On April 9 and 10 of 2016, Norfolk & Western 4-8-4 #611 led a pair of day-long mainline excursions from the North Carolina Museum of Transportation in Spencer, NC to points north and west. On Saturday, April 9, she led a trip which departed from Spencer, and headed north to Lynchburg, VA, in the "Old Dominion" and return - passing through such cities as Greensboro, NC and Danville, VA along the way. Two diesel helpers were along for the ride - Norfolk Southern #8099, the Southern heritage unit diesel, and Southern FP-7 #6133, owned by the NCTM - both were along to help the 611 save coal, since they couldn't refuel in Lynchburg. Saturday, while sunny, was an extremely windy day, making it a challenge for all of the videographers chasing that day.
Sunday, April 10, 611 headed west with the two diesels again, leading an all-day trip through the "Old North State" west to Asheville, NC and return. This trip featured 611 ascending the famous Southern Railway Loops just past Old Fort, NC for the first time in many years - where the diesel helpers were definitely needed to get the 20+ car train up the hills.
Included in this video are shots of the beautiful J-Class locomotive and it's consist going over scenic bridges, passing various old stations, sweeping around curves, thundering down straightaways, night video - and stay tuned to the very end for a very rare pacing shot!
Enjoy this two part video "N&W 611: Thunder in the Old Dominion" and "N&W 611: Thunder in the Old North State"!