Big steam in action!

I've previously blogged about the Southern (and Norfolk Southern) excursion program of the 1980s and early 90s. In 1991 my buddy and I took off on our annual summer railfan trip to the midwest. We timed it so that we would be seeing four steam excursion trains in the week we were on the road. That was pretty amazing!

The first day of our journey west we started in Buffalo, NY. The Norfolk Southern was running their big A class, the 1218, on an excursion to Albion, Pennsylvania and back. The 1218 was built in 1943 at the Norfolk & Western Railway's shop in Roanoke, Virginia. It was designed to haul coal from the mines of Appalachia to tidewater in Virginia. The railroad retired it from active service in 1959, but the NS rebuilt it for excursion service  in 1987, and used it to pull passengers throughout the system until 1992.

This video captures some of the excitement of big steam in operation. But to get the total effect, you really have to be trackside. Only there will you feel the ground shake, smell the burning coal, and get cinders in your face!