Norfolk and Western 611

Common card · No. 219637

Norfolk and Western 611, also known as the "Spirit of Roanoke" and the "Queen of Steam", is the only surviving example of Norfolk and Western's (N&W) class J 4-8-4 type "Northern" streamlined steam locomotives. Built in May 1950 at N&W's Roanoke (East End) Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, it was the twelfth member of its class and was also one of the last mainline passenger steam locomotives built in the United States, representing a pinnacle of American steam locomotive technology. No. 611 hauled N&W's premier passenger trains between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio; and ferried Southern Railway's (SOU) passenger trains through the Blue Ridge Mountains between Monroe and Bristol, Virginia. Retired from revenue service in 1959, No. 611 was donated to the Roanoke City Council and put on display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT), where it became the sole survivor of the 14 class J locomotives. In 1982, No. 611 was restored to operation by N&W successor Norfolk Southern (NS...

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