Chasing N&W 1218 in Southwest Virginia
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- Опубликовано: 21 июн 2008
- April 25, 1987. N&W #1218 makes a Saturday excursion run in Southwest Virginia during heavy rain and flooding. After a stop on Christiansburg Mountain, 1218 restarts on wet rail. This video is from an old VHS tape.
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I love 1218s whistle. It just screams get the absolute hell out of my way.
U said it I like it to
Yep you said it
An intimidating badass whistle
This was actually 1218s Inaugural run with the steam program.
K&L Trainz u sure
Same run that almost got canceled due to a landslide cause by the weather right?
Yeah it was
Hi bro, love your engines
@@Henriqueleal0609 hi bro, i rember you
This is the most beautiful steam whistle bar none. Which is saying A LOT. Thank you.
A kind of familiar whistle quill. I’d bet we’ve heard this engineer’s whistle quilling in original N&W footage from the 40’s-50’s
That whistle is haunting when it echoes..
Respect to the men driving this beast
now that union pacific is restoring a big boy , NS needs to bring back the 1218
With all my hats as a present day engineer, conductor, and TM/RF, I do declare we couldn't carry their grips now days. This is railroading right here. No excuses...
The first scene of the A is incredible. Nice exhaust, great whistle, a nice smoke plume, and decent speed!
WOW!!! This is a great vid! The part where you can only hear the engine trying to start on the mountain is haunting. Joni Mitchell said it best, "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got til it's gone..."
Upon rewatching, I just have to say that the second best part of this video (after the engine, of course) is the absolutely indecipherable Shenandoah Valley good 'ol boy radio chatter, particularly that they were still calling CSX "C&O."
I'm pretty sure that "C&O" reference was actually CN-02, a likely N&W style train symbol in that era.
I was lucky enough to see 1218,611,and 4501 together under steam in Chattanooga in the 1990s during a steam get together.They were giving tours through the cab of 1218 and the 611 was returning from an excursion with Graham Claytor on the back of office car 97.The next day(Sunday) it ran a triple header to Cleveland TN with 611 and 4501.great memories of Norfolk southern steams glory days!
Mr. Link, a good 1218 slip/stall, 80's NS, and one of the loudest whistles you will ever hear. This was a pleasure for the senses
Rode behind a 1218 twice and chased it many times great video thank you
Great video and great sound. You done an amazing job catching all of that on film. Catching the three starts on the mountain was awsome. I just wish I could have lived during the age of steam so I could have seen it over and over. Thanks for sharing this with us.
I rode on this trip, got it on my video, we stopped because of a landslide that blocked the main line, we were to go back, but NS crews along with Virginia Electric Power cleared the track for us and we continued on to Blue Ridge. Was a really memorable trip. Got back to Roanoke late but no one cared. The next day Sunday was gorgeous, with blue sky's and sunny weather.
I've not seen them all of course, but this is certainly high in the running for "Best Train Video on RUclips"!
Spectacular!
She was the most beautiful locomotive ever built her whistle brings tears to my eyes I hope she rides the rails again
Norfolk & Western Class A 1218 wouldn’t have struggled getting up and over Christiansburg Mountain if the train had a diesel helper. The dynamic brakes from the diesel will prevent the 1218 from slipping.
@sajdrj
the 1218 is an A class engine. they where 2-6-6-4 arrangement, and capable of 114,000lbs of tractive effort, out pulling UP's steamer.
That is some fantastic video. I rode behind that mighty beast in the late 80's/early 90's and just love watching these vidoes to take me back to those days.
Thanks for posting the video.I rode the NW steam fan trips from Chicago To Fort Wayne IN from '89 to'91.Too bad that opportunity is probably gone forever.
What a great video you've shared here. Thanks so much for sharing footage of this wonderful machine.
I sure hope the new steam program that is having Southern 4501 revived also comes to the Virginia Museum Of Transportation to revive 611 and 1218. 1218 looks and sounds like such a magnificent locomotive. She must have been amazing to watch in real life.
Great video! Thanks for sharing those wonderful sights and sounds!!
Your first shot is where I caught N&W 611 going from Roanoke to Radford for the past 2 years.
STUNNING.
This is one of my favorite steam engines.
The whistle have a spooky but cool sound. I love it!
Thank you for sharing this priceless footage. Hopefully more folks will follow suit.
The echo of when they were slipping through the trees was amazing
Love that compound-engine sound.
A museum of Link's photos is in Roanoke; sound recordings are available there as well.
I'm looking to create a ringtone for my iPhone of the 1218's whistle, & this video is qualifying as a finalist. I like the sound clip @ about 4:15-4:30, which also has the chugging of the engine along with the whistle. ...BTW I haven't heard about NS restarting the steam program...that was a Claytor legacy & it got swept away after Bobby retired. A shame. Gonna cost a fortune to bring it back now! Kudos to all the folks who worked on the nuts & bolts end of it, great job!
The way the engineer got her to lift that big, static load on those wet rails, after all that wheel slip (which he did a great job of minimising) & then, within a few seconds she was eating that hill up again, like she hadn’t stopped... what an engineer & what(!) a loco!! Anyone know who the engineer was? Great video & incredible audio; thank you!
Could somebody please explain to me why we're importing and operating Chinese steam locomotives while gorgeous machines like the 611 and 1218 sit idle? Anybody?
Cheeper to buy a locomotive made then one restored. Boone and valley scenic railroad has a story on that! They wanted to restore and old engine, but it was cheeper to buy one made from China. Check the segment done by Great Scenic Railway Journeys on the railroad. They talk about it. It’s on RUclips.
This locomotive now sits at the Virginia museum of transportation in Roanoke, they gutted all of the internal parts and took out everything it needs to run, it's only a shell for looks, it's sad because this was my all time favorite train
Yeah, Sylvania flashbulbs. He'd wire them to fire off when the train reached a certain point on the track. Some of the lights that looked in the photos like ordinary indoor lights visible through windows where strategically placed flashbulbs as well. They didn't have ASA 800 film in those days, and no xenon flash tubes either.
re. Armagon Armagon post below, since I cannot reply for some reason. Regarding the out of synch cylinder pairs on a simple articulated, this was a common occurrence due to a couple of factors: wheel slippage both minute and obvious, as in when starting on the steep grade in this video; and non-uniform tire wear. The engines were rarely if ever in synch due to such factors and were not designed to be in synch at all, but to run as independent sets of cylinders. Each set of cylinders had its own exhaust nozzle, therefore the distinct double exhaust sound.
May some day 1218 run again i missed out on the first time but not the second time 🙏🙏
This was made on my birthday sweet!!!
Happy birthday 10 years later hehe
The other loco the N&W y6b have a bigger cylinder at the front than the 2nd one
Great stuff!
Agreed
@sajdrj
the 1218 is an A class engine. they where 2-6-6-4 arrangement, and capable of 114,000lbs of power, out pulling UP's steamer.
WoW great video, wish i could of seen her run.
He had to have been getting up in years. Wasn't he the guy who did all the great night shots, using lights? That was some fantastic still photography.
I read somewhere that all the new boiler tubing etc.that was ordered for it was sold for scrap metal. Who knows what else got canned when the Birmingham steam shop was closed.... Hopefully they were smart enough to keep or archive all the mechanical drawings in a safe place for reference if an effort to complete the rebuild ever gets going again....
Forgot to mention, we had stopped previously due to a generator fire on Graham Claytor's private car, due to rain getting into the generator and shorting out, made some really stinky smoke, but no one left the recording car coupled behind the private car, problem was fixed and we went on till we encountered the landslide area.
the engineer sure know how make 1218 sing but sadly there is almost no chance hearing that in person again =( R.I.P. 1218 and 611 and all the other steamers that may never turn another wheel under steam power again
According to my memory and the radio chatter at about 2:00 the thought they might have a sticking brake or hot box.
2:00
Good stuff!! I live near most of these spots....makes me sad to see 1218 under the shed at Roanoke...but we still have her....but she was made to run...not sit....
I like that steam locomotive aside Union Pacific 3985, in my town in Portland Oregon, we have the Daylight 4449, and the SP&S 700, and at the roundhouse they are currently restoring another steam locomotive.
Very enjoyable to see footage of N&W 1218 in operation back in the late 1980s, it's a shame that 1218's excursion career was so short (1987-1991). I wouldn't mind seeing the 1218 return to operation in the future but I understand that the chance of this happening is extremely slim, at least this engine is preserved at the transportation museum in Roanoke,VA.
I agree. I miss the 1218, but as a kid when I saw it in operation that whistle scared the living @#*( out of me!! I'm amazed that such a small item (the whistle) could produce such a loud noise!!
NOW THAT'S MUSIC! They really need to bring the two N&W engines back, 611 and 1218!
2015: 611’s back
They seem to be that way. When you shoot them from a very low angle, it makes them look mighty and powerful compared with today's diesels.
I can't wait to get this in HO
The campaign to restore 611 is underway. There's a link to the website in the video description.
WHAT DO YA KNOW!!!! I have that same run taken on video by an amateur. I've been wanting to get it up. And the video was taken right where she was spinning out, right in front of the camera.
My fav steam loco!
hi rr buffs.if i model in o scale and the way the passenger cars look at about oh 9:20 or so.what radius of curve would the model track have to be.my kline passenger cars are 21inch long.
@DASCO2136, they _are_ powerful compared to diesels. I have heard 4500 HP stated for a large diesel (smaller ones pulling freight were 3500 HP). J 611 put out 5000 HP if I remember correctly, and 1218 would of course be more.
Too fast for long haulage
Plus the Train from Sometimes they come back
I love it
@HaloCE14 I plan on writing a letter to them on restoring 1218 and 611. I will also state that they should restore Graham County 1925, Southern Railway 722, Milwaulkee Road 261, and Frisco 1522 if it's possible. I know those engines are way out of reach and a long ways away, but every bit helps.
Maybe with a little help from Hollywood wanting to use them in a new motion picture, like they did with the 4449 in 'Tough Guys'?
@b43xoit Actually the engines operating when 1218 and 611 were operating were around 3,000 horsepower. So it would take about 5 SD40-2s, C30-7s or U30Cs to equal the same amount of horsepower produced by 3 N&W J class steam engines. And for 1218, i would think it would be the equivalent to an AC6000CW or 2 SD70ACe's/ES44ACs
I believe they're talking about O. Winston Link, a famous N&W photographer.
One of the best vids of 1218, enhanced by the glorious sound of her unique hooter whistle in the rain. Timeless, marred only by the inane CB chatter. Could some sound engineer remove that and repost this gem?
Nope. The "CB chatter" is railroad radio communications. It's recorded as part of the original audio.
Ross Hunter And adds quite a bit to the video in my opinion. It's a part of railroading, and makes sense to those of us who know.
Is that a Leslie RST5 on the first train at the beginning
Yes
I think I can, I think I can.... 4:21.
Too bad that they don't make video tapes anymore.
I really loved watchingv and hearing this steamer roll beautiful music.
that is a shame about her and the steam program.
This thing will be seconded by Big Boy in tractive effort when it's operational....
@mrmartyman7 type "611 irondale hill" into the search box and watch 611 spin out four times trying to get a passenger train up irondale hill. She finally gets down to about 1/3 throttle and man does the smoke start to belch out and way up in the air as 611 shows you just how much low end pulling power a big steam engine had. She brings the train up and under a bridge and finally to the top of the hill chugging hard all the way.
I think it was Link. Some who knew him agree.
the alleghany looks less cluttered then a big boy .how much dose it weight ?
to answer your question the N&W Allegheny Class Steam Locomotive engine alone 573000 lbs & the tender at 378600 lbs together 951600 lbs making the Allegheny Class the heaviest steam locomotives EVER !!! .The Allegheny Class were the strongest steam locomotives on the planet an still are for railroads.The 4-8-8-4 Big Boy didn't even come close too the shear power of the Allegheny Class.That's what you get from a Mountain Class Steam Locomotives
The Alleghany type is of a 2-6-6-6 wheel arraignment. While the big boy is 4-8-8-4. The N&W 1218 is a 2-6-6-4
I believe you will find that the PRR class Q2 4-4-6-4 locomotives were more powerful than any of the locomotives you mentioned.
3:00 oof wheel slip
do they still use that train for preserved purposes or it it done?
According to Wikipedia: Today, 1218 is owned by the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia and is displayed alongside former stable-mate Norfolk & Western 611 (now running excursions for Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam Program) where they are the star attractions in the museum's Claytor Pavilion. It has been cosmetically restored, though not operational, since the overhaul started in 1991 was never completed. Although the undertaking would be considerable, she is very capable of being returned to operation, with the uncompleted boiler and firebox repairs being the primary scope of work remaining from her aborted overhaul. The 1218 is, on rare occasions, moved outside the museum grounds for special events. In 2007, Norfolk Southern pulled it (cold), with 611, to its Roanoke Shops for the shops' 125th anniversary celebration.
Check the Virginia Transportation Museum for more information on 1218. www.vmt.org/
@HaloCE14 I already have a stamp on the envelope!
no sand?
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Link several years before this, and if that wasn't him, it was his double. Was that the infamous Conchita (the wife who tried to bleed him dry and went to jail for it) with him?
steamtown would be the only spot now
Just curious. She has an awful wide firebox. Was she designed to burn hard coal (anthracite)? Maybe not, but it looks like it could.
Also, why do the exhaust cuffs of 1218 go out of sync with one another as with a compound Mallet, while 1218 is a simple Mallet. Compound Mallets use the steam they generate twice, first in smaller high-pressure cylinders, which then feed the exhaust low-pressure steam into larger low-pressure cylinders, before exhausting the spent steam out of the smokestack. This gives compound Mallets the characteristic out-of-sync chuff they produce.
1218 produces the same out-of-sync chuffs even though she is a simple Mallet, which uses the same pressure of steam in equal-sized cylinders. I am thinking that since both cylinders are the same size, she should never have chuffs go completely out of sync, yet they do in this video. Can someone explain how this happens?
The "double licks", as N&W railroad men called them, were a quirk of all the Class A's. No one could ever figure out why the A's did this. Even as the A's would get into a full gallop at 60 to 70 mph, the "double licks" were noticeable. The A's were also a very loud locomotive. Ed King Jr. goes into a lot of detail about this in his book, "The Class A, Mercedes of Steam".
Fascinating information. Very odd engine, but a memorable one.
Quite normal for the drivers to go in and out of sync on locos with dual driver sets. Each set of wheels and drivers has a different amount of weight on them and therefore will slip at different speeds under power. This happened on Challenger and Big Boy as well.
Both sets of drivers are independent from each other. So one may slip, one may dig into the rail harder. Thats why there is out of sync chuffs, its because the wheel sets aren't in sync. Being simple, it actually uses more steam. Steam is emitted to all 4 cylinders at the same time, and not just not recycled from one set to the other.
The 1218 ran the entire excursion run without a tool car. Why is that so?
Luck?
Usually the back of the tender behind the coal pockets was where spare parts and tools were carried if a. Tool car was unavailable.
The 1218 only ran this trip without a tool car. The 1218 pulled two short trips on Sunday with a former Canadian National baggage car.
The Southern Railway steam program and the N&W and NS Steam program were awsome at least 16 years after cancelling it there bringing it back The F units that they are using are nice but not as beautiful as the 4501 class J 611 and N&W Class A 1218
what type of whistle is that
n&w Hooter whistle.
lil catty laws single chime
@ljones121
lol, it's a start tho. Gotta start somewhere.
Was that the inaugural run that was chased in the rain?
I think it was the first run, but it was a long time ago.
Sadly 1218 will probably never run again
Mean while in st Louis...
Would be cool to make a live steam 1218.
@PereMarquette1223 couldnt tell ya if i knew... all i know was when i was in roanoke in march 1218 has nothing inside her jacketing.. i heard some parts are in a box car.. but somes status is unknown
Best part around: 4:25
4:25
@HaloCE14 Just tell me where to write and I'll do it. I rode behind the 1218 twice and the 611 once. It is a crying shame what they did with them. At least they didn't scrap them. They have souls, ya know...
cant understand the guy on the radio at 7:25 to 7:30
7:25 7:30
I tell ya 1218 could pull!!! It was a way better at heavy loads than Union Pacific's challenger and was more efficient than the challenger. Meaning it could pull heavy loads up heavy grades but still have some speed.
Why didnt you catch that wheel spin!! I'm so mad at you!!!
If they had told me, I would have set up further down hill.
@@JRossHunter Damn that a bummer. BUT your one of the lucky people to see this in person.
there was no way that u stood 2-5ft away from O.Winston Link @ 04:58
It sure as hell looks like him. If its not him, pretty good lookalike.
NorfolkSoutherns#1Fan if the quality was better May have been him but I know he was over joyed to see 1218 back and I'm sure he went to as many excursions as he could to see it. heck in the documentary about him it showed footage he filmed while riding behind one of 1218's sister engines during the 50's and the A class was a favorite subject to o Winston link
Im sorry he's just one of my favorite rail photagraphers next to Jim Wrinn but thats amazing also next to the 611 the 1218 is one of my favorite steam locos if only they'd have kept her running hey maybe NS will come up with the money to start a fire up 1218 campaign again that would be beautiful and exiciting to see her rolling again especially as a tribute to O. Winston Link
PicklesRGreat I hope they get her back on the rails
Can't the engineer put sand down when they have a problem like this?
Most likely he was, it helps yes but still it's difficult to get a locomotive that large to move again from a dead stop, on wet rails and a hill.
this was neet, I was expecting her to sound somthing like 611, I noticed she is not a "j" clase. what is she?
She is a y6a articulated steam loco I think they are a classes there is the y6b and y6a they kinda look identical
@@Upguy-tj3gv 1218’s an A class. 2156 is a Y6a.
1218’s an A class
@@brycenew oh ok thanks for the information