Nevermind the supersized steamers and weird electrics, it was nice to see some good footage of local Pacifics and Mikados. Hopefully this film can be preserved and cleaned up digitally (and most of the soundtrack replaced).
The siderod electrics were ghostly beasts, noted by several period railway photographers and authors as downright eery, coming up nearly silent, low growling motors and clanking rods.. Do any good recordings exist?
Enjoyed seeing the 2-6-6-6 Allegheny in action. I would like to see someone, with, trillions of dollars, build and operate a new one. Although I won't hold my breath.
I keep looking for the 2-10-10-2 but I never see it. I enjoy watching the video so it's not a total loss. It would just be a treat if it was in the video. If anyone can find this elusive locomotive please let all of us know
Absolutely! At age 10 in 1956, My father took my sister and I on the last Virginian passenger train run (which I believe may be shown in the color footage of this video). The train left Roanoke for Norfolk on a Sunday morning and returned that night. We got off at Brookneal in order to find a church (we had a perfect attendance streak going). After finding a welcoming congregation, the pastor invited us to a fine dinner at his house. That evening we caught the return train. It turned out that my physician father had operated on either the conductor or the engineer (can't recall which), but we got to ride in the locomotive. I can remember the fireman stepping on a pedal to open the clamshell doors to the firebox. That blast of heat and the glow of the fire was quite impressive. The coolest thing, though, was being allowed to pull the cord to blow the whistle! It's one of the best childhood memory I have. The Virginia Tech medical school is located on the site of the Virginian roundhouse and shops in Roanoke, now. The old VGN passenger station suffered a fire, and stood as a ruin for many years before being restored. I think a business or non profit organization is in it, now.
The VGN was quite a railroad! The footage of the big Alleghenies is very cool. Some folks like to argue the that the monstrous 2-6-6-6's out of Lima, OH were a foolish investment cuz there was no where to use their potential combined power and speed. I beg to differ. The VGN was the perfect place for those monsters of rock with their long, gentle, high-speed curves and the most modern and best-laid rail in all of North America from 1907 into the 1950's. Wikipedia has some great background well worth reading on how the VGN came into existence in spite of concerted efforts by both the C&O and N&W rail giants to squash the upstarts. Joke was on them, in the end.
The Baldwin 2-8-8-8-4 Triplex was a failure. It was intended only for heavy pusher service but it had insufficient grate area to keep steam pressure up long enough to push a train over the crest. The locomotive was split into a 2-8-8-0 which served for many years. The tender engine became a 2-8-2 which also lasted to the end of steam.
Wow, there is a good amount of H8 2-6-6-6 footage in this video. The most powerful steam locomotive of all time. Footage of this monster is rare. Love seeing new content being uploaded.
That may be true, but tractive Effort isn't everything. Especially if they cannot produce enough steam to carry the load over a mountain. The H8 in it's original design had one of the trailing truck wheels working as a booster to increase tractive effort if needed. But, it was never needed :-) @@obsessivecorvid
There were some duplexes that were (just a little bit) more powerful, but nowhere near the numbers of them. Also the duplexes were too slippery to be really useful, and the Allegheny / Blue Ridge locomotives were possibly the least slippery ever, with enormous weight on their drivers. Only the N&W class A's had more tractive effort, but were thousands of HP less.
@@paullangford8179The N&W class A has 114,000 pounds-force of tractive effort, the VGN class AE 2-10-10-2 had 147,200 pounds-force while in compound and 176,600 while starting trains in simple(delivering steam straight to the front cylinders)
It's a true shame that the Virginian rr didn't preserve a single example of their AG class 2-6-6-6 locomotives for future display as only 8 of these locomotives were built. The Virginian was the only other railroad besides the C&O to own a fleet of 2-6-6-6 articulated type steam engines, I wish that the VGN did save one example of the AG class type engines series (900-907).
A great history of the ol virginia railroad! -- those old electric choo- choo trains with their connecting arms shure make then look half steam locomotive!
#432 was later the last MB in revenue service as well as the last steam locomotive on the Roanoke theater of the railroad. Retired in September of 1956.
I sure do love to see a cabooses and helpers in action. I wish they were still required. It would mean more employment. I always did want to see a steam double-header working. It would require the engineers to coordinate with one other. It would be a big thrill to be the lead locomotive engineer on 729. A huge train to take the point on.
I think the railroad would be the happiest if they didn't have one employee. I always thought the railroad would be the first to go completely automated
RFD-TV has aired this program about Virginian Railroad several times in the past 15+ years. They have a program called "Trains and Locomotives" that airs every Mon @6pm. The program has several train shows produced in 1980's+1990's. Each of the shows has re-aired about every 2 years. Even though I've watched each show at least once, some are still enjoyable to watch again & again. Check your TV channel listings for RFD-TV. It's ch: 345 on my DirecTV
@@nazareth978 That changed in about 1927 when Westinghouse developed a motor that fit between axles. VGN waited about 20 years to get the EL2B units that used those motors.
I remember the Virginian trackage in southern Virginia on trips to my wife's folks home back in the 1970s. We passed through Meherrin and Virso, VA. Crossbucks were still painted on US360 at Virso but the interchange track with Southern that crossed the highway was long gone. Only the ROW was still visible. There was also a wye at Meherrin which connected to the parallel N&W. Virginian trackage East of Meherrin heading to Victoria was still operated as a branch and the trackage West of Meherrin was used as a storage track. The East leg of the Meherrin wye was used to access the active branch trackage and the West leg accessed the storage track. The old Virginian straight through track at the wye was abandoned and disconnected, but still in place. Usually in the Winter months a long string of hoppers or piggyback flats were stored which disappeared in the Summer. After the Southern/N&W merger, eventually all the ex-Virginian trackage through Meherrin was pulled up, even the formerly active trackage East of there. Never saw any trains run on the active trackage. Just saw strings of cars being stored on the storage part of the line. Sad when I see on this video how busy and well maintained the trackage was in that location not many years before.
I love the electrics. Too bad the Great Depression got in the way of a more widespread electrification of our national network. They could burn coal near the mines to generate electricity to power the trains, massively more efficient than steam locomotives when looking at the huge maintenance requirements for steam power.
The Pennsylvania Railroad took advantage of the Depression to electrify its mainlines, including the NYC-Washington "Broad Way", and developed the 90-per GG1s.
But they needed federal aid (in the form of loans and guarantees from the New Deal-era Works Progress Administration) to finish the project, which illustrated the difficulty of implementing electrification in North America. Its very expensive, because all the infrastructure of an electrified railroad, from the power stations to the overhead lines has to be installed AT THE SAME TIME. And there's the ROI: how fast the line can pay back the amount invested, plus interest, within a reasonable amount of time. These are some of the obstacles to electrification of railroads in North America.
JMJ made some great videos years ago. I remember one a friend had on the D&H. Best D&H video I have ever seen hands down.
Nevermind the supersized steamers and weird electrics, it was nice to see some good footage of local Pacifics and Mikados. Hopefully this film can be preserved and cleaned up digitally (and most of the soundtrack replaced).
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,music sucks,,,,,,,wanna hear the engines....................
Or, at least some music from the steam era.@@ThomasELeClair
This video is a real treasure
The siderod electrics were ghostly beasts, noted by several period railway photographers and authors as downright eery, coming up nearly silent, low growling motors and clanking rods.. Do any good recordings exist?
Enjoyed seeing the 2-6-6-6 Allegheny in action. I would like to see someone, with, trillions of dollars, build and operate a new one. Although I won't hold my breath.
12:57 might be the few if not only recordings of a Virginian Berkshire
You show a 2-10-10-2 In the Thumbnail, but where is it. Would love to see footage of this beast.
That's the only reason why I clicked on the Video. WHERE'S MAH AE CLASS DAMNIT
Me too, What a disappointment.
I don’t think there’s video of it anywhere on the internet is there?
@@mopac8233 There are at least three on UA-cam...
@@haroldwilkes6608 Links?
Going thru tunnels with a steam engine, had to be miserable for the operators.
I wish they had all of these locomotives in ho scale
So do i
From 11:11 to 13:35 what music is that called cause I remember that so well but what is the name?
I wonder who narrated this
Daddy what's a train
An air conditioning manufacturer son!
I keep looking for the 2-10-10-2 but I never see it. I enjoy watching the video so it's not a total loss. It would just be a treat if it was in the video. If anyone can find this elusive locomotive please let all of us know
Could you imagine the EPA tolerating these old steam locomotives?
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,screw ralph nader jellybacks and the chomo EPA....types....
This film really deserves the best of modern age digital remastering
Absolutely! At age 10 in 1956, My father took my sister and I on the last Virginian passenger train run (which I believe may be shown in the color footage of this video). The train left Roanoke for Norfolk on a Sunday morning and returned that night. We got off at Brookneal in order to find a church (we had a perfect attendance streak going). After finding a welcoming congregation, the pastor invited us to a fine dinner at his house. That evening we caught the return train. It turned out that my physician father had operated on either the conductor or the engineer (can't recall which), but we got to ride in the locomotive. I can remember the fireman stepping on a pedal to open the clamshell doors to the firebox. That blast of heat and the glow of the fire was quite impressive. The coolest thing, though, was being allowed to pull the cord to blow the whistle! It's one of the best childhood memory I have. The Virginia Tech medical school is located on the site of the Virginian roundhouse and shops in Roanoke, now. The old VGN passenger station suffered a fire, and stood as a ruin for many years before being restored. I think a business or non profit organization is in it, now.
@@charlesyoung7436Excellent memory and anecdote you had in the times of this railway
The VGN was quite a railroad! The footage of the big Alleghenies is very cool. Some folks like to argue the that the monstrous 2-6-6-6's out of Lima, OH were a foolish investment cuz there was no where to use their potential combined power and speed. I beg to differ. The VGN was the perfect place for those monsters of rock with their long, gentle, high-speed curves and the most modern and best-laid rail in all of North America from 1907 into the 1950's. Wikipedia has some great background well worth reading on how the VGN came into existence in spite of concerted efforts by both the C&O and N&W rail giants to squash the upstarts. Joke was on them, in the end.
@Robert Swickard Wiki indicates the Pennsy rail was 155#, a bit heavier than the 152# you mention.
First time Ive seen real footage of an allegheny operating under its own steam. Awesome video
The Baldwin 2-8-8-8-4 Triplex was a failure. It was intended only for heavy pusher service but it had insufficient grate area to keep steam pressure up long enough to push a train over the crest.
The locomotive was split into a 2-8-8-0 which served for many years. The tender engine became a 2-8-2 which also lasted to the end of steam.
honestly so, it was a failure
Wow, there is a good amount of H8 2-6-6-6 footage in this video. The most powerful steam locomotive of all time. Footage of this monster is rare. Love seeing new content being uploaded.
The Virginian rr AG class 2-6-6-6 locomotives are classified as the "Blue Ridge" type, built by Lima works in 1945 and operated until 1954.
Pretty sure the AE class 2-10-10-2s has more tractive effort(the 2-8-8-8-4 XA has even more then the AEs)
That may be true, but tractive Effort isn't everything. Especially if they cannot produce enough steam to carry the load over a mountain. The H8 in it's original design had one of the trailing truck wheels working as a booster to increase tractive effort if needed. But, it was never needed :-) @@obsessivecorvid
There were some duplexes that were (just a little bit) more powerful, but nowhere near the numbers of them. Also the duplexes were too slippery to be really useful, and the Allegheny / Blue Ridge locomotives were possibly the least slippery ever, with enormous weight on their drivers. Only the N&W class A's had more tractive effort, but were thousands of HP less.
@@paullangford8179The N&W class A has 114,000 pounds-force of tractive effort, the VGN class AE 2-10-10-2 had 147,200 pounds-force while in compound and 176,600 while starting trains in simple(delivering steam straight to the front cylinders)
Love those Boxcabs. They were the forerunners of todays electrics, using three phaxe current that was generated on the locomotive itself.
Great films of these old engines and equipment. including the dates they were filmed and engine types makes it even better.
It's a true shame that the Virginian rr didn't preserve a single example of their AG class 2-6-6-6 locomotives for future display as only 8 of these locomotives were built. The Virginian was the only other railroad besides the C&O to own a fleet of 2-6-6-6 articulated type steam engines, I wish that the VGN did save one example of the AG class type engines series (900-907).
Although I'm an N&W guy, being born in 1943, these bring back great memories, Thanks.
Just curious... Why do you refer to steam engines as "units" ? That seems like what is called a "category mistake."
Great stuff from JMJ! They have a C&O steam video as well. Supposedly it has footage of an M1 with authentic sound.
The Richest Little Railroad in the World!
So, were is the triplex (or at least the rebuild) as pictured in the thumbnail
music has to GO!
That GE ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE HADE ENORMOUS TRACTIVE EFFECT,, IN ADDITION TO THERE 6000 PLUS HORSEPOWER
I love this video! Trains of the Virginian system? In the 1950's? This is heaven for me!
A lot of mixed freight shown. Nice.
A great history of the ol virginia railroad! -- those old electric choo- choo trains with their connecting arms shure make then look half steam locomotive!
Great video. But why oh why that dismal, corny, music?? I guarantee it was not in the original.
I had no idea there was footage of 0-8-0 4 in action. I saw 4 in Roanoke a couple of years ago.
Check out the 40 and 50 ton freight cars and the very short trains.
Love the film but the music sucks
I would like to see more Virginiana railroad videos
#432 was later the last MB in revenue service as well as the last steam locomotive on the Roanoke theater of the railroad. Retired in September of 1956.
I sure do love to see a cabooses and helpers in action. I wish they were still required. It would mean more employment. I always did want to see a steam double-header working. It would require the engineers to coordinate with one other. It would be a big thrill to be the lead locomotive engineer on 729. A huge train to take the point on.
I think the railroad would be the happiest if they didn't have one employee. I always thought the railroad would be the first to go completely automated
Lovely old film. Greetings from England. Feel free to like and subscribe.
They should make an animated version of this film.
Great history. Thanks.
I would really like to find a DVD copy of this.
RFD-TV has aired this program about Virginian Railroad several times in the past 15+ years. They have a program called "Trains and Locomotives" that airs every Mon @6pm. The program has several train shows produced in 1980's+1990's. Each of the shows has re-aired about every 2 years. Even though I've watched each show at least once, some are still enjoyable to watch again & again. Check your TV channel listings for RFD-TV. It's ch: 345 on my DirecTV
Would it not be.tter to have additional motors rather than use side-rods to turn drive wheels?
Electrical technology at that time did not allow producing small electric motors. This is why they had to use big motors, and mechanical rods.
@@nazareth978 That changed in about 1927 when Westinghouse developed a motor that fit between axles. VGN waited about 20 years to get the EL2B units that used those motors.
does nobody know the horsepower for the Virginian 2-10-10-2?
I remember the Virginian trackage in southern Virginia on trips to my wife's folks home back in the 1970s. We passed through Meherrin and Virso, VA. Crossbucks were still painted on US360 at Virso but the interchange track with Southern that crossed the highway was long gone. Only the ROW was still visible. There was also a wye at Meherrin which connected to the parallel N&W. Virginian trackage East of Meherrin heading to Victoria was still operated as a branch and the trackage West of Meherrin was used as a storage track. The East leg of the Meherrin wye was used to access the active branch trackage and the West leg accessed the storage track. The old Virginian straight through track at the wye was abandoned and disconnected, but still in place. Usually in the Winter months a long string of hoppers or piggyback flats were stored which disappeared in the Summer. After the Southern/N&W merger, eventually all the ex-Virginian trackage through Meherrin was pulled up, even the formerly active trackage East of there. Never saw any trains run on the active trackage. Just saw strings of cars being stored on the storage part of the line. Sad when I see on this video how busy and well maintained the trackage was in that location not many years before.
Ok but where is the Virginian 2-10-10-2
Hallo. Very good video. 👍
I love the electrics. Too bad the Great Depression got in the way of a more widespread electrification of our national network. They could burn coal near the mines to generate electricity to power the trains, massively more efficient than steam locomotives when looking at the huge maintenance requirements for steam power.
The Pennsylvania Railroad took advantage of the Depression to electrify its mainlines, including the NYC-Washington "Broad Way", and developed the 90-per GG1s.
But they needed federal aid (in the form of loans and guarantees from the New Deal-era Works Progress Administration) to finish the project, which illustrated the difficulty of implementing electrification in North America. Its very expensive, because all the infrastructure of an electrified railroad, from the power stations to the overhead lines has to be installed AT THE SAME TIME. And there's the ROI: how fast the line can pay back the amount invested, plus interest, within a reasonable amount of time. These are some of the obstacles to electrification of railroads in North America.
where is my namesake?
First
Third lol