The most perfect locomotive

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Thanks.  That is the exact name that I had in mind, and had asked a veteran 
about just this morning, but I could find no one to confirm it.

Gordon Hamilton

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Friday, September 08, 2006 11:46 PM
Subject: Re: The most perfect locomotive



> Gordon -

>

> The man at Shaffers was Ed Payne, who was a night foreman there when I was 

> working at the Car Shop.

>

> EdKing

> ----- Original Message ----- 

> From: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Sent: Friday, September 08, 2006 6:19 PM

> Subject: Re: The most perfect locomotive

>

>

>>I can reinforce, but not substantiate, both speed figures that you 

>>mention. In fact, both speed figures are the exact values that I have 

>>heard before for Class J locomotives.  I heard these speed figures first 

>>hand (but not quite from the iron horse's mouth).

>>

>> When I worked at the N & W's Shaffers Crossing roundhouse in Roanoke, VA, 

>> one of the roundhouse foremen there told me that he was the Motive 

>> Department employee who had traveled with the Class J when it was tested 

>> on the Pennsylvania Railroad and that it reached a speed of 118 miles per 

>> hour across the flat Indiana countryside before a hot bearing caused a 

>> slow down or, maybe, a stop.

>>

>> When I worked summers in the N & W's  steam locomotive shop at the end of 

>> the branch line to Durham, NC, one of the Norfolk Division engineers told 

>> me that he had run Class J locomotives at 110 miles per hour on the main 

>> line across the relatively flat Atlantic Coastal Plain.

>>

>> Unfortunately, at a much younger age I did not realize then the 

>> importance of taking notes, so I cannot cite the names of these men who 

>> told me of their first-hand experiences.

>>

>> Gordon Hamilton

>>

>> ----- Original Message ----- 

>> From: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

>> To: <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

>> Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 11:42 PM

>> Subject: The most perfect locomotive

>>

>>

>>>I am a very unfrequent contributor to this respectable list.  I have a 

>>>serious admiration to N&W class J for following reasons:

>>>

>>> * best combination of drawbar and speed

>>> * reliability

>>> * operational efficiency

>>> * very beautiful

>>> * I am born in May 1950, the same date 611 came out of Roanoke factory

>>>

>>> I have heard records of the loco doing 118 mph with a few cars and 

>>> steady 110 mph with 15 pasenger cars.  This in unbeliaveble considering 

>>> the tiny 70" driving wheel diameter.  Is there anyone alive who can 

>>> confirm these feats?

>>>

>>> Markku Kastinen,

>>> Steam Enthusiast, Finland

>>>

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