Norfolk and Western 1218

Norfolk and Western 1218 is the only surviving Norfolk and Western class A 2-6-6-4 steam locomotive, built at Roanoke’s East End Shops in 1943 for demanding wartime traffic. Designed to combine speed and pulling power, it served on troop trains, fast freight, coal, and passenger runs before retirement in 1959 as dieselization spread. Sold for industrial use as a stationary boiler, it narrowly escaped scrapping in 1964 and was preserved through Steamtown, U.S.A. Returned to Roanoke in 1969, it was restored for display, then rebuilt for operation in the 1980s and ran Norfolk Southern excursions until 1994. It is now on display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation.

Roanoke, Virginia · United States