Just read a news bulletin on Trains magazine website saying Wick Moorman himself has announced steam will soon be back on mainline Norfolk Southern rails.Starting with 630 out of Chattanooga as early as this fall and 4501 next year. I am stunned! Could someone have hacked Trains website?

Just ignore it, guys. We all know it's not true, and the topic creator knows it too. Ignore the trolls and they'll go away,.

I have sent an e-mail asking for them to also consider 154 at Knoxville.It's old and small I know,but I would love to see it on the mainline with a couple of Norfolk Southern F units. They could operate like the Clinchfield did with little 4-6-0 #1,see this photo link: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 343&nseq=7

If this was ever to be true, why would NS use 630 on the mainline? She's kinda slow isn't she?

This sounds like a someone on the Trains website is very bored at work.

Martin

Wake up, Johnny. You're dreaming again.

According to the news release, which IS on Trains newswire and credited to Jim Wrinn, 630 was chosen because it is nearly complete on an FRA overhaul.

Nothing on the NS website about it. Interesting.

EDIT ... spoke too soon. NS has now issued a press release confirming the Trains newswire.

Got this email from NS this afternoon:

From: nsinfo-bounces@nscorp.com
Recipients: "'nsinfo@nscorp.com'" <nsinfo@nscorp.com>
Subject: [NSInfo] Plans call for steam to ride the Norfolk Southern rails again, through display and excursion program with TVRM
Date: 03:04:50 PM Today

June 30, 2010 

Plans call for steam to ride the Norfolk Southern rails again, through display and excursion program with TVRM

NORFOLK, VA., and CHATTANOOGA, TENN. -- Norfolk Southern Corporation is in negotiations with the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum with regard to the operation of a limited schedule of steam locomotive event appearances and passenger excursions beginning later this year.

“21st Century Steam” would highlight milestones in rail history and provide an opportunity for audiences to learn about today’s safe and service-oriented freight railroads.  The program would feature three venerable coal-powered steam locomotives:

- Southern Railway 4501:  Built in 1911 by Baldwin Locomotive Works, 4501 served Southern Railway in freight service in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana, before being sold to a short line railroad.  No. 4501 was retired from revenue service in 1963 and enjoyed a second career in the excursion program operated by Southern Railway and Norfolk Southern from 1966 until 1994.  This Ms (Mikado superheated) Class locomotive has 63-inch driving wheels.

- Southern Railway 630:  Built in 1904 at the Richmond, Va., works of American Locomotive Company, this Consolidation-type locomotive has traveled throughout the Southeast, often in the company of 4501 and sister locomotive 722.  An extensive six-year rehabilitation to Federal Railroad Administration standards is being completed at TVRM’s Soule Shops complex in Chattanooga. 

-          Tennessee Valley Railroad 610:  Built in 1952 by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton for the U.S. Army, 610 has been the mainstay of TVRM steam operations since 1990.  It also appeared on several Norfolk Southern steam excursions from 1990 to 1993.  No. 610, also a Consolidation type, was one of the last steam locomotives built in the U.S.

“This is the right time for steam to ride the Norfolk Southern rails,” said CEO Wick Moorman.  “We have a fascinating history, and we have a compelling message about how today’s railroads support jobs, competition, and the economy.  It is a forward-looking message that resonates with people everywhere.” 

“21st Century Steam can help introduce historic and modern railroading to a broad new audience of supporters,” said TVRM President Tim Andrews.  “We are pleased to be developing this relationship with Norfolk Southern for the purpose of preserving and interpreting the steam age, and of bringing today’s railroad closer to people young and old, in communities large and small.”

The launch of 21st Century Steam would coincide with key dates. 2011 will be 4501’s 100th birthday and TVRM’s 50th.  The year 2012 will mark Norfolk Southern’s 30th anniversary. 

21st Century Steam’s initial appearances and runs tentatively could take place in the Chattanooga area this fall, with locomotives 610 and 630.  No. 4501 could join the program sometime in 2011, after rehabilitation.  Exhibit dates, ticketing, and other details will be announced later.  

“The sights and sounds of a steam train are powerful enough to catch the public’s attention in this busy and complex age,” said Jim Wrinn, author of Steam’s Camelot: Southern and NS Excursions in Color, and editor of Trains Magazine.  “A steam train is a living piece of American history that teaches volumes about this exciting industry that has much to offer our country today.  Once the door is open with the steam locomotive, you’ve got an opportunity to teach a new generation how railroading is the right transportation solution to so many challenges facing us.”

Later this year, Norfolk Southern and TVRM plan to launch a web site in support of the program. Correspondence can be addressed to 21stcenturysteam@nscorp.com.

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum was founded in 1961 in Chattanooga to create an interpretive operating museum of historic equipment and artifacts in an authentic setting.  Today it operates an extensive schedule of historic and scenic trains in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia, supported by its East Chattanooga locomotive and car shop complex.  TVRM is the largest operating historical excursion railroad in the Southeast. 

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies.  Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers.  Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

Norfolk Southern contact:

(Media) Frank Brown, 757-629-2710 (fsbrown@nscorp.com)

Rick Harris, 757-629-2718 (rwharris@nscorp.com)

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum contact:

(Media) Tim Andrews, 423-894-8028 (tandrews@tvrail.com)

Penelope Soule, 423-595-2396 (psoule@tvrail.com)

I think someone owes someone else an apology...imho.

JUNE 30, 2010

Mark this date in history ... the day the railfans love Norfolk Southern again. :-)

It's official: http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/ ... again.html

Could be NS's way of saying "We can handle what CSX can't" in not so many words.

Dave

Well then. I make mistakes too. I guess the person was not only doing his job, but perhaps justice to us steam fans.

Martin

Alright, I apologize.

But can you blame my skepticism, honestly?

We've been seeing these kinds of messages for YEARS now..."Oh, someone said NS is starting their steam program again, is it true?" and everytime, it would be proven false.

I'm quite shocked at this news, as I never thought we'd see steam riding over ANY class 1 railroad ever again.

Isn't it great to fall in love all over again?

Yes, it's true!

Perhaps we should have a W. Graham Claytor, Jr. Lifetime Railway Preservation Award for Mr. Moorman.


I believe I hear the angels singing "Hallelujah" and there are reports of two stars shining - one over Three Commercial Place in Norfolk and another over a certain Green, Gold, and Immortal 2-8-2 in Chattanooga.

Mike

And a certain 4-6-2 in PA is sitting there asking itself, "Hey, what about me too?"