ABOVE: The shot of the weekend was on July 4 when No. 611 split the CPLs at Montvale on its way to Lynchburg. The sun had just appeared with seconds to spare to get the shot.
LEFT: The coaling tower at Vicker makes for a great N&W photo prop. No. 611 likely took coal from here in regular service in the 1950s. The dampness of the first day of trips on July 3 made for a fine display of steam.
Walton, for each of the three days over the long weekend of July 3 through 5. Our plan was simple — pick one good location each trip in each direction, let the train come to us, and don’t worry about chasing.
Our first morning found us at the col-
service passenger routes out of Roanoke. Like many others, I made my plans to be trackside.
Back Home Again I knew the crowds would be huge in
Roanoke for 611’s homecoming, so I had planned my strategy carefully. I headed south from New Jersey with my brother Bruce and Michael Burkhart. There would be two trips a day out of Roanoke, one east to Lynchburg and one west to
or position light (CPL) signals at Web- ster east of Roanoke and on the grade to Blue Ridge. We expected crowds but — wow! — what crowds we saw. As we left U.S. 460 to head back into Webster, both the road and tracks curve under the Blue Ridge Parkway. Looking up at the bridge, there must have been over 100 people up there. Arriving at Webster, we found cars lining the roadway in a solid line. After greeting a few friends track- side, we staked our claim.
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