ROANOKE, Va. — The Virginia Museum of Transportation will offer special “behind the scenes” presentations this weekend on Norfolk & Western No. 611 while the Class J 4-8-4 is home at the museum. The presentation will be offered twice on Saturday, June 24, at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., and again on Sunday at 1:30 […]
If you model the modern era like me, you may still have some equipment in your collection that doesn’t fit the era. Maybe you are a fan of one of the famous steam locomotives operating today, such as Nickel Plate Road No. 765 or Union Pacific’s Big Boy. Or maybe you have another steam engine […]
STRASBURG, Pa. — Norfolk & Western J-class 4-8-4 streamlined steam engine No. 611 (Roanoke Shops, 1950) wrapped up a two-year stay at the Strasburg Rail Road tourist and short line over the weekend, and will soon be headed back to its home state of Virginia. Owned by the Virginia Museum of Transportation, the engine had […]
STRASBURG, Pa. — The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, in partnership with the Virginia Museum of Transportation, is offering specially designed tours of Norfolk & Western Class J 4-8-4 No. 611. The engine is currently stored at the Museum until it returns to its home base in Roanoke next month. Now through May 14, the Railroad […]
Major 2010s steam locomotive restorations will take a look at five revived locomotives you have to know about. While preserved rail equipment is tweaked and repaired all the time, it is a rare event when a steam locomotive is overhauled and returned to service. Check out our list: Southern Railway No. 4501 Restoration completed in […]
STRASBURG, Pa. – Personnel from the Strasburg Rail Road, Virginia Museum of Transportation, and Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania moved famed Norfolk & Western Railway 4-8-4 No. 611 from the Strasburg’s track across Pennsylvania Route 741 to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania for winter storage on January 31. The move was made to free up track […]
STRASBURG, Pa. — Famed Norfolk & Western J-class 4-8-4 No. 611 will return to steam this fall in a series of limited-time-only events announced by the Virginia Museum of Transportation, owners of the locomotive, and the Strasburg Rail Road, which together are completing the most recent federally required inspection of the 72-year-old locomotive. Among […]
Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history, heritage, and style of the Norfolk & Western Railway all through January 2022. So, please enjoy this photo gallery of Norfolk & Western locomotives selected from the archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Norfolk & Western locomotives served in the coal fields and later on high-speed freight […]
Norfolk & Western Railway history has two distinct phases. Before 1964, it was a coal hauler controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad. It even looked like the Pennsy in places: Tuscan Red coaches, position-light signals, and a short electrified district — but no Belpaire fireboxes. In 1964, possibly as a reaction to the proposed merger of […]
STRASBURG, Pa. — Norfolk & Western Class J locomotive No. 611 will remain at the Strasburg Rail Road this winter, undergoing an annual inspection and maintenance, following the conclusion of its operations on the Pennsylvania short line. The Virginia Museum of Transportation’s 4-8-4 had operated at Strasburg since May, wrapping up its schedule of excursions, […]
N&W 611 heads to Strasburg for lengthy stay Its stoker repaired, Norfolk & Western Class J steam locomotive No. 611 made the move from the Virginia Museum of Transportation on Monday and is slated to begin operation at Pennsylvania’s Strasburg Rail Road this Saturday, May 29. For security reasons, the museum did not announce a […]
Work under way to repair N&W No. 611 for trip to Strasburg The Virginia Museum of Transportation reported late last week that work was under way to identify and repair the problem with the stoker of N&W No. 611, an issue which has delayed the Class J’s planned trip to the Strasburg Rail Road. To […]
