Kegley Lecture: The Final 5 Years of N&W Steam with Ken Miller

At the beginning of January 1955, the Norfolk and Western proudly proclaimed on note pads that it was “Operated 100% by coal-burning steam locomotives.” The Norfolk and Western had operated for almost 80 years using its primary commodity as its main power source, up to and including building and designing its own locomotives in Roanoke.

By May, 1955, to free up some larger steam power to fit needs elsewhere on the railroad, the N&W ordered its first diesel locomotive to handle traffic on the lightly trafficked line between Lynchburg and Durham, N.C.  By May 10, 1960, the very few steam locomotives, holed out in the hard-scrabble landscape of coal country in southern West Virginia, were replaced with diesels. 

The Kegley Lecture Series resumes as author and historian Ken Miller discusses how Norfolk & Western went from 100 percent steam to 100 percent diesel in less than 5 years.

Join us Tuesday, September 24 at 7pm at Christ Lutheran Church. Admission is $5 (Free for HSWV members).