Saw these two clips on the Virginia Museum of Transportation Faceboook page.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5QS293GOlo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8mahzmHY44

Can someone explain to me how they went about testing the bearings other than rolling her out?

611 has been moved other times for photo display and for publicity, so how is this "test" novel?

I didn't write the captions for the video. Perhaps a better title would have been "exercising" 611's bearings. She had not been moved other than a few feet since a night photo session at the Link Museum in 2009. What isn't obvious in the video is that some rearranging of the exhibits is going on also. The business car that was in front of 611 was being pulled out to go offsite for some badly needed stabilization and metal work. The Safety Car, which the Museum uses as a theatre, was being turned and repositioned where the business car was, placing it closer to the entrance to the rail yard. The moves were made with a combination of NS and Roanoke Chapter crews, using our T6, ex-N&W 41, and 2 NS units.

I wish you'd asked out guys to shuffle the stuff around for you when 17 was up there. 17 pulling 611 would be worth seeing.

dave

Dave, We had a little over a week's notice that NS was ready to do the moves. We cleared everything west of the Safety Car off track one Friday night. NS pulled the Safety Car, 611, & the office car using 41 relaying to the regular yard crew on Saturday morning. After 611 was re-spotted, our crew then put everything back in.

While 17 was here, we had some discussions over dinner (adult beveridges were involved) with Messrs. Sadler, McGinnis, Royal, and Conner. If "Fire UP 611" becomes a reality, we're thinking of installing a set of davits on the A-Tank and carrying 17 along as a dinghy........... :)

"we're thinking of installing a set of davits on the A-Tank and carrying 17 along as a dinghy........... :)"

That caused a belly laugh (and I have the belly to make it matter...)!!! "Virtual Like Button"....

Howard P.

It's actually a wonderful idea. That way, when 611 lays down on the hill, 17 will be right there to shove the train over the top.

dave

That's pretty good, Gary - and a nice comeback on the reply. Reinforcements might be in order though. Three "tea kettles" seemed to have all they could handle in dragging Pere Marquette 1225 at Train Festival 2009 in Owosso. I've been encouraging Bev Fitzpatrick to get Viscose 6 down from New York.

I don't know if 611 will need any assistance once she is running. She is quite powerful, and seemed to handle any task set before her with very little difficulty. It was only her first trip on Saluda that she had problems, and that was only long enough to allow her to "catch her breath" so she could defeat the grade. From what I have seen, she conquered Saluda afterward with no troublr, barring perhaps a few minor slips.
Lois
Friends of the 611

I'd love to see the Viscose 6 down in Roanoke. Of course the Owosso thing was done for show---and it WAS a show. Everyone on sight was transfixed when it happened. Brilliant idea to use all three, when one would have easily sufficed with considerably less fanfare.





611 was known to have "issues" when you get her down to about 10mph with a heavy load. I can remember stalling on the Loops with about 13 cars in a drizzle once, and another time stretched out through downtown Winston-Salem, NC trying to climb up into the yard. Of course, lugging at 10-15mph with that size of a train was not what she was designed for.
Kevin

5 minutes of detailed, technical conversation and they used the 30 seconds of "cute kid" footage. You wouldn't believe the number of people that have recognized me from that clip over the years. That was a fun day--just a very, very long one. I've still got a copy of the 4-page train instruction sheet prepared by the Piedmont Carolinas Chapter, NRHS about the entire weekend sitting here somewhere.

I'm usually around here reading stuff. I just tend to reserve comments unless I have some knowledge on the subject.
Kevin