What Remains In The Scrapyard

The steam locomotives in the Roanoke scrapyard are the very last surviving examples of two classes of Norfolk & Western heavy freight locomotives, the M2 and M2c class 4-8-0 types. With four pilot wheels, eight drive wheels, and no trailing wheels, the 4-8-0 was an uncommon wheel arrangement, but it found favor with the N&W as the next logical step up as trains outgrew the smaller 2-8-0 types in the early years of the Twentieth Century. The ultimate development of the N&W 4-8-0 designs, the M2 and M2c classes were the heaviest 4-8-0's ever built. Fifty M2 class engines were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia in 1910, followed by a group of ten similar engines built by the Roanoke Machine Works in 1911 and designated class M2c. Today, engines 1118 and 1134 are the last of the original M2's, while of the Roanoke-built engines, number 1151 is the sole survivor. Together they are important examples of the evolution of heavy freight locomotives in the pre-World War I era.

Although the original tenders that went into the yard with 1118, 1134, and 1151 were cut up for scrap long ago, two other steam locomotive tenders remain there, modified to serve as water canteens. They are similar in design to the large tenders paired with some of the M2 class locomotives in their later years, and can be adapted to serve as replacements for the lost original tenders for two of the 4-8-0's.

Also in the yard are Baldwin-built diesel locomotives 662 and 663 from the Chesapeake Western railroad. These DS-4-4-660 class switchers were among the first batch of diesel locomotives ordered by this western Virginia shortline. Today these "first generation" diesels are historic in their own right, representing not only the technology that displaced steam from America's railroads in the 40's and 50's, but also the last-ditch attempt by storied steam locomotive builder Baldwin to remain competitive in the diesel era.

Our Plans For The Locomotives

It is the goal of TWVRPS to see as many of the Roanoke scrapyard locomotives saved as possible, through the coordinated efforts of TWVRPS, the VMT, and other interested parties. A fourth steam locomotive, Norfolk & Western 917 was recently acquired by an individual in Ohio and removed from the yard. At an estimated cost of approximately $50,000 each to move the three remaining steam locomotives, two diesels, two tenders and a flat car, just what can be saved will depend on the amount successfully raised before the December 31, 2008 deadline given by the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority, which now owns the scrapyard site.

Update: The Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority has extended the deadline for coordinating rescue efforts until July 31, 2009.

TWVRPS will support the VMT in their efforts to acquire the 1151, and has developed a priority list of the remaining equipment. The group is particularly interested in engine number 1118 (the most intact of the three steam locomotives remaining in the yard), and would also like to preserve one of the diesels. The two water tenders, although not original to the locomotives, are similar to tenders that these engines would have used in their final years of service, and are also high on the priority list of items to be saved.

The 1118 and other historic locomotives preserved by TWVRPS are to be restored and displayed in the Commonwealth of Virginia as an important part of the region's railroad heritage. The Society is currently in negotiations to acquire a permanent site for their museum and restoration facility in western Virginia. The group has identified several potential storage sites in the Roanoke area where the equipment can be placed out of harm's way and restoration work can commence, pending a move to the permanent facility.