The 611 Rolls Through Central Virginia

Despite some minor delays in its schedule, the shiny, newly reconstructed steam locomotive known affectionately throughout the Commonwealth as simply The 611 rolled through Central Virginia on its run between Lynchburg and Petersburg this past weekend. The 14 J-Class locomotives were known as the fastest, most powerful locomotives of their kind to ever be built. The J611 is the last surviving engine of its kind and it provokes fond memories of the old days of the railroad wherever it is seen. Mr. Samuel Chaffin, a resident of Victoria, waited patiently with his wife behind the Railroad Museum in Crewe for the train to come through on its return trip Saturday evening. His two grandchildren sat in the backseat of his SUV, just as excited as he was to get his, another, yet their first, glimpse of the streamlined old engine. “This is really something!” he said as they waited. “Really something!” People soon lined the road along the tracks to see and get pictures of the glistening, new black and red J611, its telltale plume of steam, and passenger cars full of waving passengers as it effortlessly chugged its way back home. This, however, won’t be the last we see of the old 611 around here. Stay tuned.