"NeedForSwede" (needforswede)
05/30/2015 at 18:43 • Filed to: TRAINLOPNIK, ROANOKE, J 611
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"NeedForSwede" (needforswede)
05/30/2015 at 18:43 • Filed to: TRAINLOPNIK, ROANOKE, J 611 | 8
| 4 |
After decades of retirement and a $5 million restoration project by the Fire Up 611 association, J Class locomotive #611 returned to Roanoke under its own steam.
611 ran from Spencer, NC, the site of its restoration, back to Roanoke, passing the Roanoke East End Shops where it was forged and assembled in 1950 and stopping on the tracks along downtown Roanoke. It halted adjacent to the museum dedicated to O. Winston Link, the New York photographer who immortalized the J Class engines and many others in his famous series of acclaimed photographs and sound recordings.
Turnout to the event was remarkable. Driving back from Richmond, cars (including a few Miatas) could be seen lined at nearly every rail crossing from 460 to Roanoke. At the Roanoke tracks themselves, there was a diverse crowd of hundreds of people.
The J Class locomotives were remarkable machines. 80,000 lbf of tractive effort made them the most powerful passenger trains in America, able to reach speeds of 110 mph. 611 served for nine years before being retired in 1959.
Built in the waning years of steam power, these engines are representative of an era when transportation existed in the public mind in a way different than it does now, when art and technology met to produce beautiful examples of power and craftsmanship. It’s usually tempting to dismiss this as nostalgia, which might be true, but in the presence of 436 tons of the genuine article, it’s more difficult. Nostalgia doesn’t carry 5,100 horsepower.
Life and Times of Magoo: The People's Champ
> NeedForSwede
05/30/2015 at 19:32 |
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Very jealous I did not witness this
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NeedForSwede
> Life and Times of Magoo: The People's Champ
05/30/2015 at 19:47 |
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It was a sight so powerful I was forced to be sincere for once.
Bad Idea Hat
> NeedForSwede
05/30/2015 at 20:45 |
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My father-in-law, brother-in-law, and niece were all there.
bubblestheturtle
> NeedForSwede
05/31/2015 at 22:31 |
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Wow.