A steamy afternoon

Since the 1960s, the Southern Railway had an active excursion program. Historic diesels and steamers powered a variety of trains that covered the entire system every summer. When they merged with the Norfolk and Western Railroad in 1990 the new entity, the Norfolk Southern Railway continued the tradition.

The N&W was a predominantly coal hauling line, from the mines of Appalachia to tidewater in Virginia. They were one of the last major railroads to give up on steam, not fully dieselizing until a very late date. Because of their dependence on coal,  the N&W continued to develop and build steam locomotives long after other railroads and builders had given up. The J class streamlined units were designed during WWII, with the last batch including the 611 built in 1950. They represented the zenith of steam locomotive engineering. Times were changing, though and even the N&W gave up on steam.The 611 made its last run in 1959 and was donated for display to a museum in Roanoke Virginia in 1960.

Fast forward two decades. In 1981 the Southern leased the 611 from the museum and took it to the railroad shops in Alabama to be rebuilt for excursion service. In 1982 it was running once again, and was one of the biggest stars of the excursion program until the program ended in the mid 90s.

On one of those earliest mainline excursions, I captured the 611 speeding through the Virginia countryside at 70 MPH. My recollection was that it was a hot, steamy, sultry day. The kind of day made for sitting on a porch swing, sipping a Mint Julep. And if we were hot, just imagine what being in the locomotive cab must have been like!

The 611 was made most famous by O Winston Link, in his photo coverage on the last days of steam on the N&W in the 50s.