We're preparing for a very special visitor, the C&O J-3a Class 614!

  

Unseen for a decade, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway's superpowered steam locomotive, the J-3a Class 614, is being prepared for a move from Pennsylvania, where it has long been in storage, to the Virginia Museum of Transportation as part of a special limited engagement exhibit.

The exhibit is titled The Thoroughbreds of Steam: N&W 611 and C&O 614, the Pinnacle of Steam Locomotive Technology. Both locomotives were among the last steam engines to pull passenger trains in America. Both share the same 4-8-4 wheel arrangement, both represented the crowning technological achievement of their respective builders, and both are the last remaining examples of their class. The Museum's Norfolk & Western Class J 611 was designed and built in 1950 by the N&W in its Roanoke Shops, while the C&O 614 was the last commercially manufactured 4-8-4, built by Lima (OH) Locomotive Works in 1948.

The exhibit is a joint project of the Virginia Museum of Transportation and the C&O Railway Heritage Center, with assistance from the Norfolk & Western Historical Society, the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society, and the Roanoke Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. Both museums gratefully acknowledge Iron Horse Enterprises for the loan of the 614, and Norfolk Southern for generously moving the locomotive.

Visitors can see the 614 beginning February 12, placed on Track 2 beside 611 and in front of N&W 1218. The locomotive will travel to the C&O Railway Heritage Center in Clifton Forge, VA at the end of April and subsequently be on exhibit there. Exact dates will be based on the locomotive's move schedule. Check the Museum's web site for updates and confirmation of the exhibit opening date.