Norfolk & Western No. 611 has a new place to run.
The Virginia Museum of Transportation and Virginia Scenic Railway — the excursion operation of the short line Buckingham Branch Railroad — have announced the Class J 4-8-4 will run weekend excursions this fall on the Virginia Scenic Railway.
The steam-powered Shenandoah Valley Limited will offer twice-daily trips during peak fall foliage in October and November, departing from Goshen, Va. Trips will operate through the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests into the Shenandoah Valley, where it will pause to be joined by a pair of diesel locomotives for the return trip to Goshen.
Trips will operate Oct. 6-8, 13-15, 20-22, and 27-29, as well as Nov. 3-5, with departures at 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. each day.
“We are delighted to help make this run possible,” Steve Powell, President of the Virginia Scenic Railway, said in a press release. “We love trains and railroad history, and we look forward to partnering with the Virginia Museum of Transportation to host the legendary 611 and bring the steam engine roaring to life in the Shenandoah Valley. This is one of the prettiest routes around, and we are excited to share it.”
Tickets will go on sale in mid-August at the Virginia Scenic Railway website. Those signing up for the railway’s newsletter will be informed when tickets become available. Tickets, priced from $99 to $249 each, will be offered in coach, premium coach, first class, and dome class.
“We are excited for the opportunity to partner with Virginia Scenic Railway,” said Mendy Flynn, executive director of the Virginia Museum of Transportation. “These excursions will have a major tourism impact on the region and showcase Virginia’s Rail Heritage to visitors near and far.”
The locomotive recently returned to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke after an extended stay in Pennsylvania including operations at the Strasburg Rail Road.
Buckingham Branch began operating its Virginia Scenic Railway excursions last year, rapidly selling out its initial season [see “Virginia’s new tourist railroad sells out …,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 1, 2022] and expanding its offerings this year. The railroad’s regular operations include two routes — and both are sold out for all of August and much of September.
Virginia has a great railroad heritage. From Norfolk to the Blue Ridge and the Shenandoah Valley there are ample opportunities to exploit that heritage. However, without the cooperation of NS, CSX and Amtrak None of this heritage can be available to the public. The BBS RR recognizes the opportunity and is taking advantage of it because there is no interference from the “Big Three”. The BBS RR diesel excursions have pretty much sold out as does the Autum leaf rambler. The 611 out of Goshen will sell out as well for the first season. Time will tell if that trend will continue, going forward. As with anything else “fan” support is the key.
N&W 611 has been finally retired twice already. Like that Country Music singer, may it be “On the Road Again” for years to come.
Incidentaky, N&W steam power pulled the through trains from Monroe VA to Bristol Tenn-Va via Lynchburg and Roanoke. Monroe is a few miles North of Lynchburg.
The beloved N&W 611 is like a country music star running from show to show, aiming to delay its final retirement.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
The 5100 hp (3800 kW) N&W 611, also known as the “Spirit of Roanoke” and the “Queen of Steam”, is a Norfolk and Western (N&W) class J 4-8-4 “Northern” streamlined steam locomotive built in May 1950 by the N&W’s Roanoke (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 the N&W’s premier passenger trains between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio; and ferried the Southern Railway’s (SOU) passenger trains between Lynchburg and Bristol, Virginia. It was retired from revenue service in 1959 and donated to the Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) in 1963, where it sat on display as the sole survivor of the class J locomotives.
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