On our visit today, I had the chance to see the N&W 611 'J' class engine. I had seen her 12 years ago when Denise & I visited Roanoke VA as we made our way to Washington DC. At that time she could not move on her own. During the renovations of the VA Transportation Museum, she had to be dragged out of the way of construction. Here are some image highlights from seeing her again today.
"The Norfolk and Western J class was a class of fourteen 4-8-4 (Northern) streamlined steam locomotives built by the railway's own Roanoke Shops located in Roanoke, Virginia from 1941 to 1950 and operated by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) in revenue service until the late 1950s.
These locomotives were built to run on the N&W main line between Norfolk, Virginia and Cincinnati, Ohio, pulling the Powhatan Arrow, the Pocahontas, and the Cavalier passenger trains as well as ferrying the Southern Railway's the Birmingham Special, the Pelican, and the Tennessean between Monroe, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee. The Js along with the Class ‘A’ and ‘Y’ freight steam locomotives, were embodied as Norfolk and Western's "The Big Three" and represented the pinnacle of steam technology.
Only one locomotive, No. 611 survives. It was retired in 1959 from revenue passenger service and moved to the Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT) in 1962. It has been restored twice: once as part of the Norfolk Southern Railway's steam program, and again as part the VMT's Fire Up 611! campaign." - Wiki
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