Norfolk And Western 611

## Norfolk & Western 611

**Norfolk and Western 611** is a 4-8-4 class J steam locomotive. She has 70 inch diameter driving wheels, is capable of 80,000 pounds of tractive effort and is the only surviving example of 14 Class J's built by N&W.

## History

611 was built in May 1950 by the Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia and was retired in 1959 (as one of the last steam locomotives to be retired by any US or North American Class 1 railroad). 611 has been in two derailments total. During her service with the N&W, an engineer ran her at excessive speeds while pulling the Pocahontas around a bend in the Tug River outside Cedar, West Virginia. 611 suffered only minor damage was repaired shortly and returned to service. It was restored and returned to service in 1982, operating until 1994 on its final run day of December 7, 1994. On May 18, 1986, one of the passenger cars being hauled by 611 on an employee special got caught in a switch and derailed outside Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia. Twelve cars derailed, and blocked the line for a good amount of time. 611 again only took minor damage and was soon repaired. The locomotive was finally retired from excursion service one month after a major derailment (not involving 611) in a yard which heavily damaged several excursion cars. In October, 1994, the steam program was canceled. 611's last run was December 7, 1994, on the 53rd anniversary of the Pearl Harbor explosions. It was on display at the Museum of Transportation from 1995 to 2014. 611 was test-fired on March 31, 2015 and later returned to service on May 23, 2015, where it made its first test run and movement under her own power for the first time in 21 years. 611 then made a homecoming run back to Roanoke, Virginia on May 30, 2015. In 2019, 611 operated excursions at the Strasburg Railroad in Strasburg, Pennsylvania between late September and late October as part of the Strasburg Railroad's N&W Reunion of Steam event. 611 later returned to the Strasburg Railroad in 2021, where it again pulled excursions between late May and early October. As of early November 2021, 611 will be spending the winter at the Strasburg Railroad and will be on its way back to Roanoke, Virginia in early 2022.

## Information

### Released:

1981

Lionel released this locomotive in 1981.

Lionel made an upgraded version in 2005.

## Appearances

* Toy Train
* The Real Locomotive

* **Great Toy Train Layouts of America Part 1**
* **Great Toy Train Layouts of America Part 2**
* **The History of Lionel Trains**
* **Toy Train Revue 1**
* **Great Toy Train Layouts of America Part 5**
* **I Love Toy Trains 1**
* **Toy Train Revue 8**
* **I Love Toy Trains 2** (1997 and 2009 versions)
* **More Toy Trains and Big Trains**
* **Great Lionel Layouts 2**
* **I Love Toy Trains 4**
* **A Century of Lionel Trains**
* **Great MTH Layouts 1**
* **I Love Toy Trains The Music Video**
* **I Love Toy Trains 8**
* **Lionel Legends 2: The Hudson**
* **John Deere Heaven** (non-operational)
* **Lionel Nation 1**
* **Lionel Nation 7**
* **Modern O Gauge Remote Control Part 1: Lionel TMCC and Legacy Basis**
* **Toy Train Revue 5**
* **RailScenes 1.0**

* **I Love Toy Trains 1** (1997 and 2009 versions)
* **I Love Toy Trains 2** (1997 and 2009 versions)
* **I Love Toy Trains 4**
* **I Love Toy Trains 5**
* **I Love Toy Trains 7**
* **I Love Big Trains 2**
* **Baby Loves Trains**
* **I Love Big Trains 3**
* **The Great Train Story**
* **John Deere action**
* **All About Trains**