Front:
OGOGGEOG
ESTERN
NORFOLK AND WESTERN
611
Back:
RJ80
THE TENNESSEAN
The beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway has many scenic wonders to its credit but on
Labor Day 1982 an additional sight was added to the list for the day as Norfolk
& Western steam locomotive 611 passed under the parkway bridge east of Vinton,
Va. The big class J locomotive and excursion train was enroute to Alexandria
from Roanoke with the “Centennial Limited – The Tennessean" on its second
outing since return to service. Regular active service ended in October 1959
after a short nine years. After three years of storage, the 611 was donated to the
City of Roanoke and displayed in the new transportation museum. Then, after
almost 20 years as a static display, the 4-8-4 was removed for inspection and
overhaul to power excursions in 1982. A set of matching cars were rebuilt and
furnished by the Norfolk & Western and the Roanoke Chapter, National Railway
Historical Society to add the final touch to this 1950's passenger train.
Photo by Carl H. Sturner © 1982
Ray R. Ekman 25 June 1986
Published by Audio-Visual Designs, P.O. Box 24, Earlton, N.Y. 12058
1 71 709
