locomotive home bases

[nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org]

Re: Rev. Frank Hung's email:

To some extent N&W steam power had a home base.  I was most familiar 
with the engine numbers which operated on the Shenandoah 
Division.  As Ed King said, they were Roanoke based and were equipped 
for automatic train control. Shenandoah Division was the only route 
which was train control equipped.  On the other hand Class J 
locomotives worked the mainline Norfolk to Cincinnati and also 
Lynchburg to Bristol.  They ran on a definite cycle so a J with any 
road number could be found on these routes as they worked through the cycle.

I can't speak for operating practices on other railroads, but steam 
power usually stayed in areas where the terrain and tonnage was best 
suited to their wheel arrangement, speed and tractive effort. C&O 
owned steam power which mostly was assigned to definite 
districts:  mountain service versus flatter land east and west of the 
Alleghenies.  N&W seemed far more flexible with fewer wheel 
arrangements which could perform well almost over the entire 
railroad.  PRR motive power had definite terminal assignments with 
the home initials stenciled on the locomotive pilots.

Rick Morrison