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A bit of grease on the tracks will do that!

CGT867 1 month ago

Good post :>) In the dead of winter below zero f, the fully loaded troop and freight trains near my home, would spin the drivers and shoot sparks while violently shaking the entire iron mass and earth around it. The engineer would throttle back and try again. Applying more sand usually got the traction needed to move the massive loads. Loved the sound of the whistles at night. Memories to last a lifetime. I thought those times would last forever. As a Believer, Heaven will allow me to revisit.

Blogengezer 1 month ago

They never slid backwards lets see some diesels do this

shadowdemon46 2 months ago

Fantastic job the crew did and 611 always gets the job done. Excellent display of man and machine

CVandergriff2008 2 months ago

wow

ELMSLines 3 months ago

I'm retired from Norfolk Southern, and I was amused at the speculation about WHY the engine stalled. Note the fellow on top. Most likely it was due to a clogged sand pipe. Once that was corrected, 611 had NO trouble starting the train from a DEAD stop on the steepest grade in the East! Slippage may be funny to non-railroaders, but to US it is not a good thing. She and her crew are to be complimented for a job well done. Lots of memories for me in this engine!

JerryNSretired 4 months ago

wait where is 611 at 1:20?

Barricade360 5 months ago

Nice ! Thanks for posting.

p61guy 5 months ago

Good Wheelslip Action, sounds of a hard working girl.

3985gtasa 5 months ago

how many cars was the 611 pulling......it clear was pulling half if not less then the full train was at first i thought they were going to pull the whole train up at once lol was thinking the 611 stalled with 3 diesels helping? lol I know that is a steep grade never seen it and sadly even if i did get to see it today nothing is there anymore all the trains have been reroute from what i hear!!!

WorldOfNothin 6 months ago

Born in the 90's? You missed out on the first NS steam program buddy since it ended Dec 1994.

rwk360 6 months ago

I hate that I was born in the 90's and not the 40's to have been able to see these marvelous machines would be an equal trade off for the age. However I have a question in this video with her stalling out it seems like she was planting a tremendous amount of power..how loud was it? Ive never seen or heard an Steam Loco in person.

3wide4checkers 6 months ago

@3wide4checkers I think the largest steam locomotives produced the equivalent of 6000 hp ! Also, that steam whistle is DEAFENING ! Great show ! I got to see a Challenger in Elmhurst Illinois a few years back. It's just hard to imagine something that big going 90 mph !

pkrieter 5 months ago

@pkrieter the most powerful was the C&O Allegheny at 7500 HP

pumpkinhead4449 4 months ago

@3wide4checkers You don't know what you're missing.... Now, I've never heard a steam engine giving it all it's worth. The loudest steam engine(s) I've ever heard was Cumbres & Toltec #s 487 and 488 doubleheading beginning the climb over Cumbres Pass. It's a site.

foroke1 3 months ago

Awesome!!! She is still my favorite!!!

dwkcamman611 7 months ago

The men who built this locomotive would've been proud to see it defeat this mountain

CMsurvive11 7 months ago

I like how everyone just runs across the tracks like it's a ghost train.

LaochWins 9 months ago

@pigwerks It has the power, but not the traction. Consider how little surface contact there is between drivers and railheads.

Larsky1010 10 months ago

@Larsky1010 Driver contact area means nothing. I'ts all about loading (force applied vertically) and coefficient of static friction. (The latter affected by sand, grease, oil, rain, leaves.

Two cylinder simple-expansion steamers have a problem because of variation of tractive effort, i.e. it peaks at mid-piston-travel where lever arm to wheel pivot pin is greatest. Like, on a bike, you generate the most thrust when the pedal is horizontal.

woodscritter 10 months ago

Marvelous whistle! Sounds like a Mississippi River steamboat!

Larsky1010 10 months ago

i think i can i think i can i think i can......i thought i could i though i could i thought i could!!!

Show'em how its dont 611!!!! Now thats real engineering skills to get a stalled steamer up a steep ass grade without any wheel slippage.

6V92TA 10 months ago

Where was the 2nd tender used for water or 3rd tenders? s eems in the last few years or the 611 running they would have besides the tender the black 2nd .tender for water, and sometiems the 3rd painted a tuscan red. Aslo what was the conrail box car was this a power car? Later repainted a tuscan red as well?

xspfdhardcorekid417x 11 months ago

@xspfdhardcorekid417x First off there were three tenders one was the one with the 611 stripe that was sold to the ITM for use behind 587 and the other two were both N&W but around 1994 one of them was painted in the tuscan scheme. Now there was no water tender on this trip because of the weight concerns, they didnt know how hard it would be for 611 to go up the grade by itsself so they didnt use a tender.

trainmandan05 9 months ago

@xspfdhardcorekid417x And second the Conrail car was a power car. I think they were using it to keep 611 and the diesels in sync with each other in terms of braking. The car is now NS power car #40 currently being used on the OCS train.

trainmandan05 9 months ago