Скачать или смотреть J 611 - Shenandoah Valley Limited - Friday, 20th October 2023

For five weekends in October and November 2023, Norfolk & Western J Class No. 611 hauled the Shenandoah Valley Limited excursion train, twice a day each Friday and Saturday and Sunday between Goshen and Staunton in Virginia. J 611 is arguably the world's most stylish operational steam locomotive. The dates of these excursions coincided with my visit to the U.S.A. Naturally, the opportunity to see this locomotive in action was too good to refuse and 'Neato' and I arrived in Goshen on the evening of Thursday, 19 October 2023 for a weekend of J Class action!
This series of videos were filmed over the three days (one per day) with a compilation, fourth video, capturing the highlights.

J 611 was built at the Norfolk & Western's Roanoke (work)shops and entered service on 29th May 1950 operating in revenue passenger service from 1950 to 1959. It is the sole survivor of the 14 members of the J Class.

Some Technical Details

Wheel arrangement: 4-8-4
Valve Gear: Baker
Driving Wheel Diameter: 70in
Length: 109ft 2in
Weight:
Locomotive: 494,000lb (224.1 tonnes)
Tender: 378,600lb (171.7 tonnes)
Total: 872,600lb (395.8 tonnes)
Fire Box Grate Area: 107.7 sq ft
Boiler Pressure: 300lb psi
Tractive Effort: 84,981lb tender drawbar (5,100 hp @ 40mph)

(Source: Wikipedia)

J 611 is now owned and operated by the Virginia Museum of Transportation Inc.