611 To The Virginia Scenic Railway (2024)

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From their homepage:
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The Legend Returns!

611 Steam Locomotive Excursions Planned For Fall

The Virginia Museum of Transportation, Inc. (VMT) and the Virginia Scenic Railway (VSR) are excited to jointly announce that the Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 steam passenger locomotive will return to service this fall with a schedule of weekend excursions. Railroad enthusiasts will have the unique opportunity to experience steam train history aboard the Shenandoah Valley Limited. Experience all the majesty of being aboard an American steam legend on this spectacular journey through the Shenandoah Valley during peak fall foliage.

Virginia Scenic Railway's website

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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Good question. The normal run advertises a three-hour tour.

As far as I know, they haven't wound up on a deserted island yet.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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HotWater Wrote:
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> Sounds great but, just what is the "Virginia
> Scenic Railway"? What main line trackage was it
> previously? Must admit that I've never heard of
> the VSR until now. Looks like 611 finally has
> someplace other than the Strasburg Rail Road to
> run on.

Buckingham Branch, former C&O. Also hosts Amtrak's Cardinal. I hadn't heard of it either, but I looked over the website.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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This is great news and a concept I've been thinking about since the state of Virginia purchased the former C&O line from Richmond through Charlottesville, to Clifton Forge. The line sees relatively light freight traffic - largely westbound CSX empty coal trains operated by the Buckingham Branch Railroad. Amtrak's Cardinal runs over the the line from Charlottesville to Clifton Forge where it joins the CSX. Perhaps some day steam 611 excursions out of Richmond's Main Street station through Charlottesville will be possible. A major advantage of steam operations over the line is that neither CSX or NS coroprate HQs would have major involvement. A steam train through the Blue Ridge mountains pulled by 611 would be an operations and scenic delight for railfans and the general public.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/23 06:50 by Keystone_Ed.

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Congratulations to the VMT and BB RR for this importatnt step in bringing steam excursions to life in Virginia. Let's hope that they do real well and lead to other offerings. Friends in the area tell me there is a lot of heavy new track and other work being done in Goshen to get ready for this service.

Onward & Upward. Ross Rowland

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As of now, only the announcement as Mary quotes in the first post pertains to the 611 operation. The other information on the website is about the VSR's regular dinner train excursions. So the origin point of the 611 excursions and the route could be different, and the equipment different.

Jim

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There were some additional details in a media kit sent out today as well:

"The VSR is delighted to host these 611 excursions, which will be operating twice daily as the Shenandoah Valley Limited throughout October and November 2023. Upon boarding the train in Goshen, Virginia, guests will travel eastward through the fall foliage of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, into the rolling hills of the Shenandoah Valley where the train will pause without disembarking, to be joined by a pair of diesel locomotives for the return trip back to Goshen."

The Shenandoah Valley Limited will depart at 9:00 AM and 2:30 PM on the following dates:
▪ October 6 – 8
▪ October 13 – 15
▪ October 20 – 22
▪ October 27 – 2 9
▪ November 3 – 5

They are also leasing some additional cars (dome car, etc.) to supplement the rolling stock VSR owns.

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They are doing really well already as all of their August trips are sold out and 26 trips in September are already sold out.

-Fred-

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This is all good news. Since this line is used by freight and Amtrak, I'm curious what speeds 611 will be allowed to operate?

-A

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nathansixchime Wrote:
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> The current excursion operation has a very limited
> capacity, and that scarcity helps drive demand and
> bookings. 611's consist will be much bigger.

Kelly are the cars coming from across the country or already near VA?

Posted from Android

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There may be a handful of cars from in-state but the rest are being rallied from elsewhere.

Speaking from long and embittered experience, the availability of cars in a post Iowa Pacific era has been the most grating aspect of planning any steam excursion. The large “pool” of cars that was once available has been rightfully scattered to the wind and now mostly reserved for captive / tourist lines, but thankfully a few are unencumbered enough to be available for operations like these.

Hope I can get away from our own busy schedule with 765 to visit our cousins in VA. The symmetry of two mainline steam attractions being able to thrive in their home states really is remarkable.

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HotWater Wrote:
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> Since apparently this line is NOT under control of
> NS, hopefully #611 will not be restricted to 40
> MPH.

In the Q&A section, speeds for excursions are listed as generally 25 to 30 miles per hour. The suggestion is that the speed is governed by what is needed to achieve a three-hour running time. I read this as if there are delays for other traffic (for instance), the train will run faster to keep to the three-hour total.

I would suspect 611's operations will be governed along a similar lines; the train will travel at a speed to achieve an advertised "experience," to use their word.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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I'm looking forward to learning more about plans for the 611 runs over the Buckingham Branch/Virginia Scenic Railroad route. Existing Virginia Scenic Railroad (VSR) eastbound trains originate in Staunton and turn at Ivy. Westbound runs start at Staunton and turn at Goshen. With 611 excursions originating at Goshen I wonder if theturn point will be Staunton - or make the full run to Ivy and back to Goshen. The latter would be spectacular as it would feature a 1000' climb up the Blue Ridge Mountains from the Shenandoah Valley . Another question - will pairing 611 with a PTC equipped diesel be required on the Buckingham Branch/VSR route??

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/23 09:17 by Keystone_Ed.

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MaryMcPherson Wrote:
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> HotWater Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Since apparently this line is NOT under control
> of
> > NS, hopefully #611 will not be restricted to 40
> > MPH.
>
> In the Q&A section, speeds for excursions are
> listed as generally 25 to 30 miles per hour. The
> suggestion is that the speed is governed by what
> is needed to achieve a three-hour running time.
> I read this as if there are delays for other
> traffic (for instance), the train will run faster
> to keep to the three-hour total.
>
> I would suspect 611's operations will be governed
> along a similar lines; the train will travel at a
> speed to achieve an advertised "experience," to
> use their word.

Just my opinion but, wouldn't the "experience" of #611 at 55 to 60 MPH and heavy throttle, at least once during the excursion, be a big "selling point"?

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HotWater Wrote:
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> Just my opinion but, wouldn't the "experience" of
> #611 at 55 to 60 MPH and heavy throttle, at least
> once during the excursion, be a big "selling
> point"?

Don't know about the speed, but Goshen to Staunton includes the climb over North Mountain.

Jim

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