The morning in the Piedmont began with the sun rising to clear skies. Inside NS Coach 29, the windows are covered in condensation from the frigid air conditioning that has the temperature somewhere in the upper 60s. Passengers for today’s Inaugural Run of Norfolk & Western 611 are slowly working their way to their seats. Up front, the star of today’s show simmers as her patient crew of volunteers readies her for the big show. The man who will run her from here to Lynchburg, Sandy Alexander, says, “This feels like where we just left off in November, 1994.”
8:12 AM: 611 is underway and applause erupts in the NS29. Hundreds are gathered to say goodbye to the “J” – her class designation on the N&W, but the nickname affectionately applied to her. Trailing behind her are a canteen, a baggage car now used by the J’s support crew, and 17 passenger cars. In front of her lies 160 miles of railroad, once the racetrack for Southern’s Class Ps-4 Pacifics, but today’s 40 mph speed limit will temper the 611’s desire to exhibit what her 5,200 horses could do with her trailing tonnage. Upon reaching Lynchburg, she’ll swing over to the rails on which she earned her living and remind us all why N&W was the last bastion of steam in North America.
Steam versus diesel, the war that raged for years, was fought the hardest on the N&W. The N&W Class As, Ys, and Js held out against the diesel onslaught, but eventually the white flag was raised over Roanoke. Soon, railroads in the 20th Century were identified by shiny, new diesels from the likes of General Electric, General Motors, American Locomotive, Baldwin, and Fairbanks-Morse. The steam locomotive, no longer King of the Rails, was relegated to either the scrap yard or turned into a monument to a time when man and machine were synonymous with generating ton-miles. The demise of the steam locomotive on the high iron lead to the creation of a new attraction: The tourist railroad. Numerous steam-powered passenger operations popped up all over North America. Theme parks also joined in; Places like the Rebel Railroad (now Dollywood), the Tweetsie Railroad, Six Flags, and Disneyland (and later Disney World) all featured a steam locomotive as a key attraction.
As someone once said, “Steam isn’t steam unless you’re boiling water. Putting a locomotive on display is liking propping up a corpse.” Granted you can see a working steam locomotive at many tourist railroads or theme parks in North America. Though some of the tourist railroads offer spectacular rides, nothing tops the sights and sounds created on America’s Class 1 mainlines. Remember that 4-6-6-4 topping Archer Hill with almost 9,000 feet of double stacks trailing behind her? How about when a 4-8-4 and 2-6-6-4 paralleled each other up a mountain grade, each with respectable tonnage tugging on their drawbars? More recently, the sights and sounds of a Lima product blasting around a curve named for its shape left impressions upon thousands. Imagine the second American Freedom Train being pulled by a set of Electro-Motive GP-35s. You can’t, the image just doesn’t fit. The steam locomotive is an American icon. Born in England but perfected in America, it’s the machine that built an industrial powerhouse and made railroads a key element in our transportation network. The man that ran the steam locomotive was someone that many young boys aspired to be. He was their idol and his mount was the symbol of speed, power and company pride for the railroad.
Engineer Alexander soon has the 611 and consist up to the mandated 40 mph speed limit. Racing north through towns with names like Lexington, Thomasville, High Point, Pomona, Greensboro, Reidsville, Danville, Chatham, Altavista and Lynchburg crowds gathered to bear witness to what the men of Roanoke designed, built, and operated. As I looked at the gathering crowds, it occurred to me that something was missing here.
Yes, something was missing here. A golden opportunity missed. Just what was missing? Television networks are sprinkled with messages extolling how railroads built America, or explaining their function, or telling us how tomorrow moves. The focus of these spots may be stockholders and shippers, but what about those drivers who complain about being stuck at a grade crossing while a slow moving freight train takes 20 minutes to pass by? Or the people of a town whose lives were interrupted when a train loaded with hazardous waste derailed prompting evacuations? And, sadly, what of the ones who have lost a loved one in a grade-crossing accident? These people are not the enemy but they are the ones that public outreach and communication need to touch.
Leaving Lynchburg, Bob Saxtan now has 611’s reigns. Bob’s done this before and knows how to make the most of her 80,000 pounds of tractive effort. Passing through Bedford, the numbers watching trackside are unbelievable. Upon reaching Montvale, we begin the inevitable assault up the 6 ½ miles of 1.44% grade. Those on-board are spellbound by what is taking place on US 460. Reminiscent of the launch of Apollo 11, traffic is at a stand-still as thousands of people flock to the side of the road to catch of glimpse of 611 preaching the gospel of the modern coal-burning steam locomotive. Cresting the grade at 30 mph (and accelerating), the 611 concludes her sermon with a grade crossing whistle blast much to the delight of those gathered atop the Stepping Stone Road bridge.
Rolling down the western slope of the Blue Ridge, 611 continues to draw more and more admirers to trackside. Upon reaching Roanoke, the grade crossings are jammed, Norfolk Avenue is lined its entire length, and her destination – in homage to the man who saved her, the O. Winston Link Museum – is a sea of humanity. Thousands have gathered to witness the return of their beloved 611 to her place of birth and home. This steam locomotive - one built, operated, and retired before most of these thousands were even born – has proven not only the design prowess of the N&W Mechanical Department, but also it proved something that many of us learned a long time ago.
A steam locomotive operating on the mainline is an attention getter with no equal and provides an opportunity to touch thousands, or even tens of thousands, in a single day. A typical round-trip excursion is a 200-mile long advertisement, a rolling billboard if you will. But, for whatever reasons, the excursion operators and host railroads have never fully capitalized on this opportunity. Perhaps the primary focus is to offer a train ride as a nostalgic experience instead of exploiting the excursions as a promotional opportunity.
A promotional opportunity? Absolutely. An attention getter drawing thousands to trackside and a captive audience onboard. Consider these possibilities:
It’s time to put the drawing power of the steam locomotive to use.
Welcome Home, 611.
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