Steam locomotive makes limited appearance for weekends through November: the streamlined 611

William Walker
·3 min read
Just passing Swoope, Norfolk and Western steam locomotives 611 pulls its excursion cars from Goshen to Stauton and returns during the bright fall weekends.
Just passing Swoope, Norfolk and Western steam locomotives 611 pulls its excursion cars from Goshen to Stauton and returns during the bright fall weekends.

(STAUNTON, VA) — The hills and hollows of the Shenandoah Valley will soon be hearing the “lonesome whistle blow” after long absence, thanks to Staunton’s Virginia Scenic Railway. For more than 70 years, the plaintive sound has been lost to the roar of diesel and jet engines. But the queen of all Norfolk and Western Railway’s steam locomotives — the streamlined 611 — will be running weekend excursions between Goshen and Staunton from October 6 to November 5. And that distinctive steam whistle will be moaning at every crossing and bridge.

The beautifully streamlined 611 is celebrated by rail fans and historians of technology around the world. Built by the Roanoke NW shop in 1950, the sleek coal-powered engine used its massive 5,300 horsepower to speed the luxurious Powhatan Arrow passenger train from Cincinnati to Norfolk in a little over 15 hours. The route was 676 twisting and turning miles, but the 611 mastered it until the railroad ceased steam operations in 1959.

“The 611 J-class was the pinnacle of steam-locomotive technology,” said Scott Lindsay, chief mechanical officer of the Virginia Museum of Transportation which owns the 611. Lindsay supervises the fine-tuning of the 494,000-pound machine, which has a total of 220 moving parts requiring lubrication. It is so finely machined that a few men with a rope can pull it along a level track.

One of the eight massive driving wheels that stands more than five feet tall is framed by the Tuscan red and gold livery that graced the pinnacle of steam technology in the 1950s.
One of the eight massive driving wheels that stands more than five feet tall is framed by the Tuscan red and gold livery that graced the pinnacle of steam technology in the 1950s.

The attached tender full of coal and water adds 378,600 pounds to the rig, which gulps 99,000 pounds of water and burns 6.5 tons of coal every hour. In its prime, the locomotive was so powerful that it could pull a one-thousand-ton passenger train at better than 100 miles per hour.

The 611 will not be going that fast as it makes the trip from Goshen, through Craigsville, Augusta Springs, and Swoope to the depot in Staunton, and then back to Goshen. The round-trip is some 60-odd miles. Attached to the locomotive and tender will be eight to twelve cars to accommodate rail enthusiasts who will board in Goshen for departures at 9:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from October to the first weekend in November.

“More than 84 percent of the seats are already booked,” said Steve Powell, president of the Buckingham Branch Railroad which is hosting the excursions. Powell has worked for the company for 25 years, and he is pleased with prospects for his railroad’s rail excursions which were launched last August. The railroad operates some 280 miles of track in Virginia, including the longest swath stretching from Clifton Forge to Richmond.

Inside the cab of the gigantic locomotive, the engineer sits on the right and uses the throttle (brass colored) to propel the train. The braided rope triggers the whistle which produces the lonesome moan that evokes many memories.
Inside the cab of the gigantic locomotive, the engineer sits on the right and uses the throttle (brass colored) to propel the train. The braided rope triggers the whistle which produces the lonesome moan that evokes many memories.

“Staunton is the center of our excursion business, and our round trips to and from Crozet and Goshen have met real enthusiasm,” Powell explained. Railroading is in Powell’s blood because his father worked for CSX for years, and suggested that he apply for a job with the Buckingham Branch. A graduate of Virginia Tech in mechanical engineering, Powell appreciates the locomotive’s mechanical features, including eight huge driving wheels that are 70 inches (5-feet, 10 inches) in diameter.

All J-class locomotives wore the distinctive black, Tuscan red, and gold colors that graced Norfolk and Western passenger trains of the mid-century era. The 611 is one of fourteen streamlined locomotives of its class, but the others were cut up for scrap metal.

For more information about the excursions, call 434 391-9772, or visit the Virginia Scenic Railway site at viginiascenicrailway.com.

The massive locomotive built by the railroad’s shops in Roanoke develops 5,100 horsepower, enough to exceed 100 miles per hour with a loaded passenger train.
The massive locomotive built by the railroad’s shops in Roanoke develops 5,100 horsepower, enough to exceed 100 miles per hour with a loaded passenger train.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Steam locomotive makes limited appearance for weekends through November: the streamlined 611