Norfolk & Western 611 - The American

Let's follow Norfolk & Western J-Class Locomotive #611 through the Virginia countryside along the former Southern Railway's "B-Line", as we follow the "American" between Manassas and Front Royal, VA.

[@JoeRailfan]

20 (count 'em!) cars, auxiliary water tender, curves, grades, excursion schedule to keep, and NO HELPERS--the 611 takes it all in stride. The apex of American steam locomotives.

[@johnwgillisoniii6626]

This section of the B-line is known for its grades outside of Markham and Linden Virginia. Heavy freights on the line sometimes need helpers or extra horsepower to make it upon the grade. It was incredible watching the J take it all in strive

[@lenlucas3737]

The locations you chose to film the 611 are incredible. Very picturesque. Well thought out and executed!

[@PennRailVideos]

Thank you!

[@paulherring8959]

Those NS and N&W passenger cars bring back fond memories. My father and I both worked full careers for N&W and NS and I frequently got to ride the Powhatan Arrow from Norfolk Station to Bluefield, WV as a kid since we had family in Princeton close to Bluefield. Seems I would recall the 611 had it been in regular service in the 50's and 60's so I'm thinking it wasn't and we had diesels doing the work. But train travel back in those days was a formative part of my youth for certain.

[@BlueLightning277]

What a voice she has, I'm so glad they managed to find her sister (610)'s whistle and mount it this time around. Makes the feel much more authentic.

[@rudycarlson8245]

If she’s wearing her sisters whistle, what whistle did she have before?

[@davidlayne4147]

The Queen Of Steam. The Pride of Roanoke, Virginia. Black Beauty herself. It's always a special treat whenever you can hear her majestic whistle. I've seen her quite a few times. Once at the Transportation Museum in Roanoke, and several times going to and from Bedford.

[@brownbrownson]

the ending was really neat with the Amtrak pulling in too.

[@jameswatson5304]

I agree I love that part.

[@stephenmokshefski698]

Think about it The 611 with a soon to be retired Amtrak Genesis Locomotive yes I agree very good video

[@reiro76]

This video is pure gold from start to finish! Thanks for sharing. ☺

[@TiCO._.balon.-.24]

❤️ 611 😘

[@haroldsmuck3569]

The QUEEN OF STEAM (611) runs again, great video and thanks for sharing.

[@TiCO._.balon.-.24]

Yes 🇨🇷

[@xMrsmileyfacex]

A magnificent 4-8-4! The streamline style is a beautiful site to see living and breathing live steam.

[@jacksalvin364]

611 was performed flawlessly on the excursions 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃

[@TiCO._.balon.-.24]

Awazome 611

[@shadowdemon553]

seeing a steam engine pulling a line of rail stock by itself without a diesel helping it along, is something else

[@ninaporras9723]

seems the driver loves the whistle.....no ugly diesel helper..........great video

[@annajeannettedixon2453]

when Steam was king of the rails there was a real friendly and lively atmosphere about the place now it all feels dead Steam locomotives brought life into our world I say bring back steam

[@robertshawiii4117]

You are saying the right ting. Instead of wasting oil, use coal with the smoke treatment equipment. There is nothing so magnifivent as an operationg locomotive. Unfortunately it takes money to restore, maintain and operate them. People want them but are not willing to pay for it.

[@HustleMuscleGhias]

And don't forget back in those days, the crews, the cinder dicks, and other railroad employees used to be more accepting and accommodating of rail fans. My great step grandfather worked for the Illinois Central both in the ticket and freight offices ( he worked back to back shifts for over 15 years before they made him decide which one he wanted to do due to labor laws etc )

[@karlrovey]

@@HustleMuscleGhias Due to lawsuits, the railroads cannot be as friendly to rail fans as they were in the past.

[@gordonsnell6735]

Technically steam is back & she is in Spencer NC at the NC Transportation Museum (NCTM)

[@fazthatcoyote]

Nothing better than to watch a steamer at speed

[@GevoGenesis92]

Nice of Amtrak to put on a show at the end after an already amazing performance by 611.

[@fermincuervo8613]

Great..very real..natural...beautiful

[@SYVRRy]

A lovely historical train ride... Thanks for sharing it.

[@dormessujobolsonaro4565]

Aí tem pressão né moleque

[@spadesofpaintstudios1719]

Best thing is she’s pulling by herself no diesel assistance and oddly enough the black smoke from the engine looks much cleaner than a fuel caused smoke

[@gordonsnell6735]

I liked how at the end you saw Amtrak coming in too, that was pretty cool & the 611 is 1 of my favorite locomotives

[@isaacclarke3835]

At 2:22 it sounds like the ghost of all the steam trains from history echoing through out the hills...

[@AutismTakesOn]

This is awesome. I saw it in Strasburg when I went to their train museum. I just put the video about it up on my channel. I was so excited to see it in Strasburg that I put it on my thumbnail for my video. Thanks for sharing. It was great to see this wonderful machine in it's full glory.

[@stevenphares98]

AWESOME VIDEO! The only exception is the Clown who's wearing a Yellow Vest in the Cab!

[@annajeannettedixon2453]

its marvelous when a Steam locomotive passes through town everyone comes out too see it there not really bothered and about the diesels

[@HustleMuscleGhias]

If they went back to operating just steam locomotives, people would turn out for the random diesel powered special. People as a whole tend to ignore the mundane items they see in the background daily, but will turn out in droves when something exotic or rare come through town. One only has to look back several years ago when they were moving a space shuttle down the streets of some California town to see how many people turned out for that occasion.

[@mmllgg2471]

Wow! History in motion! I Love it! Hope to ride her one day.

[@arsubianto]

This like the best vid of a steam loco ever

[@Martin_Adams184]

Thank you! Excellent camera work throughout. The bits that impressed me most? The Plains, 2.25; Markham, 5.45 (working really hard on a grade, but still blowing off!); pacing shot from 9.45 -- but the whole thing's great. One of the things that amazes me about this class of locomotive is that they were capable of hauling 1,000 tons at over 100mph on level track. Most express engines with that kind of design capability would have driving wheels 6'8" or more diameter ; but the J class drivers were just 5'10, and from what I've read, they relied on superlative engineering of the powertrain and suspension (and, of course the boiler etc.) to achieve that speed. Thanks again -- from the eastern side of the pond.

[@Ferrocarril_Chicago]

Excellent footage! And I think it's so cool how the ending went. I always absolutely enjoy how historic and modern come together like that in the railroads.

[@patrickwilson1459]

I have an electric train set and this is the engine I have along with several passenger cars. If I was an engineer I would love to have driven this engine.

[@chocolatnoir1108]

amazing👍🏾 my favorite colors in dark shades🖤❤️

[@railsandracing]

Excellent footage! Great job!

[@tony1961chl]

Éste vídeo es realmente precioso,gracias. Hay mucho amor aquí.

[@raymondparsley7442]

A beautiful sight, the steam locomotive.... One of man's greatest achievements. Thank you for the video; the memories.

[@Penryn87]

611 is a strong, independent steamer who don’t need no smelly diesel.

[@kevp9601]

I Agree with the KZbin Likes, I Just Love Steam Locomotives So Much, They're Really Super Cool To The Max! :-)

[@brianfalzon6739]

It’s upsetting how mainline steam excursion operations aren’t like this anymore, not even on Amtrak, NS or CSX either! Wish they will just come back to life under steam again in the future!

[@chuckchristian8816]

I love this train I’m a train fanatic

[@Baiernater]

this was an awesome video Penn rail keep up the good work

[@matthewboxall]

I am going to see it in person this weekend

[@fermincuervo8613]

Great train.......

[@ReadingBlueMountainNorthernRai]

I have blown the whistle of the 425 it was worth blowing out my eardrums

[@SouthernerFloridain2006]

Yess

[@robkrasinski6217]

It’s too bad that NS and Amtrak as well don’t allow special excursions now. You can charter an Amtrak train but it costs $30,000 and it must be on a normal Amtrak route. I was on this 611 excursion on June 4, 2016 and at Strasburg Sept 2019. I live in eastern PA. The route that 611 ran on here is freight only with no Amtrak service. So it was a very rare opportunity to ride that line. A lot of the NS 21st Century excursions were on freight only lines. I rode two 765 excursions in PA and the second one was closer to me and ran on an NS freight only line for about 30 miles but the rest was on Reading and Northern which regularly operates excursions with steam and diesel. 425 was pulling gorge trains and when we got into Jim Thorpe for a brief stop during the return trip 425 was parked there and blew its whistle. I met former engineer Rich Melvin who retired after Sept 2016, he had an arm injury and was sitting in the souvenir and snack bar car. He was at the front of 765 at Jim Thorpe. This excursion was late August 2015. It was a very long ride as well as the May 2013 Horseshoe Curve excursion. There was the PRR and Conrail heritage diesels on that assisting 765. On the Lehigh Gorge excursion there was no diesel.

[@cjdavis2684]

lord she is putting the Big Boy to shame being able to pull that many cars and not require a diesel to help her do it. She is such a beauty

[@voidjavelin23]

well news flash buddy, making a custom brake shoe on scratch for big boy is expensive for UP crews which is why they keep using diesel being a dynamic brake support along the fact that UP arent able to rent some cars on their shop

[@brianfalzon6739]

I saw 611 3 times!

[@sam8alex12]

wow, I Just loved it, ive always known those engine as daylights, am i right. CAN I HAVE SOME MORE PLEASE, AND THANK YOU

[@etieseler]

Ernest Johnson the "Daylight" was a specific train on the west coast. it actually still runs around in Oregon I believe. I saw it come through town as a younger kid and still remember it vividly. There were a bunch of Steam locomotives. Check out the "Big Boy" . There's lots of video of its slightly smaller cousin the "Challenger" type engines. It was a UP844 or 3918 or something along those lines.

[@sam8alex12]

Thank you for your reply. I also loved the the big boy, my old friend was an american train fan and we watched lots of old films, Happy days

[@zacherybradshaw9530]

I liked the shot at 02:46!

[@TravisCyprien]

Man this is the Best video i have seen.

[@09JDCTrainMan]

A true beauty queen.

[@virginialoverproductions]

If it was on the 19th, I was there!

[@simply_kenetic4915]

I noticed in your intro there was a clip that was shot in what looks like Meacham OR edit: Yep it was just found a video of you Railfanning the blue mountains

[@user-vh6zt7ty3b]

Lärmschutzwand auf der Strecke 130 611 the american

[@stephenmokshefski698]

I will say this that last clip of the video when that Amtrak Train came in get a good look because you wont be seeing the Genesis Locomotive any more very soon. You sir have 2 legends in this video keep up the great work. PS Amtrak's new Charger Locomotives look like crap and are to Quite

[@DerHistoryMeister]

Oh hey mom, I'm on TV! Guess which one is me :P 18:48

[@elesemau]

My fovorite moments 09:05 and 09:45

[@SJSharkMaster]

Anyone else hear a police or ambulance at 13:13 or see the birds hoping around in the top left corner at 18:35 ???

[@TiCO._.balon.-.24]

😭😭😭 belleza 😍😍😍😍😍

[@Tasha5Thanks]

Norfolk and western’s whistle sounds like it’s growling

[@dormessujobolsonaro4565]

Aí tem pressão né .

[@amyreynolds3619]

611 is the queen of steam NS believe in one thing No Steam or Not Southern Railroad

[@dormessujobolsonaro4565]

Aí tem pressão mulecao americano foi Po cano kkkkkk

[@maxwellwalcher1441]

guess what there there is a new Disney Pixar movie the polar express .

[@McCracken_9]

20 cars and no stupid diesel

[@maxwellwalcher6420]

Would 611 have a 1992 whistle.

[@ussiowa5381]

Does she use coal instead of oil?

[@spadesofpaintstudios1719]

USS Iowa yea

[@thatoneguy611]

All you have to do to find out the answer is look for rolling smoke. If it’s there it’s coal fired.

[@capefeartrainsandsirens]

amtrak block train

[@hangunyoung6694]

이녀석은기관사위쪽을보면검은색의경적이울리는장치가바로앞에있어서 경적을울릴때는소리가너무크다.

[@railfancannon9321]

Where is Shirley located

[@lindadempsey9472]

The Queen of steam

[@veniciocaldas1514]

amtrak 611 steam Hudson j class

[@veniciocaldas1514]

is build in 2016

[@wyattwilliams2457]

@@veniciocaldas1514 what?

[@virginialoverproductions]

Was that on a Sunday?

[@ClearSignalProductions]

No. The excursion ran the 4th and 5th of June.

[@mirzatajuddin2582]

ex

[@organbuilder272]

How nice. You are showing a brief glimpse of 611 and a boring view of a string of passenger cars. Yet the title of this video is 611. Why then is the majority of the viewing time of empty space and passenger cars rathger than 611 in all its glory. I do not discredit the section after about 10:50 where you follow the engine. Congraqtualtions - good job. That thing is magnificent as well as beautiful. shot at 11:24 - wonderful. At 11:51 we get a side view of passenger cars. Why in hell don't you turn and follow the engine instead of the line of cars. Who cares about the cars?

[@Jerry-hp5sf]

robert shaw go make your own video then and show us how it's done.

[@robertshawiii4117]

Let's see now. Instead of sating, good advice but we did this beacuse. you want to be taught how to make a movie of a locomotive. If you don't know how to take footage of a moving object - especially a point of interest - you might invest in books about how to photograph movies. DOn't blame me for someone else's lack of skill. Where I live the only locomotives are disrespected and left to stand as rusting hulks. more the tragedy of that. By the way If you want some lessons in how to - I'm will ing to teach. But the best advice would be to watch the movies of UP 844. Last of the GIants and various other professionally done movies by people who are in a position to photograph them. Take responsibility for what you did. I have no objection or comments on displaying a consist. The fascinating part of a train is the machine pulling it. Get to the point. I should not have to teach you how to point a camera at the locomotive.

[@Jerry-hp5sf]

Robert Shaw III i bet you're fun at parties.

[@robertshawiii4117]

Jerry - I don't go to parties. I'd rather sit with guys like you and talk about the salvage and running of locomotives. I'd rather enjoy a couple of hours with you admiring one of the wonderful machiness that a lot of people took time to restore. In fact, I wouldn't mind working with you on one of these projects. My comment about filming things comes from experience. But my nterest, no doubt like yours, is in the machines that moves the trains. Come over here. Maybe we can salvage the last locomotive that operated in Korea. What a blast.

[@c0ldyloxproductions324]

Robert Shaw III you realize the majority of train videos on KZbin are exactly like this and some people enjoy seeing the rolling stock the train is pulling too, also at speed even if u turned the camera with the train that still doesn’t sho to many mor seconds of the train as the further it goes the less ull see of the train anyways

[@Vinai-du8cu]

European train control system

[@northernrailphotography9057]

scrap 611

[@wyattwilliams2457]

Why?

[@brooklynparker182]

Tf wrong with you. Go get a damn hobby and leave 611 alone