The Virginia Museum of Transportation thanks
Norfolk Southern for generous $1.5 million donation towards returning the Class J 611
steam locomotive to excursion service
  
  

 

Nov. 22, 2013 - ROANOKE, VIRGINIA - The Virginia Museum of Transportation today recognized and thanked Norfolk Southern for its generous donation to Fire Up 611! of $1.5 million that has effectively boosted the fundraising campaign to a new level. With this incredible gift to the 611, this campaign has reached over 50 percent of its fundraising goal.  

 

"Our goal has always been to have the Class J 611 in excursion service in 2014," said Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, Jr., executive director of the Virginia Museum of Transportation. "We are proud that Norfolk Southern believes in the Virginia Museum of Transportation and the importance of an American treasure - the Class J No. 611 steam passenger locomotive."    

 

Ultimately, the long-term goal is to raise $5 million to create an endowment for the 611 that will keep her operational and accessible for future generations in the decades to come.

 

The Fire Up 611! Capital Campaign has inspired worldwide support from people of all ages. "It's a great compliment to the Roanoke community that a Roanoke-born, Roanoke-built and Roanoke-proud locomotive is beloved around the world," said Preston Claytor, Chairman of the Fire Up 611! Committee. "We are determined to keep up the momentum. We won't disappoint the fans of the Class J 611."

 

The Fire Up 611! Campaign have come from all 50 states within the United States and 16 countries around the world. "It's an incredible testament to the Class J 611's design, engineering and mechanical prowess. She is the last of her kind," Claytor said. "It's important that we restore this important piece of American history so future generations can understand what makes an awesome piece of machinery like the Class J 611 so special."

 

Class J 611's fans are invited to visit fireup611.org to learn more and to donate to the Fire Up 611 Capital Campaign. They can also visit the Fire Up 611 Facebook page, YouTube and Twitter feed (#fireup611).

  

Let's get the job done! Donate today!   

  • ANY donation made directly to Fire Up 611! gets your name on the Wall of Honor.  
  • A donation of $611 or more allows you to purchase excursion tickets before they go on sale to the general public.
Donations can be made online at fireup611.org, or by mail to Virginia Museum of Transportation, Fire Up 611!, 303 Norfolk Avenue SW, Roanoke, VA 24016.

 

The Fire Up 611! Study:

  • The Fire Up 611! Committee and Study determined that $3.5 million is needed to return the locomotive to the rails. The costs include a complete mechanical restoration of the locomotive, a shop maintenance facility, and support to develop the excursion program.     
  • The mechanical restoration includes a complete overhaul to meet current Federal Railroad Administration and strict safety guidelines.     
  • The Study also found that the Virginia Museum of Transportation needs a facility to maintain the 611. It is widely recognized that an on-site mechanical facility is needed for general maintenance.     
  • The facility will be built on the grounds of the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia. Before the shop/maintenance facility is completed, the 611 will be restored through a partnership with the North Carolina Transportation Museum Foundation in Spencer, North Carolina.     
  • To be successful and remain on the rails, personnel and tools are necessary to complete the restoration and operate the excursions. Included in these costs are marketing, human resources and business operations.     
  • Earlier this year, the N&W Class J 611 was invited to participate in the Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam Excursion Program in 2014. This exciting program provides steam rail excursions throughout the Norfolk Southern's operating territory.

About the N&W Class J 611 Steam Locomotive   

   

The Norfolk & Western Class J 611 Steam Locomotive is the one of the finest American passenger steam locomotives ever built. She is a marriage of beauty and power. Simple lines, a bullet nose, a midnight black fa�ade, a Tuscan stripe and a baritone whistle makes her one of the most distinguished steam locomotives left in the world. She's an engineering powerhouse of steam, technology and near mechanical perfection.

 

The Norfolk & Western Class J Locomotives were designed, constructed and maintained in Roanoke, Virginia. These streamlined locomotives captivated the hearts of rail fans worldwide since they first rolled out of the N&W Roanoke Shops, beginning in 1941.

 

"The Class J Locomotives were the most technically advanced steam locomotive design of any type that was ever in service anywhere in the world," says William Withuhn, Curator Emeritus, History of Technology and Transportation, Smithsonian Institution and editor and co-author of Rails Across America: a History of Railroads in North America (Smithmark, 1993). "The J was - and is now - under its graceful skin the apex and epitome of its era of design, helping to make Americans the most mobile people on the planet."

 

The Class J Locomotives were built using American ingenuity, design and engineering. Even today, she is the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology known to man. "The J class was the final fruit of more than 120 years of engineering development," says Withuhn. "A Class J could hit more than 5,000 net horsepower, and reach 110 miles per hour. There was nothing like it."

 

The Class J 611 Steam Locomotive was built in 1950, a time when men wore hats and ladies wore gloves and smartly dressed porters served lunch on real china in the dining car. The 611 Locomotive pulled the Powhatan Arrow, the famed passenger train, from Norfolk to Cincinnati.

 

The Class J 611 retired from passenger rail service in 1959. In 1981, Norfolk Southern pulled her out of retirement and restored her to her original glory. Once again, she blew her whistle to sleepy towns and thundered across the landscape.

 

In 1984, the Class J 611 was named a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

 

She was retired from excursions in 1994 and moved back into the Virginia Museum of Transportation, where she sits today, greeting tens of thousands of her fans who visit from across the globe every year.

 

Since her retirement, rail fans have clamored, hoped and dreamed that she return to the rails, to blow her whistle and steam over the Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountains once again.

 

The Fire Up 611! Committee  

The Virginia Museum of Transportation recognized and thanks the Fire Up 611! Committee for their help.  

 

Preston Claytor: Chairman of the Fire Up 611 Committee and Safety consultant.

Mr. Claytor was a member of the 611 locomotive crew during its last excursion runs. Boynton Beach, Florida.   

 

Jim Stump: Vice-Chairman of the Fire Up 611! Committee. An executive search consultant, a Roanoke native and railroad enthusiast. Charlotte, North Carolina.  

 

Cheri George: Owner of a software consulting company. Ms. George was a volunteer fireman for the 611 and was part of the crew during its last excursion runs. Atlanta, Georgia.

.  

Ron Davis: President of the Norfolk & Western Historical Society. Roanoke, Virginia.  

 

Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, Jr.: Executive Director, Virginia Museum of Transportation. Roanoke, Virginia.

 

Will Harris: A board member of the Virginia Museum of Transportation and president of North Fork Lumber Company. Goshen, Virginia.

 

Bill Honeycutt: Consultant, President of the Historical Society of Western Virginia, representing the O. Winston Link Museum. Roanoke, Virginia.  

 

Ken Lanford:  President, Board of Directors of the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Roanoke, Virginia.

 

Scott Lindsay: President, Steam Operations Corporation, was part of the Norfolk Southern Steam Department during the restoration of the Class J 611 in 1982 until its return to Roanoke in 1994.  

Jeff Sanders: President of the Roanoke Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. Roanoke, Virginia. 

  

Jim Wrinn: Editor of Kalmbach Publishing's TRAINS Magazine. Waukesha, Wisconsin.