Norfolk and Western 611

Specifications
Specifications
Configuration:;
• Whyte	4-8-4
• UIC	2′D2′ h2
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Leading dia.	36 in (914 mm)
Driver dia.	70 in (1,778 mm)
Trailing dia.	42 in (1,067 mm)
Tender wheels	33 in (838 mm)
Length	109 ft 2 in (33.27 m)
Width	11 ft 2 in (3.40 m)
Height	16 ft (4.88 m)
Axle load	72,000 lb (32.7 tonnes) for drivers
Adhesive weight	288,000 lb (130.6 tonnes)
Loco weight	494,000 lb (224.1 tonnes)
Tender weight	378,600 lb (171.7 tonnes)
Total weight	872,600 lb (395.8 tonnes)
Tender type	22D
Fuel type	Coal
Fuel capacity	35 short tons (70,000 lb)
Water cap.	20,000 US gallons (76,000 L)
Fuel consumption	6.5 short tons (5.9 t) of coal per hour; 11,880 US gallons (45,000 L) of water per hour
Firebox:
• Grate area	107.7 sq ft (10.01 m2)
Boiler	92 in (2,337 mm) (front) ; 102 in (2,591 mm) (back)
Boiler pressure	300 psi (2.07 MPa)
Feedwater heater	Worthington Type 6-SA
Heating surface	5,271 sq ft (489.7 m2)
• Tubes	2.25 in (57 mm)
• Flues	3.5 in (89 mm)
• Tubes and flues	4,693 sq ft (436.0 m2)
• Firebox	578 sq ft (53.7 m2)
Superheater:;
• Type	Elesco Type E
• Heating area	2,177 sq ft (202.2 m2)
Cylinders	Two, outside
Cylinder size	27 in × 32 in (686 mm × 813 mm)
Valve gear	Baker
Valve type	14-inch (356 mm) Piston valves, 8.5-inch (216 mm) travel

Type and origin
Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Designer	H.W. Reynolds; G.P. McGavock; C.H. Faris; Franklin C. Noel
Builder	Roanoke Shops (East End Shops)
Serial number	388
Build date	May 29, 1950
Rebuild date	1981–1982; 2014–2015

Norfolk and Western 611
Norfolk and Western 611
	Norfolk and Western 611 pulling the Shenandoah Valley Limited excursion train on the Buckingham Branch Railroad, October 13, 2023
Power type
Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Designer	H.W. Reynolds; G.P. McGavock; C.H. Faris; Franklin C. Noel
Builder	Roanoke Shops (East End Shops)
Serial number	388
Build date	May 29, 1950
Rebuild date	1981–1982; 2014–2015
Configuration:;
Specifications
Configuration:;
• Whyte	4-8-4
• UIC	2′D2′ h2
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Leading dia.	36 in (914 mm)
Driver dia.	70 in (1,778 mm)
Trailing dia.	42 in (1,067 mm)
Tender wheels	33 in (838 mm)
Length	109 ft 2 in (33.27 m)
Width	11 ft 2 in (3.40 m)
Height	16 ft (4.88 m)
Axle load	72,000 lb (32.7 tonnes) for drivers
Adhesive weight	288,000 lb (130.6 tonnes)
Loco weight	494,000 lb (224.1 tonnes)
Tender weight	378,600 lb (171.7 tonnes)
Total weight	872,600 lb (395.8 tonnes)
Tender type	22D
Fuel type	Coal
Fuel capacity	35 short tons (70,000 lb)
Water cap.	20,000 US gallons (76,000 L)
Fuel consumption	6.5 short tons (5.9 t) of coal per hour; 11,880 US gallons (45,000 L) of water per hour
Firebox:
• Grate area	107.7 sq ft (10.01 m2)
Boiler	92 in (2,337 mm) (front) ; 102 in (2,591 mm) (back)
Boiler pressure	300 psi (2.07 MPa)
Feedwater heater	Worthington Type 6-SA
Heating surface	5,271 sq ft (489.7 m2)
• Tubes	2.25 in (57 mm)
• Flues	3.5 in (89 mm)
• Tubes and flues	4,693 sq ft (436.0 m2)
• Firebox	578 sq ft (53.7 m2)
Superheater:;
• Type	Elesco Type E
• Heating area	2,177 sq ft (202.2 m2)
Cylinders	Two, outside
Cylinder size	27 in × 32 in (686 mm × 813 mm)
Valve gear	Baker
Valve type	14-inch (356 mm) Piston valves, 8.5-inch (216 mm) travel
Maximum speed
Performance figures
Maximum speed	80–140 mph (129–225 km/h)
Power output	5,100 hp (3,800 kW) @ tender drawbar @ 41 mph (66 km/h)
Tractive effort	80,000 lbf (355.86 kN)
Factor of adh.	3.6
Operators
Career
Operators	Norfolk and Western Railway→Norfolk Southern Railway; Virginia Museum of Transportation (Fire Up 611! Committee)
Class	J
Number in class	12 of 14
Numbers	611;
Nicknames	"The Spirit of Roanoke"; "The Queen of Steam";
Locale	Mid-Atlantic
Retired	October 27, 1959 (revenue service); December 7, 1994 (1st excursion service)
Preserved	May 1962
Restored	July 5, 1982 (1st restoration); March 31, 2015 (2nd restoration)
Current owner	Virginia Museum of Transportation
Disposition	Operational
	References:
	Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 Locomotive
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	303 Norfolk Avenue SW, Roanoke, Virginia
Coordinates	37.272943°N 79.947231°W
Built	1950
Built by	Roanoke Shops
NRHP reference No.	100009961
Added to NRHP	February 8, 2024

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 one of the last mainline passenger steam locomotives built in the United States and represents one of the pinnacles 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 between Monroe and Bristol, Virginia, through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Retired from revenue service in 1959, No. 611 was donated to 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 Norfolk Southern (NS), N&W's successor. It became the mainline star of the railroad's steam program, pulling excursion trains as far south as Florida, as far north as New York, and as far west as Illinois and Missouri. In late 1994, when liability insurance costs led NS to end its steam program, the locomotive was again retired and moved back to the VMT.

In 2015, after a year of restoration work at the North Carolina Transportation Museum (NCTM) in Spencer, North Carolina, No. 611 returned to mainline excursion service as part of the NS 21st Century Steam program. That program ended in 2017, and the VMT has since operated No. 611 in excursion service and as a traveling exhibit that has spent time at the NCTM and Strasburg Rail Road (SRC) in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.

Frequently invoked as an icon of Roanoke and its railroading history, the No. 611 locomotive was declared a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 1984 and was designated the official state steam locomotive of Virginia by the Virginia General Assembly in 2017. It was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) in 2023. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2024.

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