The obvious one is the David and Goliath angle, sort of in reverse. What’s a big stud racehorse like the 611 going to look like on that most bucolic of tourist lines, the 4.5-mile Road to Paradise? Actually, the disconnect might be a lot less than you think.
The other theme must have occurred to anyone who’s an N&W steam fan: 611’s visit will be a reunion of sorts, as the big Northern once again will rub shoulders with one of its little brothers, Strasburg’s former N&W 4-8-0 No. 475. Back in their heyday, these two machines worked entirely different assignments on the N&W system, but they must have encountered each other on occasion. More on that later.
It took a lot of imagination to come up with this scenario for 611, so credit the 4-8-4’s owner, the Virginia Museum of Transportation, and the Strasburg for some creative thinking. Kudos, also, to Norfolk Southern, which will make all this possible by getting the 611 up to Harrisburg from Roanoke, then east to the Strasburg connection at Leaman Place on Amtrak’s ex-PRR Harrisburg Line.
Besides, the Strasburg isn’t as small as it looks, as I was reminded when I checked in with Linn Moedinger, who retired in December 2018 as the company’s president and chief mechanical officer. The entire main line is 286K compliant, referring to its FRA certification for hosting 286,000-lb. freight cars, required for the short line’s grain and lumber customers. The main track is all 112- and 115-lb. rail, with even heavier rail at the yard at Leaman Place.
“We claim Class 2 track for FRA purposes, but would most likely qualify for Class 3,” Moedinger says. “Class 2 gives us a maximum speed of 30 mph, which is faster than we need to go. Class 3 would be expensive overkill.” So maybe the 611 will be going a leisurely 30 mph, but it should otherwise look right at home on the Strasburg’s first-class physical plant.
Then there’s that reunion angle. The 475 and the 611 represent different generations in Norfolk & Western steam development, sort of like comparing a Curtiss Jenny to an F-86 Sabre. Baldwin built the 475 in 1906. After it was retired in the late 1950s, the engine bounced around among a number of owners before Strasburg acquired it in 1991 and put it back in service two years later.
So how often did these locomotives encounter each other?
It’s hard to say. By the time 611 was doing its thing in the 1950s, hauling N&W’s Powhatan Arrow and other varnish, the 4-8-0s had long been relegated to branchline duty. The M-class engines were most closely associated with the fabled Abingdon Branch, made famous by photographer O. Winston Link.
The Abingdon engines could always be seen around Bristol, Va., in the extreme southwest corner of the state, where N&W handed off its share of its Washington–New Orleans passenger trains to the Southern. The J’s were the premier engines on the Pelican and the Birmingham Special. Veteran N&W railroader and writer Ed King — a Bristol native — made a point of getting up close and personal with the 4-8-4s.
“The J’s worked in cycles [on the] the Norfolk–Cincinnati trains and the Southern trains,” Ed recalls. “Bristol would see every J in the course of a month except the one in Roanoke Shops for regular maintenance. There were three Southern trains every day each way using J’s in and out. I was cab-happy — that made it easy for me to get in the cab of all 14 of them. Hostlers let me ride them around the shop area as they were being serviced.”
“Bristol hosted a lot of M-class engines up until the last, both in yard service and on the Abingdon Branch, but the 475 was not one of them,” says Ed. “The only time I saw the 475 in Bristol was to celebrate Bristol’s centennial in 1956. It is certain, though, that the 611 and 475 rubbed elbows at other locations.”
The 611 visit promises to be quite a show, with a variety of events planned, including opportunities to ride in the cab, photo charters, a vintage car show, and a formal N&W steam reunion weekend. For details, check with the Strasburg.
One final observation: the 611’s trip to Strasburg will be just the latest in the encouraging trend of mainline steam performing on tourist lines and regional railroads. Given the Class I railroads’ disinterest — nay, hostility — to most steam, we can be thankful for opportunities to see Nickel Plate 765 on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic, or Milwaukee Road 261 on the Twin Cities & Western, or Pere Marquette 1225 on the Great Lakes Central. And, in a few months, the 611 on the Strasburg.
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Get the Classic Trains twice-monthly newsletter
深圳SEO优化公司泰州百度标王安顺网络营销多少钱保定关键词排名多少钱果洛百搜标王价格银川建设网站哈密网站建设设计营口网站制作设计公司石家庄网页设计推荐鹤岗推广网站公司洛阳建网站价格平凉网站seo优化公司衢州网络广告推广推荐西乡百度关键词包年推广报价三明网站改版价格娄底网站开发推荐怀化设计公司网站公司和田seo网站推广公司文山建站价格北海关键词排名价格邢台seo排名价格长治百度竞价包年推广哪家好吉祥建设网站公司永新网站优化软件公司金昌网站建设赤峰建站哪家好长治百度爱采购多少钱南宁高端网站设计推荐湖州网站优化排名推荐伊春网站优化按天收费商洛百度网站优化排名歼20紧急升空逼退外机英媒称团队夜以继日筹划王妃复出草木蔓发 春山在望成都发生巨响 当地回应60岁老人炒菠菜未焯水致肾病恶化男子涉嫌走私被判11年却一天牢没坐劳斯莱斯右转逼停直行车网传落水者说“没让你救”系谣言广东通报13岁男孩性侵女童不予立案贵州小伙回应在美国卖三蹦子火了淀粉肠小王子日销售额涨超10倍有个姐真把千机伞做出来了近3万元金手镯仅含足金十克呼北高速交通事故已致14人死亡杨洋拄拐现身医院国产伟哥去年销售近13亿男子给前妻转账 现任妻子起诉要回新基金只募集到26元还是员工自购男孩疑遭霸凌 家长讨说法被踢出群充个话费竟沦为间接洗钱工具新的一天从800个哈欠开始单亲妈妈陷入热恋 14岁儿子报警#春分立蛋大挑战#中国投资客涌入日本东京买房两大学生合买彩票中奖一人不认账新加坡主帅:唯一目标击败中国队月嫂回应掌掴婴儿是在赶虫子19岁小伙救下5人后溺亡 多方发声清明节放假3天调休1天张家界的山上“长”满了韩国人?开封王婆为何火了主播靠辱骂母亲走红被批捕封号代拍被何赛飞拿着魔杖追着打阿根廷将发行1万与2万面值的纸币库克现身上海为江西彩礼“减负”的“试婚人”因自嘲式简历走红的教授更新简介殡仪馆花卉高于市场价3倍还重复用网友称在豆瓣酱里吃出老鼠头315晚会后胖东来又人满为患了网友建议重庆地铁不准乘客携带菜筐特朗普谈“凯特王妃P图照”罗斯否认插足凯特王妃婚姻青海通报栏杆断裂小学生跌落住进ICU恒大被罚41.75亿到底怎么缴湖南一县政协主席疑涉刑案被控制茶百道就改标签日期致歉王树国3次鞠躬告别西交大师生张立群任西安交通大学校长杨倩无缘巴黎奥运
深圳SEO优化公司 XML地图 TXT地图 虚拟主机 SEO 网站制作 网站优化