back I am an avid railroad fan nice video

Outstanding footage..... Clag, Thrash and Noise...... What more could one desire in life....? This will drive the global warming, climate change clowns up the wall.....! Marvellous... James Hennighan Yorkshire, England

It’s nice to see locomotives run basically where I’ve grown up

that's a thumbs-up for the video

That had to have been a challenge for the helper crews. No real communication, just knowing what the train ahead is doing and how to react.

NW had some biggies

Unreal just brilliant!!!

Awesome footage 👍

It’s sad when you realize all the engines scene here are probably scrapped.

The N&W is good.

I often wondered what a diesel would have looked like if built by the N&W...the J's or the Jawn Henry?

Im here because the thumbnail

I was born in the wrong time.

Nice!

I guess I missed the steam era I was born in 1956 maybe I seen a few Steamers back when I was very little but don't remember I wish I did I do remember same to my brothers and sisters there goes the Caboose the old cabooses I still remember them! Who can tell me about the cabooses? When were they use how often what did they stay in their how many days at a time? Was it used for lunch overnight anyone having information my grandfather was an engineer on the steam trains up in Altoona Wisconsin Chippewa Falls in Colfax area

Lots of good regular service action and excellent use of N&W's mountain scenery! Were these films shot silent with sound dubbed in later? There are scenes where a whistle is heard with no corresponding emissions of steam visible above the engine. At c.10:01, a freight passes with the sound of working steam exhaust, but the cars are surrounded by a haze of blue brake smoke, obviously going down a steep grade...where the throttle would be closed or cracked only very slightly, a "drifting throttle." The action also looked unnaturally fast, so I watched at .75 speed, closer to the 16 frames per second silent speed, which is 2/3 (.66) of 24 fps sound speed. It seems better that way.

Do you know where that field is today? (6:26) I keep trying to figure out what angle of the mountains that is.

Well, I’ve s en this before but it’s good to have a version without the text you’ve already read so it’s a pain waiting for the actual video to start.

I always wonder what the little building in the hillside is at 13:18. It shows up in a lot of scenes Must have been a popular filming spot.

Looks like there were double tenders. Was that for shoving or was that because of water use? They were magnificent engines and are impressive in video, they must have been something in person.

great video...nothing like those steam beasts...any idea when this was?

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍🤩🤩🤩🤩

1:58 [train chugging] 2:45 [train chugging]

What year was this filmed and where?? I'm guessing the late '50's to early '60's.

I wonder if this is real sound or just really good editing! The whistle noise and whistle steam are on point! Great!

like train

What locomotive was that at 8:20? Didn’t look to have but 4 drive wheels

It was more on the articulated side than the J side.

What year was this footage taken?

Is it a N&W J class or N&w K2a Mountain type

Someone play cargo moving people

611 x 1218