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 Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) 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) 1978 (excursion service) Restored 1960 Current owner Ohio Railway Museum Disposition On static display

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 mechanical problems in the early 1970s. As of 2023, No. 578 remains on static display next to the Ohio Railway Museum's depot.

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.^[1] 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.^[1] 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.^[1]

The N&W initially assigned their fleet of 4-6-2's to pull the railroad's high-priority passenger trains on their mainline throughout Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio.^[1] Between 1917 and 1944, No. 578 was primarily used to pull passenger trains throughout the Scioto Division out of Columbus, Ohio. As time progressed, No. 578 and the rest of the N&W's 4-6-2s were reassigned to pull short-distance passenger trains, as well as communiter trains on branchlines, when the K class 4-8-2 "Mountain" types and J class 4-8-4 "Northerns" were built and assigned to pull the high-priority trains. Towards the end of the 1940s, No. 578's original tender was replaced with a larger tender with the same coal and water capacity as a K1 class 4-8-2.

The locomotive subsequently spent the remainder of its revenue career pulling local passenger trains on the N&W’s Norton Branch between Norton, Virginia and Bluefield, West Virginia alongside some of its remaining classmates.^[2] The locomotive completed its final revenue passenger run in December 1958 before it was removed from the N&W's active list.

Preservation

While the rest of the N&W's fleet of 4-6-2's were sold for scrap, No. 578 was donated to the Central Ohio Railfan Association of Worthington, Ohio in 1959. Upon arrival in Worthington, No. 578 was still in operational condition. Beginning on July 10, 1960, No. 578 pulled the association's short-distance tourist trains, and the locomotive carried over 3,000 passengers during that year's operating season.^[3] In 1966, No. 578's flue time expired, and it had to be removed from service. Volunteers subsequently spent the next four years repairing No. 578's boiler in order to return the locomotive to service. Restoration work was completed in 1970, and No. 578 pulled some more tourist trains on the now-slightly extended line for the Association, which changed its name to the Ohio Railway Museum (ORM).

By the end of the 1970s, it was discovered that No. 578 had a broken spring hanger, which was deemed too expensive to repair or replace. A decision was subsequently made to further remove No. 578 from service and keep it as a permanent static display piece. As of 2024, No. 578 remains on static display on ORM's property.