Strasburg Rail Road (Norfolk and Western) 475 is a 4-8-0 "Mastodon" type steam locomotive owned and operated by the Strasburg Rail Road (SRC) in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. Built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in June 1906, it was part of the Norfolk & Western Railroad's (N&W) first order of M class numbered 375–499. No. 475 currently remains operational at the SRC, running tourist excursion trains in the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside.

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Norfolk & Western 475
Norfolk and Western No. 475 conducting in-cab experiences in Leaman Place, Pennsylvania on August 16, 2020
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Serial number 28343 Build date June 1906 Rebuild date 1991–1993
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) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 22,000 lb (10.0 tonnes) Water cap. 10,000 US gal (38,000 l; 8,300 imp gal) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1.38 MPa) Heating surface 2,940 sq ft (273 m2) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 21 in × 30 in (533 mm × 762 mm) Valve gear Stephenson (inside); later Baker
Performance figures Tractive effort 40,163 lbf (178.65 kN)
Career Operators Norfolk & Western Railway Strasburg Rail Road Class M Number in class 101 Numbers N&W 475 N&W 382 SRC 475 Retired 1956 (revenue service) Preserved September 1960 (Roanoke, Virginia) 1986 (Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad) Restored September 1993 Current owner Strasburg Rail Road Disposition Operational

History

No. 475 was the 101st member of 125 M class steam locomotives built for N&W in 1906–07, rolling out of Baldwin Locomotive Works in June 1906.[1] It worked on N&W hauling freight and coal trains on the main line until it was later reassigned to branch line duties when bigger locomotives such as the Y series 2-8-8-2s, K series 4-8-2s, and J 4-8-4s starting arriving on N&W. It was later retired in 1956, completing 50 years of service.[1] In 1957–58, it was backdated in its original 1900s appearance with a fake diamond smokestack and oil headlamp and hauled the Salem Shifter local passenger train.[2] By September 1960, No. 475 was placed on display in Roanoke, Virginia. In 1962, it was sold to the Virginia Scrap Iron & Metal Company scrapyard and stayed there until it was purchased a year later by William Armagost from Hollsopple, Pennsylvania.[1] In 1980, the locomotive was sold to H.S. Kuyper, and then conveyed to the Pella Historical Society, being stored at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.[1] In 1982, it was purchased by C. Rosenberg and his daughters, who subsequently donated it to the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad in 1985.[1] No. 475 was purchased by Strasburg Rail Road (SRC) in June 1991 for $100,000 and restored to operating condition in fall of 1993, where it currently operated in excursion service on the SRC.[1]

Since 2010, No. 475 was cosmetically altered to resemble its extinct sister locomotive No. 382 for the Virginia Creeper photo charter runbys hosted by Lerro Productions on separate occasions.[3][4]

Accident

On November 2, 2022, while running around a passenger train at Leaman Place, Paradise, No. 475 collided head-on with an excavator parked on a siding.[5] The impact punched a hole in the smokebox door.[5] No crew or passengers were injured, and the damage done was deemed relatively minor.[6] The collision was broadcast live via Virtual Railfan and was caught on video via cellphone by one of the passengers on board the train that day.[5][7] The accident was caused by a misaligned switch, and it is being investigated by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).[5] Strasburg announced on November 3, the day after the accident, that repairs on the locomotive had begun.[8] The locomotive returned to service on November 7, 2022 after repairs were completed.[9]

Cab arrangement

Like the W class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type, there was no cab deck behind the backhead: firemen shoveled coal from the tender deck and, along with the engineer, sat beside the firebox because the firebox came right to the back of the cab. The throttle lever hung down over the shoulder of the firebox, the reverser lever was in front of the engineer against the side of the firebox, with the water glass just above. The injector controls (A water valve, the overflow valve, and the operating lever.) were in front against the outer wall of the cab. On the fireman's side, there was a water glass, injector controls, and a drop seat arranged like the engineer's.

Appearances in Media

No. 475 was featured in the 2000 movie, Thomas and the Magic Railroad.[10] An interview with Strasburg Railroad's then Chief Mechanical Officer, Linn Moedinger, revealed that the film's producer, Phil Fehrle, called him looking for an American locomotive to use.[10] 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).[10]

During filming, 475 and three of Strasburg's coaches (of which only two were used) were lettered for the fictional Indian Valley Railroad. No. 475 ventured off SRC trackage to the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[10] The ferry move to Harrisburg from Leaman Place by Amtrak, as well as the filming, was unannounced so as not to attract a crowd.[10]

Gallery

• 
  N&W No. 475 at the Strasburg Rail Road in April 2014
• 
  No. 475 pulling a tourist excursion in 2004
• 
  Strasburg No. 475 pulling a single hopper car at Cherry Hill Rd. in 2013.
• 
  No. 475 sitting inside the Strasburg Railroad engine shed behind BEDT #15.

See also

• Canadian National 89
• Canadian National 7312
• Great Western 90
• Norfolk and Western 433
• Norfolk and Western 578
• Norfolk and Western 611

References

Bibiliography

• 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.

Further reading

• Bell, Kurt; Plant, Jeremy (2015). Strasburg Rail Road In Color (1st ed.). Morning Sun Books. ISBN 978-1582484792.
• Conner, Eric; Barrall, Steve (2017). Strasburg Rail Road. Images of Rail (1st ed.). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4671-2507-9.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Norfolk and Western Railway 475.

• No. 475 – Strasburg Rail Road
• N&W M Class Information