Norfolk and Western 578

Norfolk and Western 578 is a preserved 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive. Built by ALCO's Richmond Works in 1910, No. 578 was assigned to pull premiere passenger trains for the Norfolk and Western Railway before it was downgraded to secondary passenger service. It was retired from revenue service altogether in 1958, and it was subsequently donated to the Ohio Railway Museum in Worthington, Ohio. The Ohio Railway Museum used No. 578 to pull some tourist trains on their trackage, until it was sidelined as a result of firebox issues in the early 1970s. As of 2022, No. 578 remains on static display next to the Ohio Railway Museum's depot.

Norfolk and Western 578
No. 578 on static display at the Ohio Railway Museum without its headlight.
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder American Locomotive Company (Richmond Works) Serial number 46831 Build date March 1910
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2  • UIC 2'C1 Driver dia. 70 in (1,800 mm) Wheelbase 72.19 ft (22.00 m) ​  • Engine 32.87 ft (10.02 m)  • Drivers 12.50 ft (3.81 m) Axle load 56,000 lb (25,000 kg) Adhesive weight 166,000 lb (75,000 kg) Loco weight 247,000 lb (112,000 kg) Tender weight 167,500 lb (76,000 kg) Total weight 414,500 lb (188,000 kg) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity New: 14 t (14 long tons; 15 short tons) Now: 26 t (26 long tons; 29 short tons) Water cap. New: 9,000 US gal (34,000 L; 7,500 imp gal) Now: 18,000 US gal (68,000 L; 15,000 imp gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 45.50 sq ft (4.227 m2) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1,400 kPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 180 sq ft (17 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 22.5 in × 28 in (570 mm × 710 mm) Valve gear Baker
Performance figures Tractive effort 34,425 lb (15,615 kg) Factor of adh. 4.82
Career Operators Norfolk and Western Railway Ohio Railway Museum Class E2a Number in class 15th out of 16 Numbers N&W 578 Retired December 1958 (Revenue service) 1970 (Excursion service) Restored 1960 Current owner Ohio Railway Museum Disposition Static display, based in Worthington, Ohio

History

Revenue service

In the early 1910s, the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) ordered a fleet of 4-6-2 "Pacific" type locomotives from the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in order to expand their passenger locomotive fleet. Sixteen E2 class 4-6-2s were built at ALCO's former Richmond Locomotive Works plant in Richmond, Virginia in March 1910, being numbered 564-579, and No. 578 was the second-final member of the class. Two years later, in 1912, No. 578, along with the rest of the E2 class locomotives, was modified with superheated flues, and it was reclassified as an E2a.

The N&W intially assigned No. 578 to pull the railroad's high-priority passenger trains on their mainline throughout Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio.

See also

• Norfolk and Western 433
• Norfolk and Western 475
• Norfolk and Western 611