N&W 611: The American - On Board + Trackside

Norfolk & Western 611 N&W 611 from Manassas – Front Royal, VA | The American Excursion

The Spirit of Roanoke, N&W 611, rides again! This ultra HD production features unique ON AND OFF train shots of the Norfolk and Western 611 and railfan maps to guide you along the way! The Norfolk and Western 611 is presented by The Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia.

The Norfolk & Western J Class 4-8-4 #611 is seen here in “The American”, the first three 611 steam excursions of the Virginia Tour, which also happen to be the first three 611 excursions in more than 20 years!

In this production, the N&W 611 is seen traversing the B-Line, a 50 mile long stretch of track between Manassas, VA and Front Royal, VA with multiple signals, and 4 defect detectors along the way that connect Norfolk Southern’s ‘Washington District’ and ‘Hagerstown District’. The B-Line used to be an old Civil War rail route. In the 1900’s it was acquired by the Southern Railway. When the Southern Railway and the Norfolk and Western railway became Norfolk Southern in 1982, the B-Line became a lightly used route, carrying 2-3 trains a day. In 2007 however, Norfolk Southern began work on the B- line, as part of the Crescent Corridor project, to make it safe for heavy intermodal traffic. The main reason for doing this was to bypass Washington, D.C.’s rail congestion. They made major track curvature improvements in Manassas and Front Royal junctions to alleviate the need for speed restrictions, as well as put in multiple passing sidings along the 50 mile stretch. Today, the B-Line sees 12-14 trains per day and plays a major role in freight efficiency!

Norfolk Southern, given its rail heritage with the old N&W Railway, was heavily involved in the restoration of the Norfolk and Western 611. They agreed to run steam excursions again throughout the east coast to spark interest in the rail industry, and in America’s rail history. In this production, the Norfolk and Western 611 is shown through the eyes of a young railfan who does not know, nor remember the steam era, or even the steam excursions of the 80’s and 90’s. However, I hope to have captured the N&W 611 properly.

If you’ve made it this far, THERE IS A POSSIBILTY THAT DUE TO THE STUPIDITY OF SOME RAILFANS, THAT NORFOLK SOUTHERN THINKS IT MAY BE UNSAFE TO RUN ANY MORE EXCURSIONS, AND WILL NOT DO THESE EXCURSIONS ANY LONGER, UNLESS THEY GET GREAT REVIEWS AND GOOD PUBLICITY.
TELL NORFOLK SOUTHERN TO DO THIS AGAIN! IF YOU LIKED SEEING THE NORFOLK AND WESTERN J CLASS #611, WHETHER HERE OR IN PERSON, YOU MUST LET THEM KNOW IN ORDER TO KEEP THE 611 FIRED UP FOR YEARS TO COME!

Thank You Very Much,

Railfan Rowan

© 2015 Railfan Rowan