Now Available — 60 pages, softcover
Fire Up 611!
WHAT WAS PROBABLY one of the most anticipated an- nouncements in the rail- fan community this year, the Fire Up 611! commit- tee released their findings to the public on June 28, 2013, detailing the pro- posed restoration of Nor- folk & Western 611, which was last under steam in 1994 before being put into long-term storage.
“The
Fire Up 611 Committee recommends that a capital campaign be undertaken to finance the restoration of the N&W 611. The proj- ect plan incorporates the construction of an on-site shop facility, working capi- tal to make the locomotive a successful mobile am- bassador for the museum, the city of Roanoke and the Commonwealth of Vir- ginia.” The committee was headed up by Preston Claytor, son of the first Norfolk Southern Corp. chief executive officer Robert B. Claytor.
Rail-
roading runs in the family as Preston Claytor was most recently affiliated with RailAmerica.
The sole survivor of
N&W’s J-class 4-8-4 steam locomotives, No. 611 was built in May 1950 at the railroad’s shops in Roanoke, Va. The locomo- tive first dropped its fires in 1960, and was donated to the Virginia Museum of Transportation (then known as the Roanoke Transportation Museum). In 1981, the locomotive was leased from the museum and restored to operation in 1982. The steam program was terminated in 1994 due to rising insurance costs, amongst other factors. The locomotive was placed back on display at VMT in 1995.
Norfolk & Western J-Class No. 611 sits under the canopy at the Virginia Museum of Transportation during a Lerro Productions photo session on November 12, 2010. Pending a successful capital program, the streamlined Northern could return to steam in 2014.
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RAILFAN.COM
The group of experts assembled to evalu- ate 611 recognized the hard work the Nor- folk Southern Steam Dept. put into prepar- ing the locomotive for its two-decade rest. “They removed items subject to deteriora- tion, removed rust causing debris and ap- plied rust inhibitors to moving parts subject to freeze-up or rusting,” according to the re- port. This preventative action certainly helped maintain the historic locomotive as a potential restoration candidate. Additionally, the committee was asked to develop a plan for operation outside of the museum while minimizing the time that the locomotive is unavailable for public display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Phase 1 of the project required the commit-
tee to locate a shop to perform the restora- tion work. The result of that search was the North Carolina Transportation Museum at Spencer. Visitors will be able to watch the restoration progress inside the 20-stall for- mer Southern Railway roundhouse, which is expected to take nine months to complete. Phase 2 of the project involves the design and construction of an “on-site mechanical shop” to house the 611 at VMT. “It was decid- ed that a two-track shop of sufficient length to house 611 to be located on the far west end of the museum property.” Aside from having everything needed to inspect and maintain the historic steam locomotive, the shop design “includes a long corridor with inward facing windows on one wall, allowing museum visitors to view the locomotive.” The final phase of the project is the busi- ness plan and future excursion operations. While Norfolk Southern Corp. has invited the 611 to take part in the company’s 21st Century Steam Program, a series of steam
TWO PHOTOS: STEVE BARRY
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