The ''Powhatan Arrow'' was one of the named

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

s of the

Norfolk and Western The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

. Its route ran from

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. Train 25 left Norfolk at 7:00 am,N&W October 27, 1957 Timetable, p. 14 and made the 565 mile run to

Portsmouth, Ohio Portsmouth is a city in and the county seat of Scioto County, Ohio, United States. Located in southern Ohio south of Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky, just east of the mouth of the Scioto River. ...

, in 12 hours 50 minutes. The remaining 111.6 miles to Cincinnati took nearly 3 hours as the train performed all the local work on that stretch of line.N&W October 27, 1957 Timetable, p. 15 In the reverse direction, Train 26 left Cincinnati at 8:10 am and Portsmouth at 11:10, arriving in Norfolk at 11:55 pm. The motive power for the ''Powhatan Arrow'' was built by the

Roanoke Shops 250px, Norfolk Southern Roanoke Shops in 2004. The Roanoke Shops (also called the East End Shops) is a Norfolk Southern workshop and maintenance facility in Roanoke, Virginia. Between 1884 and 1953, the shops produced 447 steam locomotives, all f ...

of Norfolk and Western located in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...

. The train was given its name from a name submission contest offered by Norfolk and Western, the winner of which was Mr. Leonard Allen Scott of Dry Branch, Virginia. His entry (among over 140,000) was sent out in the last sack of mail picked up by the mail train in Parrott the day of the deadline for postmarks. The ''Arrow'' made its maiden run on April 28, 1946, and quickly became one of the most popular of Norfolk and Western's passenger trains. It and its J-class powered companions traveled approximately 15,000 miles per month and may have traveled nearly three million miles in its lifetime.

Background and class history

Among the most famous steam power of the N&W were the

4-8-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type w ...

J class steam locomotives, which pulled N&W's crack passenger trains such as the ''

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

'', the ''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

'' and the ''Powhatan Arrow'', as well as ferrying the Southern Railway's ''

Tennessean Tennessean refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the state of Tennessee, including: * ''The Tennessean'' newspaper * Tennessean (train) See also * List of people from Tennessee * Tennessine Tennessine is a synthetic chemic ...

'' and ''

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

'' between

Monroe, Virginia Monroe is an unincorporated community in Amherst County, Virginia, United States. Monroe is located along U.S. Route 29 north of Lynchburg. Speed the Plough, a farm located in Monroe, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 ...

, and

Bristol, Tennessee Bristol is a city in the State of Tennessee. Located in Sullivan County, its population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The ...

. During late 1944 and early 1945, a test on the Pennsylvania Railroad, one of the Js No. 610 achieved 110 mph with a fifteen car, 1050-ton train along one section of flat, straight track between

Crestline, Ohio Crestline is a village in Crawford and Richland Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. Crestline's population was 4,630 at the 2010 census. It is the third largest municipality in Crawford County. The Crawford County portion of Crestline is part ...

and

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. This was remarkable performance for a 70-inch drivered reciprocating steam locomotive. But the only time the "J"s were able to do anything like that on N&W rails was on the eastern portion of the line, between Petersburg and Norfolk. The average speed of the ''Arrow'' between Norfolk and Cincinnati, with much of the route through the mountains, was only about 43 mph. The "J"s were numbered from 600 through 613, and were built in three groups from 1941 to 1950. The only surviving member of this famous class of locomotives is No. 611, currently operational. In 1949, the N&W ordered sufficient passenger cars to re-equip the ''Powhattan Arrow'' completely and the ''Pocohontas'' partially. The consist for the new ''Powhattan Arrow'' included two 48-seat coaches with crew room (P1 class, #501 and #502), two 66-seat divided coaches (P2 class, #511 and #512), ten 56-seat coaches (P3 class #531–540), four 36-seat

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that ...

s (D1 class, #491–494) and two lounge-tavern-

observation car An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a platform on the rear of th ...

s (P4 class, #581 and #582). Some of the P3 and two of the D1 cars were for the ''Pocohantas''. They were smooth-sided and delivered in Tuscan red and black. Of the ten P3 cars, seven may still be in some type of operation. Several of these cars were used in the Norfolk Southern Steam Program.
this returns a 404 --> According to surviving drawings, the N&W streamlined/lightweight trains were originally supposed to be painted as follows: sides, ends and skirts "Tuscan red", roofs "dark brown" with trucks "Pullman green", and lettering/striping "gold leaf". During the early 1950s the lettering and striping was changed to imitation (Dulux) gold, while the roofs and trucks were repainted black. The heavyweight cars were painted the same as before but did not carry train name logos or striping. After absorbing the 1964

Wabash Railroad The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...

by merger, the N&W "officially" adopted blue and yellow as passenger colors at the end of 1965. The repaints were not all done right away. The ''Powhattan Arrow'' made its last run in 1969, two years before the end of all N&W passenger train service.

Equipment

The 1949 edition of the ''Powhatan Arrow'' carried coaches, a tavern-lounge, and a

. The coaches and tavern-lounges were drawn from a pool of 15 coaches built by

Pullman-Standard The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century ...

in 1941 for the ''Pocahontas''. Three of the coaches were rebuilt as tavern-lounges. Each car had a coach seating area, a lounge area with chair seating for 20 plus two four-top tables. The N&W would replace the coach seating section with additional lounge seats. The dining cars were Pullman-Standard heavyweight cars from 1927.

Derailments

* On June 12, 1946, No. 604 hauled the eastbound ''Powhatan Arrow'' after departing Cincinnati, Ohio, at 8:10 a.m. for Norfolk. At 3:18 p.m., the locomotive derailed four miles west of

Powhatan, West Virginia Powhatan is an unincorporated community in McDowell County, West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographe ...

, due to excessive speed at 56 mph, killing engineer Grover C. “Nap” Roberts and fireman Beecher Lawson. These injuries included 23 passengers, three dining car employees, and one train service employee. * On February 20, 1948, No. 607 derailed near

Franklin Furnace, Ohio Franklin Furnace is a census-designated place (CDP) in Scioto County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,660 at the 2010 census. Franklin Furnace's post office has the ZIP code of 45629. History Franklin Furnace was ...

, while hauling the ''Powhatan Arrow'', killing its fireman. The cause of the accident was failure to obey an automatic block-signal and entering a turnout at an excessive speed of 77 mph.

Notes

References

* * * * Norfolk and Western Railway, (October 27, 1957). ''Passenger Timetable'', Table 1 p. 6, Table 11 pp. 14–15. * *

External links