Thank you.

Wesley

I grew up in Kenova, WV. The N&W mainline runs through that town. There are(were) several retired N&W enginemen in town when I was a kid. One of them, a Mr. Hatten, lived just up the street from me and one time told his story:

Leaving Williamson, WV with a class A 2-6-6-4 and a full coal train, their stoker quit shortly after leaving town. He didn't say, or didn't know, what went wrong. He only said that he hand fired the class A all the way to Portsmouth, OH. That route is pretty much level and follows the river, but with 150 cars in tow is still a challenge. He said they got to Portsmouth and only had just over 100lbs of steam when entering the yard, and the compressors had quit working and they stalled in the yard lead due to the air setting up. Two yard engines (I can only assume S1 class 0-8-0) came to their rescue to pull the train into the yard.

Dug up a VERY old thread about the HT style stoker, it seems as if the 1361 group was in need of parts for one as well. Auger drawings are in the links shown as well.
http://www.multipowerinternational.com/spec/screws.pdf

http://www.multipowerinternational.com/stoker.html

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=17723

Just received an update, the auger screw is in the process of being welded and machined. The locomotive is set to leave Spencer in a few days.

http://www.vmt.org/2021/05/update-to-61 ... gXBS0YiWkU

J.J. Young documented a stoker failure on a B&O EM-1 during WWII. There were no available helpers, so the crew and several railfans hand-fired over the hump to Holloway. It certainly looked...interesting.

Oh man. It's almost like the experienced people who actually know things figured out how to... Solve a problem!

What will the internet fret about now?
Thoughts and prayers to the armchair experts.

Smart I like, smart @ss I don't like.

There was a "complete" HT across the road in the elements at the museum; I believe the auger is in the trough so these things are not extinct.

Augers for all types of material are still made; you can get them for anything from chicken feed to stone and everything in between; the repair was maybe more cost effective.

I understand 611 left Spencer NC for Strasburg PA Monday, May 24, 2021. Routing and schedule are closely held.

Phil Mulligan

On good authority from a friend of my Dad that she spent last night in Manassas _ and my eldest has been insisting all day that we go to Strasburg, right NOW!

611's a big engine. I would expect it to go from Manassas to Front Royal, then to the Harrisburg area then Columbia PA, Lancaster, AMTK to Leaman Place with NS motors leading (for I-ETMS), same as in 2019.

In 2019 SRC 89 trailed 611 from Leaman Place to East Strasburg on the delivery trip, but nothing that big had run on the Strasburg before then. Now Strasburg is becoming 611's second home.

Phil Mulligan

.

N&W 611 has arrived at Strasburg.

Indeed! The largest coal burning steam locomotive operating in North America! (Second largest steam locomotive period!)

So glad she made it back to Strasburg.

Among other things, in 2019 the water spout had to be raised to accommodate 611.

Kelly, Strasburg has good rail, good ties, good ballast. But, all the engines are relatively light on their feet. But, "611's a big engine."

611 must have found all the soft spots in the subgrade. Kudos to the track department.

BTW in 1944, when PRR borrowed 610 a month after her rebuild from a warbaby J1 to a full J with roller bearing everything, PRR determined 610 was so big, the only place it could run was the Ft. Wayne Division, between Crestline and Chicago. Even then, there were places on the Ft. Wayne 610 couldn't go.

Phil Mulligan