Norfolk and Western Class Y6

Norfolk and Western Class Y6
Technical specifications
Manufacturer(s)	N&W's Roanoke Shops
Build date	1936–1940
Total produced	35
Classification	Y6
Rail gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Cylinders	Four: two low-pressure (front), two high-pressure (rear)
Boiler pressure	300 psi (2.07 MPa)
Fuel type	Coal
Service information
Running numbers	2155-2170
Disposition details
Preserved	No. 2156 was preserved
Disposition	One preserved, remainder scrapped

The Norfolk and Western Class Y6 was a class of 2-8-8-2 steam locomotive Mallets with a total of 35 examples built for the Norfolk and Western Railway.

History

The Norfolk and Western Class Y6 was a class of 2-8-8-2 steam locomotive Mallets with a total of 38 examples built for the Norfolk and Western Railway.

When the Norfolk and Western Railway ceased their mainline steam operations in 1959, 50 of the Y6s were still running out serviceable miles in the coal fields waiting for the final order of diesels to replace the Y6s.

None of these examples survived into the preservation days, they were all scrapped when the Norfolk and Western Railway had dieselized.

Fate of the 2143

One of the examples No. 2143 had sat in a scrapyard along with a Y6b No. 2174, there had lost it's tender sometime before it was sent to the scrapyard, by the 1970s, it and No. 2174 had become known amongst local railfans, and a rescue attempt from the Roanoke Chapter of the NRHS, later the VMT, aimed to make money to preserve the pair of engines. This fundraising attempt had been supported by the original owner of the scrapyard, who by this time was getting up in age. This proved detrimental to the preservation of the engines when the cooperative owner passed away and the scrapyard's ownership was sold to a British Group. The new owners of the site wanted both locomotives gone in less than a month, and with little to no time to preserve the pair, they were scrapped in 1976. Some parts from the locomotives were salvaged by Bill Purdy for the Southern Steam Program.

Accidents and Incidents

• On September 26, 1950, No. 2153 was on a train run when it suffered a crown-sheet failure, and a catastrophic boiler explosion, which destroyed the cab of the locomotive as well as blasting the smokebox door off it's hinges, this boiler explosion had occurred in Wytheville, Virginia.

Stock List

Photograph	Loco No.	Build date(s)	Status	Notes
Frameless	2120	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2121	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2122	-	Scrapped
	2123	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2124	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2125	-	Scrapped
	2126	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2127	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2128	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2129	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2130	-	Scrapped
	2131	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2132	-	Scrapped
	2133	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2134	-	Scrapped
	2135	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2136	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2137	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2138	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2139	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2140	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2141	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2142	-	Scrapped
	2143	-	Scrapped	Scrapped along with N&W Y6b No. 2174.
	2144	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2145	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2146	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2147	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2148	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2149	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2150	-	Scrapped
Frameless	2151	-	Scrapped
	2152	-	Scrapped
	2153	-	Scrapped	Involved in a boiler explosion, scrapped
Frameless	2154	-	Scrapped

List of Norfolk and Western Y Class 2-8-8-2s
Classes:	Y • Y1 • Y2 • Y3 • Y3a • Y3b • Y4 • Y4a • Y5 • Y6 • Y6a • Y6b
Excursion Star:	No. 2174 (Y6b)
Extinct:	Y • Y1 • Y2 • Y3 • Y3b • Y4 • Y4a • Y5 • Y6 • Y6b • HH1
Preserved:	No. 2050 (Y3a) • No. 2156 (Y6a)
Pennsylvania Railroad:	HH1
Never built:	Y7