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N&W 611 - Hold On Tight

Bob LyndallBob LyndallOGR Forum Member

OK, It's now less than 6 Hours before the 11AM launch and still no one directly connected to VMT or any of the partners involved with today's press conference have spoken a word here or on any other board.

Currently, I'm down at Roanoke Carilion Memorial Hospital being prepped for colon transplant surgery to replace my colon which was removed some five years ago. The surgery is scheduled to begin at 11AM as well so I'll likely miss today's theatrics & pyrotechnics at VMT. Unfortunately, we're still waiting for a donor, or a reasonably good match from some unknowing cadaver. Hopefully one will surface prior to 11AM or they'll have to go with the backup plan which is a pig's colon.

So, if you believe anything you've heard about 611 returning to service may I offer my sincere condolences. The part about the press conference today is true if it's not called off due to hazardous weather conditions this morning in Roanoke which are possible.

 

It's also true that I don't have a colon and would consider a transplant if it were a viable option. Unfortunately, they don't perform that kind of surgery as yet, and stem cell research isn't quite that advanced either.

In the interim, may I suggest that everyone enjoy the following fantasy video, and be sure to hold on tight to your dream(s):

 

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K kgdjpubsOGR Forum Member

I'll just say the timing of this is VERY strange.  It doesn't make any sense at all to sink $1M+ into the 611, and then spend a year bringing her back (and remember, you can't do it at the TVRM!), just to have the Steam Program end in 2016 when Wick Moorman retires.  I hope they are getting some assurances from NS or someone to let her run, because otherwise, you could likely be sitting with a big engine with a lot of time and money invested in the process, and no place at all to run her.

Kevin

K kgdjpubsOGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by CWEX:

I'm sure most of that will hinge on who is paying the operating expenses after restoration.

 

The operating expenses would probably be taken care of if she is being used for the Steam Program.

 

The issue is that 611 is a heck of a lot bigger than the 765, and is very restricted on where she can be operated.  You can take the 765 a lot of places that the A or J can't (ie the SR from Asheville to Bulls Gap, for example).  It took work to even get the 611 up the Loops to Asheville.  That really restricts the number of shortlines that you could operate the engine if NS kills the program.  Let's not forget how agreeable NS was to moving the 765 around in the years before the Steam Program started.  You can easily end up with a good engine with 10+ years of boiler time that is landlocked, and that is a very real possibility.

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