(Fire Up 611 Facebook page photo)
From the Virginia Museum of Transportation: The 611 will move from Roanoke to the North Carolina Transportation Museum in February in preparation for maintenance and its annual Federal Railway Administration inspection. Following that work, spring will see a total of four weekends of public excursions behind 611 on the Norfolk Southern system. A variety of seating options, including coach, first class, and dome cars is planned for each excursion. In addition, special appearances by 611 are being planned for Roanoke, Manassas and Danville, VA, and Spencer, NC.
(Continue reading for more information and the full excursion schedule.)
The first two trips will be hosted by the North Carolina Transportation Museum. On Saturday, April 9, 611 will run from Spencer, NC to Lynchburg, VA, and return. On Sunday, April 10, it will travel from Spencer, NC, to Asheville, NC, and back via the famous “Loops.”
Following the NCTM excursions, the remaining three excursion weekends will be hosted by the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Fire Up 611 Campaign donor benefits apply for the three weekends of excursions hosted by the VMT, for donations postmarked by Wednesday, January 13, 2016.
On April 23 and 24, full-day trips will depart Greensboro, NC, to Roanoke, VA, and return to Greensboro.
611 will return to Roanoke to lead half-day excursions on May 7 and 8. Morning excursions will run from Roanoke to Lynchburg and back via the Blue Ridge grade. Afternoon trips will run from Roanoke to Walton and return via the Christiansburg grade. The morning and afternoon trips are separate excursions.
On June 4 and 5, 611 will pull a total of three trips from Manassas, VA, to Front Royal, VA, and return: One roundtrip on the morning of Saturday June 4 and two roundtrips on Sunday, June 5, as part of the 22nd Annual Manassas Heritage Railway Festival.
- April 9, 2016 – The Virginian, Spencer, NC, to Lynchburg, VA
- April 10, 2016 – The Blue Ridge Special, Spencer, NC, to Asheville, NC
- April 23, 2016 – The Roanoker, Greensboro, NC to Roanoke, VA
- April 24, 2016 – The Roanoker, Greensboro, NC to Roanoke, VA
- May 7, 2016 – The Powhatan Arrow, Roanoke, VA, to Lynchburg, VA
- May 7, 2016 – The Pelican, Roanoke, VA, to Walton (Radford), VA
- May 8, 2016 – The Powhatan Arrow, Roanoke, VA, to Lynchburg, VA
- May 8, 2016 – The Pelican, Roanoke, VA, to Walton (Radford), VA
- June 4, 2016 – The American, Manassas, VA, to Front Royal, VA, (runs once)
- June 5, 2016 – The American, Manassas, VA, to Front Royal, VA, (runs twice)
For safety reasons, there will be no open vestibules or open vestibule windows, or photo run-bys. The public is encouraged to take pictures of 611 for personal use when the locomotive is stopped in publicly accessible locations and when it is in operation. All passengers and spectators must stay off and away from the tracks, respect Norfolk Southern and other private property, and adhere to all instructions from NS and other security personnel.
Look for an announcement soon for ticket prices, sale dates and the exciting, new train consist, which includes first class and dome seating towards the front of the train. Follow this link to sign up for email notifications.
