Norfolk and Western Railway 433

The Norfolk & Western Railway[1] (N&W), a company that mainly operated in Virginia and West Virginia, preferred 4-8-0 "Mastodon" types over 2-8-2 "Mikados" as their non-articulated freight locomotives.[2] The Mastodons were highly versatile locomotives and were often nicknamed "Mollies" by old time railroaders. They had a total of seventy-five M class Mastodons built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Richmond, Virginia and fifty built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1906 and 1907, being numbered 375–499. In 1907, another fifty were built by Alco and fifty by Baldwin all designated as M1s and numbered 1000–1099. In 1910, fifty more came from Baldwin, designated as M2s and numbered 1100–1160.[3] The 433 was among the last locomotives of the M class built in January 1907. During the early years of the N&W, the 433 was assigned to mainline freight and passenger service, as well as local yard work. In the 1920s, when larger and heavier locomotives were being introduced, like the Y class mallets, the "Mollies" were all reassigned to Branch lines.

One such branch line the 433 was assigned to was the Abington branch, known as the Virginia Creeper that laid between Abingdon and West Jefferson, North Carolina, where steep grades, sharp curves, and wooden trestles prohibited using locomotives any heavier than a Mastodon. In 1951, No. 433 was figured in a wreck,[4] and was afterwards rebuilt, and since he wasn't superheated like most of his siblings were, he was reassigned as a yard switcher in Bristol. On at least one occasion, No. 433 teamed up with two fellow Mastodons for a tripleheader on the Virginia Creeper to pull carloads of gravel South-bound to North Carolina. Upon arrival at White Top station, the 433 ended his "helper duty" and returned to Bristol tender first, since there was no turntable, nor a y to turn the locomotive around at White Top, or Abingdon. 1957 was the last year when steam operations occurred at the Virginia Creeper, ending with Mollies 382 and 429,[5] before the branch made a complete transition to diesel power. The following year, after more than fifty years of revenue service, the 433 completed his last freight assignment before his fire was dropped one last time.

The Town of Abingdon wanted a steam locomotive for static display as a monument to the Virginia Creeper, so the N&W donated the 433, which arrived at Radford before being moved to his present display site in November 1958. The Mollie would spend the next sixty-three years under a wooden roof for protection from the weather.[6] However, the 433 was still exposed to the elements and vandals, which resulted in significant deterioration and damage. By 1974, the N&W petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon the branch, and by 1984, the line was ripped up and converted into a trail, as it was secured by the US Forest Service to create the Virginia Creeper Trail.[7] In 2002, volunteers from the Virginia Creeper Trail Club, in partnership with the Washington County Preservation Foundation, began a project to cosmetically restore the 433 back to the way he was donated forty-six years prior.[8] Local businesses contributed material and labor to this effort, and volunteers constructed and painted windows and doors, and they cleaned and painted the tender and interior of the cab.[9] The old building that covered the Mollie was also torn down and replaced by a steel one. Two marker lights were bought for the smokebox of the locomotive, replacing those that were stolen more than twenty years prior. As of 2021, the 433 still remains on static display by the old trial at Abingdon. Whether or not the locomotive will be restored to operation is up for debate.