611 in Autumn Foliage
Explored : )
January 24th, 2024
Engine 611, the Queen of Steam, near the crest of the North Mountain grade, just north of Ferrol, Virginia.
"Norfolk and Western 611, also known as the "Spirit of Roanoke" and the "Queen of Steam", is the only surviving example of Norfolk and Western's class J 4-8-4 type "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives. Built in May 1950 at N&W's East End Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, it was one of the last mainline passenger steam locomotives built in the United States and represents the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology.
No. 611 hauled N&W's premier passenger trains between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio; and ferried Southern Railway's passenger trains between Monroe and Bristol, Virginia through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Retired from revenue service in 1959, No. 611 was donated to the Virginia Museum of Transportation, where it became the sole survivor of the 14 class J locomotives.
In 1982, No. 611 was restored to operation by Norfolk Southern, N&W's successor. It became the mainline star of the railroad's steam program, pulling excursion trains as far south as Florida, as far north as New York, and as far west as Illinois and Missouri. In late 1994, when liability insurance costs led NS to end its steam program, the locomotive was again retired and moved back to the VMT.
In 2015, the locomotive returned to excursion service after a year of restoration work at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina. Since then, the VMT has operated No. 611 as a traveling exhibit; it traveled to the Strasburg Rail Road in Pennsylvania, during 2019 and 2021 to 2023.
Frequently invoked as an icon of Roanoke and its railroading history, the locomotive was declared a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1984 and was designated the official state steam locomotive of Virginia by the Virginia General Assembly in 2017." (Wikipedia)
PLEASE, NO GRAPHICS, BADGES, OR AWARDS IN COMMENTS. They will be deleted.
611 in Autumn Foliage
Explored : )
January 24th, 2024
Engine 611, the Queen of Steam, near the crest of the North Mountain grade, just north of Ferrol, Virginia.
"Norfolk and Western 611, also known as the "Spirit of Roanoke" and the "Queen of Steam", is the only surviving example of Norfolk and Western's class J 4-8-4 type "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives. Built in May 1950 at N&W's East End Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, it was one of the last mainline passenger steam locomotives built in the United States and represents the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology.
No. 611 hauled N&W's premier passenger trains between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio; and ferried Southern Railway's passenger trains between Monroe and Bristol, Virginia through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Retired from revenue service in 1959, No. 611 was donated to the Virginia Museum of Transportation, where it became the sole survivor of the 14 class J locomotives.
In 1982, No. 611 was restored to operation by Norfolk Southern, N&W's successor. It became the mainline star of the railroad's steam program, pulling excursion trains as far south as Florida, as far north as New York, and as far west as Illinois and Missouri. In late 1994, when liability insurance costs led NS to end its steam program, the locomotive was again retired and moved back to the VMT.
In 2015, the locomotive returned to excursion service after a year of restoration work at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina. Since then, the VMT has operated No. 611 as a traveling exhibit; it traveled to the Strasburg Rail Road in Pennsylvania, during 2019 and 2021 to 2023.
Frequently invoked as an icon of Roanoke and its railroading history, the locomotive was declared a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1984 and was designated the official state steam locomotive of Virginia by the Virginia General Assembly in 2017." (Wikipedia)
PLEASE, NO GRAPHICS, BADGES, OR AWARDS IN COMMENTS. They will be deleted.