N&W 611 test run successful

N&W Class J,

I did some editing of your photos too.

Both photos - Cheri George

Amazing how things can move along when you got a great group behind this project.  2015 should be a interesting year for excursions

BEautiful! Do you know if the commemorative plaque on the engineer's side of the tender will be left in place?

Thanks for the update!

Gilly

I'm sure it will be.  I can't imagine them removing it.

Do they have an A tank to use or is the one from Fort Wayne being returned to VMT? I heard Fort Wayne is restoring their old A tank for use with 765 next year.

Fort Wayne released the VMT A-tank several weeks ago. It was shipped to NS Chattanooga for painting. FWRHS is now rebuilding our A-tank for use next year.

Thanks for the update on  N&W 611, truly exciting. I hate to ask the question, but is there any interest in doing the restoration on N&W 1218?

1218 would be a more difficult job, think jigsaw puzzle with the pieces scattered in different places. 611 was easier to restore even though they had to almost take it apart anyway. Next year there will be around 3 steam locomotives on NS, 4501 from TVRM, 611 from VMT, and 765 from FWRHS. Perhaps 630 will stay home at TVRM for their own trains if 4501 goes out on NS for a multi state tour like 630 did. I wonder how NS will be able to schedule excursions with all three locomotives without them overlapping, they don't have enough coaches to run two excursions at the same time in different areas because they have been using the NS coaches on 630 and 765 excursions and there's only about 6 of them right now, I believe one more was added to the fleet this year. 765 has been using the rented Mid America cars along with the NS coaches, and 630 has been using a mixture of TVRM, Watauga, Roanoke Chapter, and NS coaches.

Gary with the A-tank now in Chattanooga for painting, are their plans to paint it with a Tuscan red stripe to match the engine and tender?

Chris, "U Da Man"! I read many posts on this forum, since becoming a member, and you've had the best post and the most informative, especially for "REAL Trains" , probably not all will agree, but that's my opinion, and you know the ole sayings about opinions!......

I can't wait until I watch the J611 screaming across the bridge from Wva into Ohio .....................Thanks again Chris.......................................Brandy!

I don't know about "screaming across the bridge", since all steam operations on NS are limited to only 40MPH, however she should be quite a sight.

1218 was in the middle of a lot of work when NS pulled the plug on the program. I have heard that a lot of stuff was simply tossed into the smoke box and tender when the crew realized they only needed to have 1218 readied to roll cold back to Roanoke eventually.

During one of the weekend tours at the museum in Spencer a few months ago this question was asked to Preston Claytor. To make a long story short he said it would take 2-3 million dollars to do it and they still need to build that maintenance shop in Roanoke. It could certainly be done but its all about the money.

This arrived at my mailbox today.

Yeah, I remember 1994 very well, where NS was at that point when the plug was pulled and the fires went cold. 1218 was nowhere near road worthy when NS was done with steam.

December 7th will always not only Pearl Harbor Day for me, but also the day of 611s final run on it's second life. NOBODY then thought it'd get a third!

It would be fantastic for 1218 to be hot again, but baby steps. It was only a few short years ago NS said there would never be steam again. Perhaps...just perhaps the A will be next......

I do find it interesting that the shop plans show 2 locomotive stalls.  IF wish's were horses, but, by golly, there will be room . . . 

The plan is for that A-tank to be used behind any of the NS steam program locomotives, 611, 630, 4501 and 765. All of those locomotives are plumbed the same for water and air, so they can hook right up to that A-tank. For that reason, I don't think it will be painted to match 611.

That tank will move with the passenger train when it is deadheaded to various excursion venues.

Makes sense. Thanks for the information Rich.

I would love to ride behind 611 next year but it depends on where they run it. Roanoke is a bit far for me but Hagerstown, MD or Manassas, VA would be a little closer. In the old NS program they ran 611 everywhere NS went. But now, NS owns former Conrail trackage in PA, NY, NJ, etc. that it didn't during the old steam program. That provides new opportunities now like when 765 ran over Horseshoe Curve. NY hasn't even seen NS steam yet. 611 did run through Erie, PA toward Buffalo years ago. Next year it's gonna be like 1982 all over again. Look at all the trips 611 did in it's first year on the road in 1982! Well, not that many, but 1983 was its real first full season since 611 wasn't ready until fall of 1982. 

http://www.steamcentral.com/archive/dates1982.html Is 611 going to travel all over NS in multiple states like it did before? But maybe fewer public runs?

You guys are very welcome...it's an exciting time.

A minor correction...it is NS, not N&S.

The railroad is Norfolk Southern not Norfolk AND Southern.

Rich, have you ever had a chance to run 611? I think Tim Sposato has, know he fired her, but have you?

No, I have never run the 611.

I have had the opportunity to ride the cab a couple of times, once when Frank Collins was running and I was shooting video, and the other time Bob Saxtan was running and I was just enjoying the ride.

Rich was Frank Collins the master it looks like in the videos?

I thought that Frank was a very smooth engineer, easy on the machinery and gave the passengers a good ride.

He was very comfortable running steam, and that is obvious in the many videos which show him at the throttle.

Real nice guy, too. He let me into the cabs of various NS locomotives from time to time when stopped on excursions.

How is the progress on 611? Are things still looking good for it to move under it's own power by May at least? There was some sort of announcement in the news that excursions for 2015 are confirmed, so they must be committed to getting it done between now and April. It sounds though that most of the excursions will depart from Roanoke, which is understandable, but isn't there a possibility that 611 could depart from other cities as well? There's a whole unbroken circle route they could use, which is Roanoke to Lynchburg, Manassas, Front Royal, and back to Roanoke. All Norfolk Southern track.

Shortly after its first rebirth I road behind 611 on a fantastic run between Roanoke and Alexandria.  I seem to recall there were bridge loading issues that restricted J operation on the Shanadoah Div. back in N&W days.  Hopefully an N&W expert can confirm or deny this - that's beautiful country to railfan!

E

Ed,

There were none that I know of. The only restriction that I know of was that the J's did not have ATC and were kept on the main east west routes. Even though, at least one J made it to Shenandoah and there were two J's on the Eisenhower train from Winston-Salem into Roanoke during the N&W years. During the excursion years, 611 came down the Hagerstown Dist., I think to Riverton, but, I don't remember the actual route. Then it ran from Roanoke to Glasgow and returned.

It was not an announcement, just an ad about trips coming in the future. While most excursions will likely leave from Roanoke nothing is confirmed yet for any of the locomotives in 2015. Rich please correct me if I am wrong. Robert 611 is moving ahead to a likely spring fire up.

Last news I saw was flues being installed, they should all be in by now and headed towards superheater testing/installation. I think a hydrostat test would be in order soon.

According to trains the work is on schedule with a spring completion.

As of Sunday the new rear flue sheet is installed

All flues are installed

Hydrostatic testing to begin soon and

Tender is getting a new paint job.

Wish I lived near by as they are giving hour long tours.

Cab signals are not being installed in 611.

There are no  plans to run it anywhere where cab signals would be required.

Rich.  Dumb question but; Why not install them and have the ability to operate anywhere. I understand currently no plans, but Things change.  I would think NS would require them for safety reasons.

Doug

Probably because N&W 611 is just too big to operate over former PRR territory that has the cab signals, which is exactly what the PRR discovered when they tested an N&W J Class, back in the 1940s. The N&W J couldn't operate east of Crestline Ohio, as I recall.

Simple...cost and return on investment. Cab signal equipment isn't cheap. 

The only portion of the NS system where cab signals are used is on the Pittsburgh Division between Harrisburg and Cleveland. It is highly unlikely that 611 will operate there.

it's not a "safety" issue...it has nothing to do with safety. Cab signal territory is a specific method of operation that is used on a very small part of the overall NS system. In non cab signal territory the cab signal equipment is not even powered up. Even if it was powered, it would not display anything and would be useless.

Thanks Rich,

 I wasn't aware cab signal system was not a safety requirement . It would be safe to asume that 611 will have the same equiment as 765 and 1225. I can't imagine there wouldn't be some form of tracking device installed.

Thanks Hot Water

I remember reading about that. I thought it was a safety requiment.

Doug