The Great Steam Journey Part 1: Railfanning N&W 475 at the Strasburg Railroad

On August 21, 2026, me and ​⁠‪@the_stamford_foamer‬ visited the Strasburg Railroad for the first time to railfan one of their operational steam locomotives and that one being N&W M Class 475. N&W 475 is an 4-8-0 Mastodon built in June of 1906 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the N&W (Norfolk & Western). During 475’s service life, 475 would pull freight on the mainline, but when bigger and stronger locomotives came (like the N&W A and B class), 475 along with all the other M classes, were put onto branch line service where they work till the end of their service life’s. Today N&W 475 now still runs today at the Strasburg Railroad and is the only operating N&W M class.