streamliner had a chance to once again romp thanks to Norfolk Southern and the very suc- cessful Fire Up 611! campaign. This book chronicles the three lives of
Southern Pacific
Official Cars By Donald M. Munger & Jeffrey Alan Cauthen
H
istory of SP Official Cars and that of subsidiaries T&NO, SPdeM, SSW
NWP and PE etc. Library bound, 8½x12 horizontal format, 528 Pages, 590 photos —176 in color—and 110 plans, Rosters, Appendix, Bibliography and Index.
$135.00 plus Shipping & Handling
Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society 1523 Howard Access Rd. Suite A Upland, CA 91786-2582 •
www.sphts.org
Two Great new DVD’s from A&R!
BO-3, on the left, features CSX on the former B&O from the unmistakable Point of Rocks station, through Brunswick to historic Harper’s Ferry. WW-1 follows the “Ole’ Weak and Weary” in Gore & Winchester, VA, on to Martinsburg, WV and Hagerstown, MD. Lines in New Jersey are also shown.
$30 each, free shipping
A&R Productions, PO Box 492, Kensington, CT 06037, (800) 246-5898
Classicrailroadvideos.com
611 — in regular service for the Norfolk & Western from 1950-1959, the rebirth as an excursion locomotive in the original Norfolk Southern Steam Program from 1982-1994, and the second round of excursions of 2015. The authors have a deep personal connection with the locomotive, which comes through in the writing — this is not a dry history of 611, but a very personal narrative at times. Part 1 opens up with the story of Norfolk & Western’s super-power “big three” steam lo- comotives — the A-class 2-6-6-4s, the Y-class 2-8-8-2s, and the J-class 4-8-4s. We see the first Js being constructed in 1940 and follow the class as it expands to 14 locomotives by the time 611 and three sisters are built in 1950. There are plenty of in-service shots of various Js in this chapter, and it’s clear they were the pride of the fleet. The Js are shown right up until scrapping after their service lives were up. The story then moves to No. 611 with highlights of its career, including power- ing a special train for presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. The engine also has the distinction of being involved in the last major wreck of the steam era when it went on its side in 1956. The chapter con- cludes with 611’s retirement in 1959. The mystery of just who it was that had
611 saved opens up Part 2. Suffice to say, two names that would appear multiple times throughout the book had a big hand in it — the Claytor brothers, Robert and Graham, Jr. The engine is finally saved when N&W donates it to the new transportation museum being constructed in the city of Roanoke, Va., 611’s birthplace. Here the locomotive resides until circumstances — the establishment of the Southern Railway’s steam program, the merger of Southern with Norfolk & West- ern, and Robert Claytor’s ascendancy to the president’s position of the newly established Norfolk Southern — all fall in place for a 611 revival. The story of the second life is well-covered, including the wreck at Dismal Swamp in 1984 (which somehow didn’t kill the steam program) and the program’s sud- den end in 1994. It’s back to the Virginia Museum of Trans- portation for another two decades as 611 waits for yet another chance to run again, and we see that chance in Part 3. The Fire Up 611! campaign raises enough funds to get anoth- er restoration going, and the chapter begins with 611’s presence at the 2014 Streamliners at Spencer event in North Carolina, along with NS CEO Wick Moorman ceremonious- ly removing the first bolt from the engine to officially commence the rebuild. The rest of the chapter is devoted to the 2015 trips that brought 611 back to home rails. The book is profusely illustrated with pho-
tos, charts, and more to help tell the story of 611. As mentioned before, this is a deeply per- sonal project of the authors, and while a few excess commas creep into the text, it should not take away from the authors’ passion. If you are a fan of 611, this is a book you will undoubtedly enjoy. — STEVE BARRY
TO HAVE YOUR NEW railroad books, calendars, and videos considered for review, please send copies to RAILFAN & RAILROAD, P.O. Box 554, Andover, NJ 07821. For UPS/FedEx please send materials to RAILFAN & RAILROAD, 5 Lenape Rd. #554, Andover, NJ 07821.
24 JANAURY 2016 •
RAILFAN.COM
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