Notes and observations on Norfolk Southern’s 2015 steam schedule

Southern Railway No. 630 and two diesel helpers leave Spencer, N.C., in June 2012. Jim Wrinn photo.

Studying Norfolk Southern’s 2015 steam excursion calendar is a lot like going back to the mid-1980s. It begins in Spring and continues into the fall. OK, it’s not as extensive as the old days when trips began in March and ended in November and rare was the open weekend in between. But it still covers 14 weekends from early June to early October, three different locomotives, and puts in a few thousand more miles into the history books for steam preservation. The three mainline superstars, Southern 4501, Nickel Plate 765, and Norfolk & Western 611 were busy in 1985, and all three are on the schedule for 2015.  

It was enough to keep me awake late with excitement and up early the next morning to make sure I hadn’t been dreaming. The experience was not unlike my teenage years in the 1970s when the promise of a Southern Railway steam excursion on a spring or fall Saturday meant I would lie awake for hours dreaming of the joy awaiting me in an open vestibule Dutch door. This year’s excursions are yet another good reason to lose sleep.

Here are some notes and observations from the schedule and from talking to friends and fellow steam junkies:

• Noticeably absent from the line up, but not unexpected, is Southern Railway 630, a 1903 Consolidation that has racked up mileage and pretended to be a passenger engine for Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s mainline trips in for each of the last four years. Those of us who recognize the engine as being in reality a low-speed freight hog admire her performance and that of the crew who now has the distinction of having operated the last hand-fired coal-burning locomotive on the mainline in the U.S. Says my friend and 630 fireman Ryan Miller: “We asked it to do things over its design, and it impressed me with its ability to handle the trains by itself (Spencer to Barber and Chattanooga to Cleveland trips). The slower pace of the museum is well earned.” When you visit her on TVRM’s museum trackage in Chattanooga, give No. 630 a nice pat for a job well done. Sister Southern 4501 is certainly a much bigger engine and a better choice for the main line.
• Nickel Plate Road 765 spokesman, promoter, and documentary film maker (see the incredibly moving video “Listen for the Whistle” if you haven’t already) Kelly Lynch tells us the Berk’s July 18 and 19 trips may have a routing twist to them. Instead of a direct point A to point B journey on the former Wabash main line from Fort Wayne to Lafayette, the outing may become a circle trip, going one-way via Muncie and Frankfort on home NKP tracks. If that happens, it will be the first time for the S2 class on this part of its home road, thus completing the entire available NKP track in the 765’s logbook.
• While 765 has the honor of crossing Nicholson Viaduct in Pennsylvania on its journey to Scranton, Norfolk & Western 611 gets to cross its share of significant bridges on its excursions. They include the Yadkin River bridge just outside Spencer, N.C., on May 30, the James River bridge on ferry moves to and from Manassas in following weeks, and the big Norfolk & Western bridge over U.S. 29 and the Southern Railway mainline in Lynchburg, June 13 and 14.

Lastly, while this is an amazingly robust schedule that is hard to resist, make sure to get out there and ride trips, photograph them, just watch if that’s what you like. Thank the railroaders you meet, the volunteers you see, and have fun and be safe out there. Treat these trips like they are unique, because they are, and while NS management has been generous to open up its railroad to these incredible machines, and I think, its best public relations too ever, you never know what the future will bring. See you trackside, on board, or in your favorite city.

PS: We’re collecting images and video on 611 for a special magazine and DVD, both titled “611 in Steam” to appear later this summer and fall, respectively. So, if you get some good shots or video, please keep us in mind. You can upload your high res images at www.contribute.kalmbach.com.