| The Class J 4-8-4 was an engine of quiet superlatives. Handsome, powerful (5100 hp), and, as a test on the Pennsylvania Railroad proved, capable of hauling 15 cars at 110 mph, it was designed and styled not by one of the big three builders (ALCo, Baldwin, and Lima) or a famous designer like Raymond Loewy or Henry Dreyfuss, but by the N&Ws home-grown team of designers and craftsmen at the roads Roanoke, Virginia shops. For power and quick acceleration through mountainous territory, and to make room for the largest possible boiler, they equipped the streamlined J with 70 drivers — unusually small for a 4-8-4 and fully 10 smaller than the Southern Pacifics Daylight GS-4 of the same wheel arrangement. The MTH Electric Trains' HO N&W J is more fun to operate than any previous version of this magnificent locomotive, with its N&W whistle, passenger station announcements, synchronized chuff and puffing smoke, and speed control so smooth you wont spill the water in the diner. For more information on our superbly detailed model and its prototype, including surviving J No. 611, visit www.mthHOtrains.com. |
