On November 16-17, 2013, the final Norfolk Southern 21st Century Steam excursions of the year were operated with Southern 630 between Knoxville, TN and Asheville, NC. This would be the 2nd visit of the year to Asheville for the 630, after the Old Fort turns in April. The weather was a mixed bag, with a large amount of overcast, and some rain on Sunday afternoon, along with a bit of patchy sun on both days. With a long trip and a 2.5hr layover in Asheville, there was always going to be some night running in the cards. Saturday got more than was planned for however, after the diesel/slug helper set died in Asheville. A GP38-2 was roped in to get the train back to Knoxville, resulting in a 90-minute delay that only got worse as the train was well out of its time slot returning to Knoxville. Go figure--the steam special is delayed because the diesel failed... Darkness fell between Marshall and Del Rio on Saturday, and around Newport on Sunday, which featured the train back in Knoxville ahead of schedule.
Chasing wasn't too bad though, all things considered. With the excursion making land speed records on Saturday morning on the doubletrack between Knoxville and Morristown, the crowds were kept at bay, and a missing bridge between Del Rio and Hot Springs on the main road left most of the chasers in the dust unless you knew of the back road followed the tracks. Because of this, we had many locations to ourselves, and ended up with 29 shots combined over the two days. The Southern River Line is one beautiful piece of railroad, and there were numerous good shots to be had. The highlight for many was the generally unexpected arrival of the Central Railroad of New Jersey heritage diesel leading a westbound freight into Asheville on Saturday, while the 630 was attended to in the yard. For the timing to be this good, someone at NS must be a railfan.
With the Southern 4501 coming out next year, the general feeling is that this may well be the 630's mainline swansong. Hopefully, she will get out some in the future, but chances of seeing her in North Carolina again may be slim. The 630 was based in Asheville for a long time during her career with the Southern, so if this is the end so to speak, they sent her out well. She has proven herself well over the last couple of years under demands that she was never built to fulfill, yet has risen to the challenge admirably.
Kevin
