Yall like trains? You're gonna love this...

I grew up by the N&W and Virginia main lines and remember the Virginian electrics and some of both lines last steam engines. My next door neighbor was a career brakeman and freight conductor for the N&W, starting around 1950, and his son and I were down on the mainline tracks a lot as well as the main yards in Roanoke. Plus my summers spent Elizabethton TN was were the ET&WNC ran steam until well into the mid 60's.

What impresses me about the N&W was that they built many of their own locomotives right in the Roanoke engine shops, including the J's, K's, A's, and Y's. Plus they built their own coals cars and other freight cars like gondolas. Quite an operation for a small city HQ'd RR .

I just watched the Big Boy and 4884 film in WY run this spring.... pretty good stuff! Glad RRR brought this up!