Steam train engine #611
Yesterday Anita and I became Train Chasers!! (much like storm chasers) It was all accidental like most of our adventures are. We had meandered around some local roads for a couple of hours and then decided to head to the city of Stanton Virginia for a certain kind of lunch. Upon arrival in Stanton, there it was! Just a little glimpse of this engine going down the tracks and the race was on! Turns out Anita is a fan of steam locomotives ... and who knew??? Anita's driving can be questionable at the best of times, but when she is on a mission... look out!! Hence ensued the most wild, hair raising ride through the city of Stanton to fully see this amazing engine. Red lights were narrowly avoided, private property was driven on, No trespassing signs completely ignored, speeds most definitely exceeded!! So tantalizing because we could Hear it, we could see the smoke, but we never could quite catch it. But in true Patti & Anita fashion we wandered on, and not being back tracking sorts of explorers we decided to travel on to Goshen Virginia to find lunch. But then..... Then there was this railroad track crossing with people hanging out with tripods and cameras at the ready and turns out, they were waiting for this engine. Less than ten minutes later, there it was! Bound for the train station in Goshen! I lost track of how many photos I captured but this is one of my favorites. We beat the train into Goshen and were able to get some more photos. Lunch was very late yesterday but we ended up eating yummy sandwiches in a lovely little courtyard outside a deli in Hot Springs Virginia. Info on the train:
The legendary 611---the sole surviving class J steam locomotive built by Norfolk and Western Railway in Roanoke VA in the 1950's. The sleek and powerful Class J locomotives, were widely hailed as the finest steam passenger locomotives in the world. This is the last week of the season for this engine and it will now go to rest in the Roanoke Virginia museum. Tickets, sold out weeks in advance range from $99.00 to $249.00!!!
Steam train engine #611
Yesterday Anita and I became Train Chasers!! (much like storm chasers) It was all accidental like most of our adventures are. We had meandered around some local roads for a couple of hours and then decided to head to the city of Stanton Virginia for a certain kind of lunch. Upon arrival in Stanton, there it was! Just a little glimpse of this engine going down the tracks and the race was on! Turns out Anita is a fan of steam locomotives ... and who knew??? Anita's driving can be questionable at the best of times, but when she is on a mission... look out!! Hence ensued the most wild, hair raising ride through the city of Stanton to fully see this amazing engine. Red lights were narrowly avoided, private property was driven on, No trespassing signs completely ignored, speeds most definitely exceeded!! So tantalizing because we could Hear it, we could see the smoke, but we never could quite catch it. But in true Patti & Anita fashion we wandered on, and not being back tracking sorts of explorers we decided to travel on to Goshen Virginia to find lunch. But then..... Then there was this railroad track crossing with people hanging out with tripods and cameras at the ready and turns out, they were waiting for this engine. Less than ten minutes later, there it was! Bound for the train station in Goshen! I lost track of how many photos I captured but this is one of my favorites. We beat the train into Goshen and were able to get some more photos. Lunch was very late yesterday but we ended up eating yummy sandwiches in a lovely little courtyard outside a deli in Hot Springs Virginia. Info on the train:
The legendary 611---the sole surviving class J steam locomotive built by Norfolk and Western Railway in Roanoke VA in the 1950's. The sleek and powerful Class J locomotives, were widely hailed as the finest steam passenger locomotives in the world. This is the last week of the season for this engine and it will now go to rest in the Roanoke Virginia museum. Tickets, sold out weeks in advance range from $99.00 to $249.00!!!