Norfolk Southern reboots the Steam Program

[kgdjpubs]

Rather off topic here, but possibly of interest to some. For a bit of history, from 1966 until 1994, Southern Railway and later Norfolk Southern operated a public excursion program behind steam locomotives over the width of the system. All-day public excursions were offered with upwards of 70 trips a year towards the end, sometimes over 1000 people a day, and annual ridership averaged around 70,000 people. Either way, 1994 came, new people in charge and the program was cancelled.....until now. After an 18-year absence, the Steam Program has returned.

There were a couple of fairly low-key trips operated in Tennessee last fall, and the first official big start coincides with the 30th anniversary of Norfolk Southern. Most of the runs are employee-only, but a few public trips will be offered in North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, mainly as a way to move the engine from one location to another. After trips in Atlanta, GA last weekend, the program is in North Carolina for a few weeks before heading north.

Here's the schedule, if anyone wants to come out and see a blast from the past...
June 9-10: Salisbury to Barber Junction, NC
July 15-16: Salisbury to Barber Junction, NC (Public)
July 23: Salisbury, NC to Winston-Salem, NC (Public)
July 24: Winston-Salem, NC to Roanoke, VA (Public)
June 30-July 1: Roanoke to Walton, VA
July 7: Roanoke to Bristol, VA (Public)
July 8: Bristol to Knoxville (Public)
July 14-15: Knoxville to Coster Yard, TN
July 16: Knoxville to Harriman to Chattanooga (Public)
July 21-22: Bellevue to Bucyrus, OH
July 28-29: Detroit, Michigan
August 4-5: Williamson to Naugatuck, WV
August 11-12: Pittsburgh, PA
August 18-19: Harrisburg, PA
September 1-2: Chattanooga to Cleveland, TN (Public)
September 8: Chattanooga to Birmingham, AL (Public)
September 15-16: St. Louis, MO to St. Peters, MO
September 15-16: Irondale to Downtown B'ham (14th Street)

Public excursion details can be found at http://www.tvrail.com/pages/21st-Century-Steam
So, if you live near Norfolk Southern tracks and hear a steam whistle sometime this summer, now you know what's up.


Southern 630 from the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga will handle the North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Alabama runs.



Nickel Plate Road 765, based out of Fort Waye, IN will handle the remainder of the schedule.

[Peartree12249]

I love trains! We have a track about .5 mi from our home that gets about 6 freight trains per day. I love the sound of that train and it never bothers me in the least to hear the horn or feel the rumble as it goes by.

[Amanda]

Thanks, Kdg! My fiance is in the railroad industry and we're going to hit up one of these trips - possible a TN one. I reposted on one of the train boards I frequent.

[YoungJRNY]

My good buddy works for Norfolk & Southern. I applied there and he tried to get me in, but givin' it's generational and all that, I never heard from them. A line of work I'd dig.

[LtVanish]

I've seen the Nickel Plate Road 765 in action up close and what a machine it is. You can not appreciate this thing until you are standing right next to it. It is a massive 405 tons that is alive and breathes!


To see this thing out on the main line streachin its legs will be quite a site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMF7NvH3qoE

[kgdjpubs]

I've seen the Nickel Plate Road 765 in action up close and what a machine it is. You can not appreciate this thing until you are standing right next to it. It is a massive 405 tons that is alive and breathes!


To see this thing out on the main line streachin its legs will be quite a site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMF7NvH3qoE

your video, per chance?

[conversationpc]

I'm sure Deano would have had something to say on this topic.