N&W 611: Stomping Through the Blue Ridge Mountains

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The City of Roanoke is nestled within the valleys in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia. The Norfolk & Western Railway made this city their central point of operations, with a short distance from the many coal mines along their system, and served as a waypoint city for many long distance and commuter passenger trains such as The Powhatan Arrow, the Tennessean, and the Pocahontas. Over the course of time, the trains grew longer, and the locomotives grew larger, and eventually resulted in the construction of fourteen "J Class" 4-8-4 passenger locomotives that began in 1941. They were built with immense precision, able to pull long consists up steep grades and tighter curves, able to reach speeds that exceeded the standards of predecessor classes, and considered the pinnacle of passenger locomotives with their advancements. One of these engines, number 611, rolled out of East End Shops in Roanoke on May 29th, 1950, and immediately went into active service pulling the trains she was designed for up the Blue Ridge and Christiansburg grades, considered the "test bed" for Norfolk & Western's locomotive designs. Fast forward 67 years to 2017, and the 611 is at the helm of six round trip excursions over Memorial Day Weekend, with two excursions to Lynchburg, VA on the mornings of Saturday and Sunday and four trips to Walton, VA on the afternoons of Saturday and Sunday in addition of two runs on Monday. Now please enjoy this exciting video brought to you by Blue Comet Productions!

This video was filmed on May 27th, 28th, and 29th, 2017.