Dunno about 1954, but trains in most all cases are restricted by track limits and FRA regulations. Maximum speed, except for the Northeast Corridor is 79 MPH.Norfolk Southern steam trains were restricted to 45 MPH after a derailment and up until the excursions were annulled by the CEO. Having worked with and around the steam trains, I find all the comments on YouTube about steam trains makin' 90 and beyond is mostly wild imagination! More like 50-60 MPH!
This is my favorite steamer of all time.The A1 tornado was sweet too and the 3780,4449 and Big boy 4-6-6-4 but the design and sound of this old beautiful giant makes you envy the engineer.
What's unfortunate is the side rod slap... I've seen a couple different videos of this engine running this route, but this is the first I've heard the side rods... wonder if it was later in the trip?
@the4000class : Well, by hearing the rhytme of the 70'' diameter driving axles, you are able to calculate the speed. Where I'm counting some 210 strokes per minute .., so with the rotating frequency f = n/60 = 3,5 Hz, regarding on the circumference of those (4) D-wheels, you'll get : v = 3,5 x π.D = 3,5 .π.(0.7 x 2,54) = 19,5 m/s or ca. 70 km/h or else some 44 mph ... Hopefully at your service (-: dAb)
@daborgdorff you may be right, the speed limit on that part of US 460 varies betw 55 to less near and in the towns. I think 55 mph limit there and the photo car seems to be passing other vehicles. The N & W 611 is the real supertrain...
I actually saw this engine once back in the mid to late 80's in Salisbury, NC. We were visiting some of my wifes family. Getting out of the car I remember hearing that wonderful deep throaty whistle. Unmistakably a Steam Engine whistle, and that of NW J611. So my father in-law and I went to the yard, and there she was.
She drives better than Danica Patrick, & is your wife available? As she is needed this summer, out west for some UP 844 runs. & Great video of a Rare Steam Loco!
I'm from Roanoke, Va. 611 was built there in 1950 in the N&W East End shops. She served as a passenger train until 1959 when she was replaced by a diesel and put in the transportation museum in Wasena park. Put back in service in 1982 and retired again in 1994. Since 1995 she has been sitting in the downtown museum on Norfolk Ave. in Roanoke, Va. The other J engines like her where scrapped in 1959 and 60. The first was built in 1941 and 611 was among the last three to go into service.
If I remember correctly the first was 600 and built in 1941. The last one built was 613. They ran mostly from Ohio thru Roanoke to Norfolk, Va. on passenger service. During WW2 passenger trains were so in demand that some freight engines pull them too such as N&W 1218 also build in Roanoke in 1942 and its in the downtown museum too. It was a little more powerful than 611. Could pull 150 car coal train on level ground unassisted at 70 mph. When NW went to diesel, they need four engines then.
611 in the early '80's before Dismal Swamp, ran at track speed. She got that train out of Alexandria in a hurry and was running 70+ out past Manassas. Those were the days I tell ya!
Sorry, I disagree ... the engine you are watching is a registered National Engineering Landmark ... all roller bearings ... 5000 tractive horsepower ... smooth as silk marvel ... nothing the AT&SF, SP, or Milwaukee had could keep up with this beauty. Built in Roanoke, Va at the best steam shops in the world.
What a beautiful beast! Shame on NS for scrapping the steam program. Forget those shrouded shoe-boxes; THIS is how streamlined steam should look. (And all those wonderful moving parts create a visual symphony!) Congratulations to the videographers; you guys really nailed it!
omg I dont know what one i liike better my favorite steam train was sp4449 but now i just saw this one norfolk 611 i dont know what one a like better norfolf 611 is so cool. this video is awesome it showed me a new steam train that i think is awesome!!!!!!! =)
Loved it. Great clip. Thanks for the speeding caution also. How about those streamed lines. Art and Tech. Who knows the gas prices the way they are. Maybe steam again.
There is actually like 25 mins total that you can pace a train along 460. But stay cool and watch for speed traps IF you do that, Police are real strict in this area.
I truly wish I could witness these steam running today. It would be a thrill out of yesteryear to see the motion, the steam, the puff from the smoke, the bell ringing as I once remembered.
magnificent...magnificent those golden wonderful great years oF steam. How sad that those years of steam are lost into the twight of the past. Ron Eck
Rode the Powhatan Arrow along this track on Sundays evenings to Norfolk in 1954. That Christmas we were late leaving Petersburg, Va. by 15 minutes. We made it to Suffolk on time.I went to the conductors room to check out the speedometer during the run and found we had reached 90 mph. Quite a ride.
My grandfather was a Pullman conductor on on the Powhatan Arrow, and I remember the 611 coming through Charlottesville during an excursion back in the mid-80's. Thanks for the memories, and God, I wish she could come back.
And she will. Im going to make it happen. As of right now im aiming towards working for NS and reaching the position of president of the railroad and when i reach that position my first act is to get her & the 1218 back running again where they belong.
Thats a Fine Pacing video there You were holding position on what would have been the most hotly contested spot on an American highway at that particular moment in time, and got it on video to prove it!
I am currently presenting a multimedia program with a train theme for children, teaching lessons in life, train safety, and work with two volunteer train museums to help educate the public about train history. I would like to use some of your video in my presentations if you would grant me the permission. I need the best quality format you have but need only short clips 1-2 mins. Max. Visit my site for more info at getonboard dot us . I will be happy to pay for your time and talent.
Great stuff! There's nothing like pacing a steam engine. I've seen 611 running, in person. 1 steam engine "in the wild" beats 10 confined to a museum.
Now were TALKIN! Great Job man, you shoot 'em like, I like to, too! But i only see the UP steam team out west but that is a rockin group so cant do any complainin
Dunno about 1954, but trains in most all cases are restricted by track limits and FRA regulations. Maximum speed, except for the Northeast Corridor is 79 MPH.Norfolk Southern steam trains were restricted to 45 MPH after a derailment and up until the excursions were annulled by the CEO. Having worked with and around the steam trains, I find all the comments on YouTube about steam trains makin' 90 and beyond is mostly wild imagination! More like 50-60 MPH!
JerryNSretired 4 months ago
How fast is it going? I have a model of a normal 4-8-4, and yes, nukunfuts1000, it too, hauled some serious [donkey].
JeffHendrie 4 months ago
Did they replace the steam whistle?
trainmaster555 6 months ago
That thing is hauling some serious ass
nukinfuts1000 9 months ago
IF ANYONE DOSENT ALREALY KNOW THIS WAS AND IS ONE OF THE BEST MEADE ENGINES TO EVER HIT THE RAILS I WOULD HAVE LOVE TO BEEN THERE TAPEING IT 5 STARS
grizzleybearz282004 10 months ago
This is my favorite steamer of all time.The A1 tornado was sweet too and the 3780,4449 and Big boy 4-6-6-4 but the design and sound of this old beautiful giant makes you envy the engineer.
blitzspeer 11 months ago
@HaloCE14 Probably because of the fact that the whistle is extremely old and soon got worn out. Just like 4449.
Bassfanatic94 1 year ago
What's unfortunate is the side rod slap... I've seen a couple different videos of this engine running this route, but this is the first I've heard the side rods... wonder if it was later in the trip?
Nice catch though!
kleetus92 1 year ago
man... them crank rods are a hammerin did anyone check the pins for tolorance?
izzynutz2000 1 year ago
nice filming... US 460 is a nice long streatch for pasing a train.. wish N and W would bet the 611 and 1218 back on the tracks...
irish89055 1 year ago
It is a shame that NS didn't keep the Class J running! But we can still have her on our layouts thanks to Lionel & Bachmann.
Petemonster62 1 year ago
Your wife did well at pacing the 611, it was a site to see as I recall LOL Wish I had the opportunity to video it
pwalpar 1 year ago
You were very very lucky to get and maintain that position on the road to pace the locomotive for so long
WBDE 1 year ago
She's a beauty....great whistle too......
SpeedyNeutrino43 1 year ago
My grand dad used to drive this train :)))
jaay334 1 year ago
I DONT KNOW WHAT NS WAS THINKING , STOPPING THE STEAM PROGRAM AND GIVING 611 AND 1218 UP, THATS PROBABLY THE DUMBEST MOVE NS HAS DONE.
The3751FAN 1 year ago 3
Beautiful! the best steam locos were the streamlined ones from the 20s through to the 40s, such as this famous design.
sydneysmooth21 1 year ago
how fast was she going?
the4000class 1 year ago 2
@the4000class : Well, by hearing the rhytme of the 70'' diameter driving axles, you are able to calculate the speed. Where I'm counting some 210 strokes per minute .., so with the rotating frequency f = n/60 = 3,5 Hz, regarding on the circumference of those (4) D-wheels, you'll get : v = 3,5 x π.D = 3,5 .π.(0.7 x 2,54) = 19,5 m/s or ca. 70 km/h or else some 44 mph ... Hopefully at your service (-: dAb)
daborgdorff 1 year ago 11
Comment removed
msb350 1 year ago
@daborgdorff you may be right, the speed limit on that part of US 460 varies betw 55 to less near and in the towns. I think 55 mph limit there and the photo car seems to be passing other vehicles. The N & W 611 is the real supertrain...
irish89055 1 year ago
@irish89055 -- thanks (-: dAb +>
daborgdorff 1 year ago
I believe this engine still runs correct?
GCFX3072 1 year ago
She's in Roanoke at the Museum.
e44e33 1 year ago
@e44e33 there is talk of getting her up and running again...though I have not heard anything as of late. I would love to go for a ride myself ;-)
renardgrise 10 months ago
@GCFX3072
No, but it darn well should be running.
rail64 1 year ago
I actually saw this engine once back in the mid to late 80's in Salisbury, NC. We were visiting some of my wifes family. Getting out of the car I remember hearing that wonderful deep throaty whistle. Unmistakably a Steam Engine whistle, and that of NW J611. So my father in-law and I went to the yard, and there she was.
Thank you for sharing.
kingtiger59 1 year ago
She drives better than Danica Patrick, & is your wife available? As she is needed this summer, out west for some UP 844 runs. & Great video of a Rare Steam Loco!
SkipW 1 year ago
The 611 is still coal fired and I hope they keep her that way.
cacjy6b 2 years ago
Such a loud whistle! Deep tone too. Very different to UKs whistles.
Is this oil or coal fired?
edj66 2 years ago
@edj66 Yeah, that whistle sound is so impressive and beautifull :D
TerminatorFRA 2 years ago
I'm from Roanoke, Va. 611 was built there in 1950 in the N&W East End shops. She served as a passenger train until 1959 when she was replaced by a diesel and put in the transportation museum in Wasena park. Put back in service in 1982 and retired again in 1994. Since 1995 she has been sitting in the downtown museum on Norfolk Ave. in Roanoke, Va. The other J engines like her where scrapped in 1959 and 60. The first was built in 1941 and 611 was among the last three to go into service.
boblackey1 2 years ago
If I remember correctly the first was 600 and built in 1941. The last one built was 613. They ran mostly from Ohio thru Roanoke to Norfolk, Va. on passenger service. During WW2 passenger trains were so in demand that some freight engines pull them too such as N&W 1218 also build in Roanoke in 1942 and its in the downtown museum too. It was a little more powerful than 611. Could pull 150 car coal train on level ground unassisted at 70 mph. When NW went to diesel, they need four engines then.
boblackey1 2 years ago
I rode on that old girl in 1993 from Jacksonville, Fla to Fargo, Ga and back. Fun times.
fillmore593 2 years ago
hey is this placed in roanoke va TODay
stormhokie 2 years ago
611 looks like it has a face
SDCLowriders 2 years ago
611 in the early '80's before Dismal Swamp, ran at track speed. She got that train out of Alexandria in a hurry and was running 70+ out past Manassas. Those were the days I tell ya!
Vintage1976 2 years ago
you know what would be really really really really cool? if 4449, 611, and 844 did a triple header
85mariafer 2 years ago
dont forget 587 and make it a quadruple header!!!
CSXboy1 2 years ago
Does ny one know if she will ever run again?
colinroxanduknowit 2 years ago
I doubt it. If they do, it will be for an excursion train Im sure.
mwarfel95 2 years ago
Awesome video!! Thanks for posting...
mazzo99 2 years ago
starting at about 1:35 I swear I hear the whine of 645's turbo. Was this loco assisted for some reason?
thad73va 2 years ago
She was unassisted. What you may be hearing was some interference from the car's (a 1975 Datsun 280Z) electrical system being picked up on the VCR.
e44e33 2 years ago
@thad73va That is the feedwater pump you are hearing.
jcmark611 1 year ago
Ahh man this is 611 with her GOOD whistle....I liked this whistle better than the other 2 it wore on the southern
lovetoseesteam 2 years ago
This was filmed right after the restoration....thanks for posting it! I'll be uploading video of the '82 restoration soon.
arrowguy173 2 years ago
GREAT camera work. Top of the class.
evensteven69 2 years ago
Steam Trains are awesome!
I like the expresses the most! the Big steam trains!
XeyahRuler20x 2 years ago
very well done !! 5 *****
prosepp 3 years ago
Hands down best steam locomotives are (no disrespect UP we love you!) SP 4449, AT & SF 3751 Milwaukee Road # 261.
MUEagle2002 3 years ago
Sorry, I disagree ... the engine you are watching is a registered National Engineering Landmark ... all roller bearings ... 5000 tractive horsepower ... smooth as silk marvel ... nothing the AT&SF, SP, or Milwaukee had could keep up with this beauty. Built in Roanoke, Va at the best steam shops in the world.
kwg1 3 years ago
uhhh, 4449 comes DAMN close!
DanielVolker 3 years ago
611 and 614 are the most MODERN steam to be saved. Does it make them better? Depends on what you mean by better I guess.
hollywood1340 3 years ago
CLOSE ... but no cigar!!!
kwg1 2 years ago
Great video
ervans 3 years ago
how fast was this
3254man 3 years ago
Assuming 70 inch drivers and counting revolutions per minute, it's going about 65 km/h
tompaah7503 2 years ago
What a beautiful beast! Shame on NS for scrapping the steam program. Forget those shrouded shoe-boxes; THIS is how streamlined steam should look. (And all those wonderful moving parts create a visual symphony!) Congratulations to the videographers; you guys really nailed it!
countrypaul 3 years ago
nothing compaers to the Milwaukee Road Hiawathas, it's a damn shame they were all scraped. But but but they are all extremely beautiful!!!!
307OLDS 3 years ago
hey, did anyone ever play that old computer game Gadget? this looks like one of the trains in it
pinkertons12345 3 years ago
wow,
that was amazing!
plaedbread 3 years ago
omg I dont know what one i liike better my favorite steam train was sp4449 but now i just saw this one norfolk 611 i dont know what one a like better norfolf 611 is so cool. this video is awesome it showed me a new steam train that i think is awesome!!!!!!! =)
Awesomegames 3 years ago 2
your right 4449 is pretty cool especally as the american freedom train but 611 always comes first in my book
pickett101films 3 years ago
Loved it. Great clip. Thanks for the speeding caution also. How about those streamed lines. Art and Tech. Who knows the gas prices the way they are. Maybe steam again.
dtunzzlistener 3 years ago
There is actually like 25 mins total that you can pace a train along 460. But stay cool and watch for speed traps IF you do that, Police are real strict in this area.
BNSF757 3 years ago
Nice teamwork! Great driving and great camera work. You guys should go into business!
Zephyr1949 3 years ago
Now that's what I call pacing.
boardman49 3 years ago
beautiful
starspace 3 years ago 2
I truly wish I could witness these steam running today. It would be a thrill out of yesteryear to see the motion, the steam, the puff from the smoke, the bell ringing as I once remembered.
zenotest 3 years ago
magnificent...magnificent those golden wonderful great years oF steam. How sad that those years of steam are lost into the twight of the past. Ron Eck
zenotest 3 years ago 3
langweilig
symirnali 3 years ago
Rode the Powhatan Arrow along this track on Sundays evenings to Norfolk in 1954. That Christmas we were late leaving Petersburg, Va. by 15 minutes. We made it to Suffolk on time.I went to the conductors room to check out the speedometer during the run and found we had reached 90 mph. Quite a ride.
rube44 4 years ago 6
Love that low-pitched whistle!
A1l2l2e2n4 4 years ago 4
My grandfather was a Pullman conductor on on the Powhatan Arrow, and I remember the 611 coming through Charlottesville during an excursion back in the mid-80's. Thanks for the memories, and God, I wish she could come back.
antiq8 4 years ago 4
And she will. Im going to make it happen. As of right now im aiming towards working for NS and reaching the position of president of the railroad and when i reach that position my first act is to get her & the 1218 back running again where they belong.
DASCO2136 3 years ago 3
Your wife is an excellent pace driver!! 611 in Virginia!! What could be nicer?!
Corcoran09 4 years ago 4
Beautiful whistle. This is what railroading is all about.
fafnir242 4 years ago 7
Used to take train excursions on this engine all the time when i was kid, brings back memories.
Thanks (:-
needlove1982 4 years ago 4
How fast is that train going?
dkslfjgh 4 years ago 2
Hi.. I work for NS in Norfolk. This particular trip the train was only running between 45-50 mph if I remember correctly.
DRG1939 4 years ago 2
Thats a Fine Pacing video there You were holding position on what would have been the most hotly contested spot on an American highway at that particular moment in time, and got it on video to prove it!
SkipW 4 years ago 3
Nice!
mysteriouskazakh 4 years ago 3
Great clip! I love the 611.
CSX6000 4 years ago 3
My grandfather was an engineer on the N&W from after WW2 through the early 70's and he ran just about every steam engine they had.
I can remember going to see this engine and others with him when they sat in Wasena park in Roanoke ... long before they restored it.
You could crawl up on them and everything .. I can still remember grandpa telling me what every nut and bolt and lever did ...
This video brought tears to my eyes remembering him.
kwg1 4 years ago 4
was this it's first run bescause I've heard it was in 1982.
trainboy94 4 years ago
I think it was.
e44e33 4 years ago
I did some research and it was, you captured an important event my friend, you should cherish it.
trainboy94 4 years ago 3
GOOD STUFF!!!! THIS is the GOOD whistle 611 had. 1st and 2 nd one were great 3rd whistle it had towards the end of the program was ok....NICE!!!!!
lovetoseesteam 4 years ago
I am currently presenting a multimedia program with a train theme for children, teaching lessons in life, train safety, and work with two volunteer train museums to help educate the public about train history. I would like to use some of your video in my presentations if you would grant me the permission. I need the best quality format you have but need only short clips 1-2 mins. Max. Visit my site for more info at getonboard dot us . I will be happy to pay for your time and talent.
calinkus 4 years ago
Great stuff! There's nothing like pacing a steam engine. I've seen 611 running, in person. 1 steam engine "in the wild" beats 10 confined to a museum.
joekrepps 4 years ago
Great video man! I can't believe I havn't seen this one before. We can only wish one day she'll come back under steam.
Thanks for posting!!
hoolg 4 years ago
Now were TALKIN! Great Job man, you shoot 'em like, I like to, too! But i only see the UP steam team out west but that is a rockin group so cant do any complainin
SkipW 4 years ago
thats and the cops down that way will bust your ass at the drop of a hat if speed to keep up!
RobertLee25 4 years ago
You can't do that now...... the trees and brush have grown up horribly now
BNSF757 4 years ago