N&W 611 Inital breakin "The First Wheel" under steam. 1982 Irondale to Chattanooga

N&W 611 on it's first Break in run outing after the inital rebuild in 1982. This is the first wheel turned under steam. At one point in the video you hear a crew member say "She runs GRRRREAT! " Also in this video is 611's first wheel slip since the 50's. Lord do miss the "J". RARE video !!!

"I am the thoroughbred of steam- Born to run- Born to be free- Forgive them Lord, for they know not what they do!"

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• N&W
• 611
• Norfolk
• and
• Western
• Steam
• locomotive

[lovetoseesteam]

"I am the thoroughbred of steam- Born to run- Born to be free- Forgive them Lord, for they know not what they do!"

Category:

[Vintage1976]

Lord, how I miss the '80's!!!

[226bike]

I saw it that day! At 3:29 it's coming into Attalla. I was working about two blocks away and heard the whistle and went down to the station and saw it. Didn't have a camera. N&W and Southern merged and Southern still had one of the few functional steam repair facilities at the Norris Yard in Irondale, AL. We used to see steam engines on a regular basis in Attalla back then when NS was doing their steam program. Rode behind the 611 several times to Chattanooga.

[Tyler3967]

Almost about 30 years since 611 was first restored before 12 years was up to 1994.

[CVandergriff2008]

Great vid. Love to see her and 1218 under steam again. I remember riding several times behind both. Miss those days

[SgtRollo61]

Most BEAUTIFUL Loco ever built!!  Love the "J"s

[rwk360]

Was there any reason why 611 was restored to excursion service in 1982? Did it have something to do with the Southern and N&W merging that year to form Norfolk Southern? But when it was sent to Bimingham in 1981, who owned it then? N&W? But it used Southern rails to get to Birmingham? It was only the Southern that had a steam program before 1982, correct? The N&W never had a steam excursion program because the 611 sat cold in Roanoke two decades before 1981? Now it sits cold again since Dec 1994

[JerryNSretired]

Ah, imagination! For those who have no clue, the engine is moving *around* 60-70. Like trucks and cars, there ARE speed limits imposed by both the company and the Federal Railway Admistration. Track speed is governed by local terrain, curvature, track weight (per yard), or other temporary limits that may be imposed due to track work. The maximum speed in the US, other than the Northeast, is 79 MPH by law. No way is this engine exceeding this!

[adfgfds]

@grizzleybearz282004

Yah thats what I'm thinking. I've never seen it move that fast lol

[grizzleybearz282004]

@adfgfds could have been doing around 90 it sure was moving pretty fast

[adfgfds]

@grizzleybearz282004

I knew that part already. The J classes were made for 100+mph running in their heyday. But I'm more curious to how fast she was running in this video around 6:20. Looks like she's going over 90

[grizzleybearz282004]

@adfgfds the n&w j class 611 was able to do over 100 mph in the past they gotten her up to 115 mph but the driver was getting scared so he backed off so it is very possable the n&w j c6lass 611 was a 120 mph plus steam engine