N&W 611: Conquering the Proving Grounds

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In 1950, most of the Class 1 railroads in the United States were scrapping their massive fleets of steam locomotives in favor of newer, more modern diesel locomotives. The Norfolk & Western Railway, however, vastly differed from this growing trend and was still building their own steam locomotives in their own shops. During that year the Norfolk & Western's East End Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, rolled out a massive streamlined locomotive dressed in Black, Tuscan Red, and Gold. Built with some of the most advanced technology and practices in steam railroading, the engine was designed for both speed and pulling power. This engine was 611.

The "J Class" as it was referred to, pulled trains such as the Powhatan Arrow, the Pelican, the Tennesseean, and the Pocahontas over the mountainous Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains regularly. 65 years later, Norfolk & Western 611 began her third career in service pulling trains over the same routes she ran in regular service. Restored at the North Carolina Transportation Museum's Spencer Shops over the course of the year by volunteers of the VMT and other various contractors, she left Spencer under her own power on May 30th, 2015 for her homecoming trip to Roanoke. This weekend, the 611 pulled six trips in total out of Roanoke to the towns of Lynchburg and Radford over the same routes she was designed for; the Blue Ridge and Christiansburg Grades. These were the proving grounds, of sorts, for the J's, and the 611 is in charge of pulling the 21-car consist up the 1.2-1.3% grades she used to climb back in the old days. Now, please enjoy this exciting video brought to you by Blue Comet Productions!

This video was filmed between July 3rd and 5th, 2015.

Thank you to everyone who donated in monetary and laborous ways to bring the Queen back to life! Without your help, this would not have been possible! Please visit http://fireup611.org/ for more details on how you can support her for many years to come!