Gloating? Of course not. It's simply newsworthy among fans in general and especially here amongst preservation-minded people and can lead to worthwhile discussion.

NS isn't stupid and they know there will be days like this. If they were looking for minimal mechanical risk they could have gone with 611. (And maybe will include it at some future point.) They deserve our gratitude for going with 630 to show what steam was really like for a great many people in a great many places: Gritty, not flashy, and maintenance intensive at times.

Steve

As an example of the ability of the TVRM crew and shop they found and replaced a bad leaf spring on the fireman's side behind the last driver the day before the trip to Knoxville. The spring was discovered to be a problem during the afternoon before the tirp. At 10:30 that night they had the rear section of the rods off and the driver dropped into the pit in the shop and were working to get the spring out. By 1:30 AM the next morning a replacement had been installed and everything was back together. The trip to Knoxville was uneventful and everyone at the Lexington Group meeting had a great time. I'm sure they will overcome this setback as well. At most tourist lines such a bad spring would have taken far longer to replace but TVRM has great facilities and people.

I can happily report that, while disappointed, the passengers took it all in stride based on what I observed. My 3 year old son kept several in the first coach entertained (thanks for the compliments on his behavior - his Mommy was very pleased to hear them). We'll see what the autopsy reveals, but my understanding is that it was hubliner related and not journal related. The grease seems to be holding up based on what I have heard.

Sandy's report wasn't negative, just factual, and the only editorializing was the expression of the emoticon at the end, which expressed the way most felt.

The follow up was a bit snarky... Not to throw SRR or WK&S under the bus, but we are talking about apples to applesauce comparison. Babies eat applesauce, adults eat apples. (Not referring to anyone as babies, just that they get a lot more leeway for mistakes, take a lot more naps, and are not held to the same behaviour standards as adults). Further, all those flights at BWI probably had a plane or two bad ordered or repaired, and I am sure that the morning reports on the Class I's and show derailments, engine failures, and a host of other issues, and they all had hundreds or thousands of mechanical department personnel to look after them. That comparison doesn't hold muster, Sandy. Oh, and I'm sure Amtrak trains ran late, too.

While I am sure that 475 or 90 would hold up fine on the mainline, they also might encounter issues they've not experienced running to Paradise and back, to which Kelly has already alluded. 10-20 MPH on 3-4 miles of railroad is a whole world apart from sustained speeds of 40MPH on a mainline. 630's flawless performance on TVRM (and even longer trips on C&C trackage) demonstrates this. Something that would cause no detectable problem at 20 MPH quickly magnifies at 40. Also, it must be realized that 630's extensive overhaul included a magnitude of work not often realized by most locomotive rebuilds and started with a less than stellar candidate frame-wise. ICC records do not contain a record as to when the locomotive was cornered, but it got whacked real hard somewhere in its past.

Customer service was excellent, food was plenitful, and railroaders and staff professional and competent. Mr. Moorman could not expect a better performance from the team involved.

Mike
Car 1, Seats 1&2 on the first extended public 21st Steam excursion.

As a matter of fact, that very day I heard from an Amtrak technician. The Acela he was supposed to deadhead back to town on hit a trespasser. Enough said.

As a passenger on yesterday's excursion I first and foremost want to thank both TVRM and Norfolk Southern for the rare opportunity to ride the line between Knoxville and Chattanooga and also for putting on a first class operation in spite of the hot bearing issues that plagued the 630 throughout the day. In the end, I agree with Norfolk Southern's decision to remove the 630 and pull us the rest of the way back to Chattanooga behind diesel power. I truly hope that yesterday's events will not cause a premature end to the 21st Century Steam program before it even really got started.

The service by NS and TVRM crew members were outstanding. In addition to the box lunch that was included with the price of tickets, complementary snacks and beverages were included that proved helpful throughout the delays we encountered along the way. In addition, we were provided an additional box meal for dinner on our bus trip back to Knoxville from Panera Bread, which went above and beyond what TVRM and NS had to do. I would like to personally compliment Bill Schafer from TVRM and Stacey Parker from Norfolk Southern for their friendly and courteous service throughout the day as well as that from Zach Gilmore, the conductor on NS coach 28 (car number two).

I certainly hope that 630 won't be down for long and will be able to fulfill some of her duties for the scheduled North Pole Limited trips this year. Having been able to ride this trip yesterday and the Watauga Valley Chapter NRHS/North Carolina Transportation Museum's Amtrak powered excursion to Roanoke, Virginia several weekends ago make me grateful that Norfolk Southern is coming around to see the positive benefits that can be provided from allowing occasional passenger excursions over their rails. Having the opportunity to travel behind 630 or any steam locomotive over Norfolk Southern rails was something I would not imagine that I would ever have the opportunity to do again after my final excursion behind N&W J 611 on November 13, 1994 from Greenville, South Carolina to Asheville, North Carolina. While steam on Saluda or any train over Saluda grade does not seem very likely at this point in time, I am glad to see steam back on the NS mainline.

I would agree that Sandy's report wasn't "Gloating" but rather an update on something that has repercussions for a lot of us in the industry, and thus is of interest to many.

It's something that is obviously going to be talked about in online forums and newswires. It's nice to know what the general cause was (bearing issue) and what was done to rectify the problem.

Ideally, instead of speculating, we'll wait for additional facts from the operators as to what was done and what repercussions, if any, there were.

It's not the first time a mainline engine has had bearing problems. I know of a couple 4-8-4's in the Northwest that have had them from time to time, and neither one is exactly a "low-drivered freight hog". Both engines also overcame the problems and continued to operate.

630 on the move back to TVRM.

630 was back in Chattanooga by 715pm, three hours or so after getting back on the move this afternoon.

Everybody needs to take a deep breath and slow down. Crown brasses occasionally get hot...SD40-2's occasionally lock traction motors, blow turbos and GE's just plain catch fire. It's called railroadin'

Called tvrm last week and 630 isnt doing any runs to the north pole. Is she still out of service from above bearing issues?

I do think that continued work on diagnosis and a fix are likely the reason for her absence. Not an official response, just conjecture based on news from a couple of weeks ago.

Best,
Mike