Going Home. For the first time in approximately a half of a century, Norfolk and Western Y6a #2156 rolls over "home rails" as it departs the Terminal Railroad's Merchants Subdivision and enters NS's Brooklyn District at WR Tower in Granite City, IL. Though the Brooklyn District was acquired by the N&W through the Wabash merger of 1964 (over 5 years after 2156's retirement), this photo still represents the reunion of N&W 2156 with the rails of its former owner. Former Conrail GP40-2 NS 3068 has the honors of pulling the Y6a to its real home of Roanoke, VA, where it will undergo a cosmetic restoration for display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation as a part of a 5 year loan agreement.
As the years go by, more and more steam engines are being restored and operating therefore the old expression "steam is dead" is nothing but a false expression. Steam is strong and still ruling the rails.
