A visitor on the Bluefield.

In 1946, The Bluefield was considering its options for adding to its fleet of modern steam power for freight service and decided to borrow locomotives off of other roads to test their performance on the Bluefield. One of the locomotives tried was a Reading T1 4-8-4, 2103. The T1 design was the result of a collaboration between the Reading Company and Baldwin locomotive works, and they were built by elongating the boilers of several of the Reading's large 2-8-0s and building a new engine around that key component. They proved so successful that the Reading built 30 total.

In this nighttime photo, 2103 sits alongside a Bluefield P4 Pacific and a class M Mikado, the night before her trial runs were to begin. Eventually, The Big 4-8-4 was deemed to long the drivers too big for the Bluefield. After her trials, she was stored temporarily at Mount Frigid before being returned to the Reading.

Doubleheaded Mikados blast forth from Mount Frigid's North Tunnel with a southbound freight. Even on the relatively short trains seen on the Bluefield, doubleheading was often necessary. The Bluefield was primarily a coal hauler, and most of that coal was bound for the connection with the N&W. 

Pacifics in the Roundhouse

 Here we see pacifics, 2900 and 2922 with their noses sticking out of the Mount Frigid roundhouse. Mount Frigid was a division point and essentially the midpoint of the Bluefield to Fairmont mainline. All north and southbound trains would change engines and crew here. 2900 and 2922 were  regular locomotives on the Bluefield Flyer and Pittsburgh Limited as availability allowed, and both engines were kept exceptionally clean for that service all the way up to the end. 2900 was one of 4 locomotives painted "Bluefield Blue" with gold lettering for service on the flyer. In later years she would be the only heavy pacific to keep her Blue Livery. Early on, all passenger engines ran with gold lettering instead of the standard yellow, but this too was [mostly] phased out later on.

This color slide, taken the same day as the previous photo shows P5a pacific 2922 proudly displaying the gold lettering on black livery.  She was one of several engines to keep the gold lettering, even after the railroad had mostly phased it out for the cheaper yellow used by all freight power. 2922 is about to back to the waiting Bluefield Flyer for the run north to Fairmont where the train will likely be turned over to a New York Central Hudson for the run into Pittsburgh.

A Brand New 777 has arrived fresh from the factory

In this striking color slide, a brand new 777 has just been delivered to the Mount Frigid Engine Terminal from her birth place in Lima Locomotive Works in Lima Ohio.  The Bluefield ordered a total of 4 Lima-built Berkshires, numbered 775-778. They were essential copies of the famous Nickel Plate locomotives of the same wheel arrangement. When she arrived, the 777 had white running boards and white trimmed drivers (a look typically reserved for passenger power). She also sported a handsomely sheathed smokebox. The engine would not keep her fancy appearance for long, as tough mountain railroading and the many tunnels located on steep grades created less than clean conditions for any steam power.

N&W Class A pulls a heavy freight on The Bluefield in January of 1951. She is seen running through the rock cut just past Post tunnel. This line only saw occasional service after 1944, when a grade reducing cutoff was built. The new line reconnected to the old line near Big Run.

in 1950, The Norkfolk and Western Railway took control of the Bluefield and Allegheny Central Railroad, but allowed to the latter road to continue to operate as a separate entity for many years.  The Bluefield benefited in the spring of that year when several of the N&W's "modern steam locomotives" showed up on the  property to help with assignments.  The Class Js rarely ever saw service on the line from Bluefield to Fairmont because their long rigid wheelbase was rough on the sharp curves common on the Bluefield. Never the less, class J 605 is captured here at the Fairmont roundhouse in May of 1950. The tender of a large articulated N&W locomotive can also be seen at the far right.

159 at Bluefield, 1911

159 is spotted here at Bluefield West Virginia in 1915. At this time she was being used in local passenger and mixed train service.  Judging by the fresh coat of paint, she appears to be in great shape.