The Norfolk and Western Railroad ( N&W ) is by far one of the most iconic railroads in the United States. Known for it's continued use of steam until 1960, the longest time any Class I railroad in America had used steam, and for being responsible for some of the greatest giants of steam such as: the Y-6-B's, A's, and J's. Much of the railroads popularity came from famed photographer O. Winston Link, and his recordings, and night time photographs, taken along the N&W. This railroad is a true icon in steam railroading, and though the J-class might be hard to implement into the game due to it's copyright issues, there are still plenty of locomotives to choose from such as the M class 4-8-0's, or the K1 4-8-2's. There have been several N&W steam locomotives in operation in mainline excursion service since the demise of steam on the N&W, the most popular of these locomotives include #475, #1218, and the most famous of them all, #611. This route would, in my opinion be a popular addition to Train Simulator, and I hope that this suggestion get's taken into consideration as a DLC in the future.
I like this idea. The route needs the J-Class 4-8-4, A-Class 2-6-6-4, and Y6b-Class 2-8-8-2. Rolling stock needs to be an N&W passenger consist, N&W coal hoppers, other freight, and an N&W caboose. The K1, K2, or M-Class could be DLC.
Great route idea, N&W produced some amazing locomotives especially the A's and J's. Would love to see 1218 in steam again. What is your favourite N&W locomotive, Buynot? and why do you like the N&W?
My favorite N&W locomotive is easily the J. I love its streamlined casing and its deep 3-chime whistle. As for why I like the N&W, it's always been featured in some capacity on the train DVD's I've watched over the years such as Greenfrog's "Steam in the 50's" and "Steam Giants Across America" or Pentrex's "Classic North American Steam". What I think really sparked my interest in the N&W was my discovery of O. Winston Link's photographs and sound recordings that he made during the 1950's. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the N&W and photography in general.
Really old meets old meets relatively new. October 2019 was a good month for railfans, and a stressful one for Strasburg. I went to the NCTM on November 2nd to see 611 in person with my own two eyes for the first time, and that night, I was talking to a friend who's a part of the crew that didn't go up to Strasburg due to insurance issues, in his words, and he told me that with everything that was going on that month, it was everything the Strasburg could do to keep everything together, which is understandable due to them being a single track railroad, with only one passing siding to my knowledge.