611 Homecoming

Norfolk & Western 611; Vicker, Va.; July 3, 2015

In our last post we explored the former Norfolk & Western mainline east of Roanoke, Va. The line is now operated by Norfolk Southern, but still features some uniquely N&W characteristics. In this post we are going to flash back to July 2015 (just a few months ago) when a very special visitor was on the line. The Virginia Museum of Transportation and Norfolk Southern teamed up to bring N&W J-Class No. 611 back to mainline rails for the summer. The big 4-8-4 ran trips out of Alexandria and Lynchburg in Virginia, but the red letter trips were six that were run over the Fourth of July weekend -- trips that took No. 611 back to its old home rails out of the city it was built in, Roanoke.

Norfolk & Western 611; Christiansburg, Va.; July 5, 2015

By steam locomotive standards, No. 611 is not old. It was constructed by the N&W in Roanoke in 1950, and by 1959 it was retired. In the early 1960s it was donated to the Virginia Museum of Transportation and displayed throughout the 1970s. In 1982 it was restored to take part in the original Norfolk Southern Steam Program, and powered the last trip for the program in 1994 before returning back to VMT. Norfolk Southern started the 21st Century Steam program in 2011, and the Fire Up 611! campaign started in 2014 to raise funds to have 611 join the program. It made its earlier this year.

Norfolk & Western 611; Shawsville, Va.; July 5, 2015

When the Roanoke trips were announced, I knew I had to get down to Virginia for the trips. Each day over the long weekend No. 611 would power two trips -- a morning trip from Roanoke to Lynchburg and return over Blue Ridge Summit and an afternoon trip from Roanoke to Walton over Christiansburg Hill. It was going to be a great weekend. Both lines have a lot of Norfolk & Western era color position light (CPL) signals, especially east of Roanoke. These are being replaced by more modern technology as railroads install Positive Train Control on their routes.

Norfolk & Western 611; Webster, Va.; July 5, 2015

I knew there would be crowds down in Roanoke chasing the trips, just as I was, but I wasn't expecting quite that large of a crowd! On the first day, July 3, the Blue Ridge Parkway bridge over the N&W near Bonsack must have had 100 people on it. Cars lined the roads along the tracks through Webster. We caught the train at Webster, then went ahead to Forest, near Roanoke for a shot. Forest has a nice CPL signal, so after the train went by heading east a few of us started organizing a photo line for the westbound trip, which made for a nice photo.

Norfolk & Western 611; Forest, Va.; July 3, 2015

After the stop in Roanoke, we headed west for the Walton portion of the day, pausing at Riverside near Elliston. Wet rail and a heavy train had 611 working hard as it blasted past us on a nice curve.

Norfolk & Western 611; Riverside, Va.; July 3, 2015

The train had slowed down considerably thanks to the grade, and that allowed just about every chaser to congregate in Shawsville. While the photo doesn't show it, there were several hundred people in the small town to watch the train pass through. It only went through at about five miles an hour, thanks to the grade and wet rail.

Norfolk & Western 611; Shawsville, Va.; July 3, 2015

The slow speed allowed us to get ahead of the train again. Montgomery Tunnel, a classic N&W location, was under construction for a clearance project, so we bypassed that and headed for the CPL signals in Christiansburg.

Norfolk & Western 611; Christiansburg, Va.; July 3, 2015

After the train turned at Walton, we caught it coming under the old N&W coaling tower at Vicker (top photo of this post). Fading light at this point encouraged us to call it a day.

The next morning found us at the CPLs at Montvale for the Lynchburg run. The sun was out, then went back under a cloud. We could hear 611 approaching as it tackled the Blue Ridge grade, and we thought we were skunked. But amazingly the cloud cleared about 20 seconds before the train's arrival and we got 611 splitting the signals in fantastic morning light -- probably the shot of the trip.

Norfolk & Western 611; Montvale, Va.; July 4, 2015

From here we negotiated the outskirts of Bedford and made it to the overhead bridge in Lowry with just a couple of minutes to spare.

Norfolk & Western 611; Lowry, Va.; July 4, 2015

From here we headed back west towards Roanoke to set up for a shot on the "must do" list -- passing the CPLs at Blue Ridge. Blue Ridge requires a bit of a hike to get into, and is almost in the middle of nowhere. Imagine our surprise when we got to the signals and found 30 other people already there! There were some anxious moments, though -- as we were monitoring 611's return from Lynchburg via cell phone from others along the route, a slow freight train came out of Roanoke and trundled upgrade on the track between us and where 611 would be. Eventually we could hear 611 whistling as it got closer, but the freight just kept on coming. Finally, the last car of the freight went by and less than 30 seconds later 611 came flying down the hill.

Norfolk & Western 611; Blue Ridge, Va.; July 4, 2015

From here we headed for another shot on the "must do" list -- westbound at the coaling tower at Vicker. Despite being distracted by some freights on the former Virginian Railway that parallels the N&W, we arrived at Vicker in plenty of time for the shot. Once again, the train would be battling bad sun on the way back to Roanoke, so Vicker was the last steam shot of the day.

Norfolk & Western 611; Vicker, Va.; July 4, 2015

The next morning, July 5, we joined the throng of people on the Blue Ridge Parkway overpass at Bonsack. Our last day of 611 started with a fine sight as the train negotiated the S-curve.

Norfolk & Western 611; Bonsack, Va.; July 5, 2015

From here we made an attempt to get greedy by getting ahead of the train at the CPL signals at Villamont. Parking was -- ummmm -- interesting on the one-lane dirt road back into the signals and it did take some time to get everyone untangled once the train went by. Still, the shot was worth it.

Norfolk & Western 611; Villamont, Va.; July 5, 2015

There wasn't much one could do with the delay in getting out of Villamont, so we headed to Lowry to await the train's return. We had shot off the bridge here two days earlier when the first trip went east -- now we were shooting at ground level as the train went west.

Norfolk & Western 611; Lowry, Va.; July 5, 2015

Back to the "must do" list -- we left Lowry and headed straight for the CPLs at Webster. That shot appears earlier in this post. For the afternoon trip to Walton, we paused on the grade up Christiansburg Hill at Wabun to enjoy the sights and sounds of the train working uphill.

Norfolk & Western 611; Wabun, Va.; July 5, 2015

Another shot at Shawsville followed by another shot at Christiansburg (both photos appear earlier in this post) finished off our westbound chase. With home beckoning, we set up for one final shot of the eastbound at Vicker, then reluctantly said goodbye to the Norfolk & Western and 611 for the drive back to New Jersey.

Norfolk & Western 611; Vicker, Va.; July 5, 2015

Photos from this post can be purchased here.

Cool Chromes - Steam On the Front Royal Branch

Southern 722; Linden, Va.; March 29, 1980

The Southern Railway Steam Specials operated all over the southern U.S. in the 1970s until the 1990s with trips almost every weekend except for the winter months. Living in New Jersey, however, most of the trips were not within an easy drive from home. The closest starting point for steam trips was Alexandria, Va., where trips either headed down the Southern main line to Charlottesville or over the lightly-used branch to Front Royal. The main line trips were a pain to chase, so the branch trips became favorites. One of the first trips I chased to Front Royal was on March 29, 1980, when 2-8-0 No. 722, decked out in Southern green and gold, made the trip (above). Diesels were not used as helpers on these trips, so when the chunky Consolidation hit the steep grade of Linden Hill, it went to a crawl with plenty of noise from the stack.

The Southern was still the Southern in June 1981 when steam once again ran to Front Royal. Finding itself power short (2-8-2 No. 4501, the primary locomotive in the program, seemed to be perpetually down when the Alexandria trips rolled around each year), Southern leased a former Canadian Pacific 4-6-2 from the Allegheny Central tourist operation. No. 1238 ran a few trips on the branch, including a "photographers" trip that had most of the planned photo stops cancelled when the engine ran short of coal.

Allegheny Central 1238; Delaplaine, Va.; June 1981

The 1982 merger of the Southern Railway and Norfolk & Western to create Norfolk Southern only expanded the steam program. New engines were brought into the fold in the form of two N&W locomotives -- 4-8-4 No. 611 and 2-6-6-4 No. 1218. Interestingly, despite being a larger locomotive, No. 1218 could run on the Front Royal Branch while 611 could not due to weight restrictions; 1218 had its weight spread out over more wheels and thus could run on the branch. The photo below required keeping one eye on the track and one eye on a temperamental bull that didn't like strangers in his field.

Norfolk & Western 1218; Marshall, Va.; October 1989

The Norfolk Southern merger meant an increase in traffic on the Front Royal Branch, as it became a through route for trains bypassing the Washington, D.C., area. NS trains would come down the Shenandoah Line from Harrisburg, Penn., and Hagerstown, Md., to Riverton Junction near Front Royal, then traverse the branch over to the former Southern main line near Manassas to continue south. The upgrading meant that No. 611 could now use the line; it also meant the days of laid back charters were coming to a close as the steam trains had to dodge the new parade of stack trains.

Norfolk & Western 611; Rectortown, Va.

The Norfolk Southern steam program came to a close in 1994, but has seen a bit of a comeback since the advent of the 21st Century Steam program a few years ago. Maybe one day I'll get back down to Alexandria and chase another steam special to Front Royal.

Cool Chromes -- Louisville & Nashville 152

Cool Chromes is a semi-regular feature that looks at slides that have recently passed through the scanner.

Louisville & Nashville No. 152; Marion, Va.; June 6, 1986

Some restored steam locomotives have been elusive for me. While Southern Railway 2-8-2 No. 4501 was one of the most photographed and widely traveled steam locomotives of the 1970s, I only saw it once. With lessons learned from steam locomotives that appeared and quickly vanished before I could see them, when I heard that Louisville & Nashville 4-6-2 No. 152 would be powering trips for Norfolk Southern out of Bristol, Va., I made plans to get down there.

Louisville & Nashville No. 152 is a Jersey girl, built by the Rogers Locomotive Works in Paterson in 1905, one of 45 Pacifics purchased by the L&N from the builder. Among its reported claims to fame is it powered part of the trip that took Al Capone to Alcatraz. It was retired by the L&N in 1953 and donated to the Kentucky Railway Museum. It returned to service for the museum in 1985, and in June 1986 it was tapped by Norfolk Southern to power a set of trips.

My brother Bruce and I headed south from New Jersey on Friday night, June 5, after work. A nearly all-night drive put us in Bristol on the Virginia-Tennessee border at about 4:00 a.m. We found No. 152 in the yard, and the night hostler was nice enough to turn on the headlight for us for a quick round of night shots. We then slept in the car until daybreak.

Louisville & Nashville 152; Bristol, Va.; June 6, 1986

The morning found No. 152 getting ready for the first of two weekend trips. The first one would take it north on the former Norfolk & Western's Shenandoah Line, a stretch of track that was often used by O. Winston Link for his magnificent night photos from the 1950s. Much of the line roughly follows U.S. Route 11, making chasing somewhat intuitive -- a good thing in this day before GPS systems or even decent maps. Near Marion, Va., we got the classic Pacific heading north.

Louisville & Nashville 152; Marion, Va.; June 6, 1986

The trip's destination was Walton, which is a railroad place deep in the woods along the New River near Radford. At Walton is a wye, which would allow the entire train to be turned for the southbound trip back to Bristol. We caught the train approaching the northern end of its trip at Dublin, just outside of Radford.

Louisville & Nashville 152; Dublin, Va.; June 6, 1986

On the return trip we went into the town of Rural Retreat. It was here that O. Winston Link made a classic night shot at the depot on a Christmas Eve, and recorded the sounds of a train passing through town as the church bells played hymns.

Louisville & Nashville 152; Rural Retreat, Va.; June 6, 1986

Signal problems dropped the train's speed to ten miles per hour as it followed a rural road above Marion. This allowed for multiple easy shots, including a pastoral scene at Atkins.

Louisville & Nashville 152; Atkins, Va.; June 6, 1986

From here the train proceeded back into Bristol, unloaded its passengers, and deadheaded to Johnson City, Tenn., for the next day's run to Bull's Gap and Natural Tunnel. The following day's chase was much more challenging (it was done using a state highway map that kind of showed railroads), but we got a handful of shots.

In the years since this trip, No. 152 has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places and was named the Official State Locomotive of Kentucky. It is now the oldest surviving Pacific-type locomotive in the U.S. It was retired from service at the Kentucky Railway Museum in 2011 and faces a future that will largely be determined by the ability to raise a large amount of cash.

Nickel Plate Steam On the Pennsy

A complete set of photos for this trip can be found here.

Nickel Plate Road 765; Horseshoe Curve, Altoona, Penn.; May 26, 2013

As we get the gallery caught up on the redesigned website, we're up to May 2013 and a trip that involved main line steam in the Northeast. Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam program brought Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 (leased from the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society) to NS's former Pennsylvania Railroad main line for a series of rips between Lewistown and Galitzin, Penn., over Memorial Day weekend. Due to operational logistics, the train would have to deadhead each evening from Lewistown to Enola Yard near Harrisburg for the night, then deadhead back to Lewistown in the morning. These moves were almost as long as the revenue trips.

NKP 765; Mifflin, Penn.; May 26. 2013

Since I had a commitment on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend (May 25), my first day to get out to the Harrisburg area was May 26. The train left the yard before the sun was over the mountains across the Susquehanna River, so I opted to head west to Mifflin where the tracks turn north, allowing for good sun angles on summer mornings. After a short parade of westbound freights, the 765 came blasting through on its way to Lewistown for the passenger pickup. The previous day it had left before sunrise, but much to the consternation of NS the train got to Lewistown well before the advertised departure time of 8:30 a.m. and had to sit on the main line for quite a while, delaying freight traffic. On this morning they tried to make the deadhead's arrival time closer to the advertised revenue departure time.

NKP 765; Mapleton, Penn.; May 26, 2013

Using the lengthy stop to board passengers at Lewistown to get ahead of the train, I went off seeking the next shot. The story of the trip was the locomotive was running on the former Pennsylvania Railroad, and not many photo props say "Pennsy" quite as well as the classic position light signals that were unique to the railroad. A set was found between Mount Union and Huntingdon at Mapleton, and the train was duly recorded.

From Huntingdon the tracks swing north through Tyrone while U.S. 22 makes a straight shot into Altoona. From Mapleton I headed directly to the signature shot of the trip, Horseshoe Curve. I knew it would take some hiking to get to the location here -- what I was not prepared for was the amount of other photographers here. Parking was a problem, resulting in a long walk, and then it was hard to find a location that wasn't occupied by someone else on the slick hillside overlooking the curve. I had no sooner found a place to wedge myself into than the whistle could be heard, a lot sooner than expected. Nonetheless, I got the shot (top of this post).

NKP 765; Altoona, Penn.; May 26, 2013

The next shot I wanted was another classic Pennsy location -- passing recently closed Alto Tower in downtown Altoona. Once I had extracted myself from the hillside and made the long walk back to the car, I headed downtown and set up on the 17th Street bridge for the shot. The train then paused in Altoona for a couple of hours so the locomotive could be serviced and passengers could tour the nearby Railroaders' Memorial Museum. My approach for the day had been to not get caught up in chasing the train with the hundreds of other folks doing the same thing -- instead, I'd pick a few shots that were many miles apart, let the crazies stay with the train and be in position well before the train (and motorcade of crazies) showed up. Thus, while the train was making its stop in Altoona, I leisurely got out of Dodge and headed for the next spot.

Norfolk Southern; Huntingdon, Penn.; May 26, 2013

The next shot up on my agenda was another classic Pennsylvania Railroad location -- the tower at Huntingdon, which is now a museum. I knew the eastbound train would be a tough shot in the afternoon light, but I was hopeful. While waiting, two nicely lit westbound freights showed up. Unfortunately, the light only got worse and worse here for the 765. Reluctantly, I decided that the shot would not be doable. Where to go next...

NKP 765; Mount Union, Penn.; May 26, 2013

Another shot on my wish list was just about 20 miles east -- crossing the Juniata River at Mount Union. The angle here was more broadside, and the tracks were oriented slightly more towards the south than at Huntingdon, so the uncooperative afternoon light wouldn't be a big issue. Amtrak's Pennsylvanian rolled through westbound to keep the large photo line entertained while we waited, and then 765 made its appearance crossing the Pennsy arch bridge.

NKP 765; Port Royal, Penn.; May 26, 2013

Light was getting tough everywhere for the eastbound chase. Using the passenger unloading stop at Lewistown to get ahead again, the best light that could be found was an across-the-field shot just east of Port Royal. Once again, broadside lighting saved the day, and an old barn added to the scene.

Nickel Plate Road 765; Duncannon, Penn.; May 26, 2013

The last shot of the day would be as the train turned mostly south for the final leg into Harrisburg. A large photo line was set up at Duncannon at the arch bridge as the train came across in the rapidly setting sun. It was a good way to finish up the first day of chasing.

Norfolk Southern; Port Royal, Penn; May 26, 2013

Photography-wise, the day wasn't quite over. It was back to Port Royal where a set of Pennsy position light signals still guard the main line. The concrete arch highway bridge made for a nice backdrop. While one might think a westbound shot would be preferable here, the westbound tracks are in a slight depression behind the eastbound tracks. Two going away shots of eastbounds turned out to be the best. In fact, the photo of the one westbound train that did show up isn't worth sharing, not even in the "complete" selection of photos on the website.

NKP 765; Mifflin, Penn.; May 27, 2013

The next day was going to be in some ways a little more ambitious, involving fewer shots however. The day would include getting the big Berkshire passing an iconic Pennsylvania Railroad tower at a location known as MG, about a mile or so west of Horseshoe Curve. The problem with MG is that it involves a long hike -- about a mile and a half, uphill (but not uphill in both directions). After much deliberation, I decided that the best morning light would once again be at Mifflin, this time shooting from the highway bridge just east of where I had shot the previous morning. The cool air made for a nice white plume of condensed steam from the stack.

Nickel Plate Road 765; MG Tower, Altoona, Penn.; May 27, 2013

To allow for enough time to do the 30-plus minute walk into MG I drove directly from Mifflin to the access path to the tower and walked in. the wait wasn't very long as the big steam locomotive soon came pounding up the hill.

MG Tower; Altoona, Penn.; May 27, 2013

The train would proceed to the top of the grade at Gallitzin just to the west and turn on the loop rack there to come back downhill and continue east. While this was going on, there was time to check out the long-closed structure and get some photos.

NKP 765; MG Tower; May 27, 2013

Following an eastbound freight, the steam special headed back down the hill for its layover in Altoona. However, many photographers did not follow the train back down into town. Word was out that a very special visitor was in the area.

Norfolk Southern; Gallitzin, Penn.; May 27, 2013

One of Norfolk Southern's colorful heritage units, this one honoring the Virginian Railway, was leading a westbound train. With clouds building up, I headed to the west end of the Alleghany Mountain tunnels near the summit of the grade at Gallitzin and waited.  After getting the shot here, I chased the train into Cresson for another shot before returning back to look for 765 and its westbound move.

Norfolk Southern; Petersburg, Penn.; May 27, 2013

By now the weather was universally blah, so I headed to Petersburg, the end of a long straight section of track. Delays in Altoona made the 765 late, but a nice parade of trains through Petersburg kept the crowds entertained. Most of the people gathered were non-railfans, and it was interesting hearing them yell "here it comes" every time a headlight appeared at the end of the straightway -- I could tell three miles away that it was yet another freight. The opposite direction from the straighaway presented a nice curve for photography.

NKP 765; Petersburg, Penn.; May 27, 2013

Finally smoke appeared at the end of the tangent (although most of the people gathered claimed it was yet another freight; the single headlight gave it away) and 765 came drifting through as it was heading down a slight grade towards the Juniata River at Huntingdon. Amtrak's Pennsylvanian was just out of Huntingdon, so I stuck around for that before making one last attempt to overtake 765.

Nickel Plate Road 765; Newport, Penn.; May 27, 2013

I followed the tracks and finally settled on a grade crossing outside Newport down a long dead-end road. In the gathering darkness, 765 made on last impressive runby, wrapping up two great days of steam on the former Pennsylvania Railroad.

Cool Chromes -- Pounding Around The Curve

Cool Chromes is a semi-regular feature where we look at some slides that have just gone through the scanner.

Back when I lived in southern New Jersey, the Southern Railway Steam Specials (and later the Norfolk Southern Steam Specials) came within a one-day trip from the house only on one of their departure points -- Alexandria, Virginia, was three hours down I-95 and trips departed there bound for either Charlottesville or Front Royal. I chased many a trip to both places.

In August 1982 I had chased Southern's ex-Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 No. 2716 to Charlottesville (2716 was a magnificent locomotive, but sadly only served in the Steam Specials for a little more than a year when mechanical issues sidelined in permanently). I knew the locomotive would put on a spectacular show climbing Fairfax Hill on the last leg of its northbound trip, but I didn't know where to go. Marc Balkin of Custom Steam Productions (he was producing audio tapes then; video was still not available) clued me in on a great spot on a curve on the hill. Fairfax Station Road winds its way out of the town of Clifton, and a few miles out of town it turns left at a T intersection before turning right again and heading into Fairfax Station. But turning right at that T put you on Colchester Road, which went under the tracks. At the underpass, there was a good location if you walked up the hill. And it was good.

On that first visit in August 1982, a freight train left Manassas ahead of the steam special. It was a Chessie System freight running on trackage rights over the Southern.

Chessie System (on Norfolk Southern); Clifton, Va.; August 1982

A few minutes later, the 2716 came pounding past with the steam special.

Southern Railway 2716; Clifton, Va.; August 1982

And as soon as the steam special cleared, another freight could be heard growling up from Manassas, this time led by diesels in Southern's attractive "tuxedo" black and white.

Norfolk Southern; Clifton, Va.; August 1982

If my slide mounts are to be believed (someday I'll pull out the notebooks and verify this), I was back on Fairfax Hill about a month later to witness the newest locomotive in the NS steam program. Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 came pounding past on this day.

Norfolk & Western No. 611; Clifton, Va.; September 1982

I wouldn't get back to the curve for a steam special for another five years, but in August 1987 (I think -- the date on the Kodak-processed slide mount is pretty much unreadable) I chased Norfolk & Western Y-Class No. 1218 to Front Royal and back. Once again, a freight departed Manassas ahead of the steam special. And despite the Southern's merger into Norfolk Southern over half a decade earlier, this train was led by a pair of units still showing that Southern Serves the South.

Norfolk Southern; Clifton, Va.; August 1987

Shortly thereafter, the massive 2-6-6-4 came pounding up the hill. Roll on, eighteen wheeler!

Norfolk & Western 1218; Clifton, Va.; August 1987

With Norfolk Southern operating the new version of the steam specials, Steam In the 21st Century, I'm hoping that eventually trips will be run northward out of Manassas. If they are, I will return to my favorite curve and listen for the whistle at the end of the day.