This 50' Flat Car with Fishbelly Sides and Side Mounted Brake Wheel is painted black with white lettering.  The Norfolk & Western  (NW)  was a US Class 1 Railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between the year 1838 and 1982.  It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existance.  At its founding the N&W primarily transported agricultural products but later coal became the primary commodity and led to great wealth and prosperity.