* * We love our trains

Folks around here love trains.

The biggest, best news in the greater Roanoke area is that the iconic J-class 611 locomotive is back making steam and chugging down the tracks. Dear wife treated us to an excursion from Roanoke to near Radford the other day, pulled by that legendary machine.

The J-Class locomotives were built in the N&W (Norfolk and Western) East End Shop in Roanoke between 1941 and 1950.

Because the Norfolk and Western Railroad was best known for transporting black gold, the rock that burns, from the central Appalachian coal fields to the world’s largest coal loading terminal in Norfolk, the N&W had a longstanding policy of using coal to power its locomotives. From the beginning of the exploitation of the resource, it was a co-dependent relationship, meaning the early engines required coal for power and the mines required trains to transport their product. So trains needed coal and coal needed trains.

The N&W was formed by the merging of over 200 individual rail lines from 1838 until 1982, and during the Civil War it was the largest railroad in the Confederacy. Until its merger with Southern Railroad in 1982, it was headquartered in Roanoke, a city that was essentially built in order to house it.

During most of the N&W’s lifespan, it ran a modest passenger service segment. Lacking the significant ridership of the urban corridors of the Northeast and elsewhere around the country, the N&W nevertheless ran a profitable, top-notch operation. They were the last railroad in the country to run passenger service with steam-based locomotives.

The J-class locomotives were the pride of Roanoke and of the entire N&W line, thought by many to be the most advanced steam locomotive ever produced. They were capable of pulling 10 cars at 110 mph on flat, level track. They had an outstanding service record and ran 15,000 miles per month. They were absolutely massive machines, weighing 494,000 pounds with a 395,000 pound tender, carrying 70,000 pounds of coal and 20,000 gallons of water.

Nevertheless, even before passenger service became less profitable, diesel locomotives proved to be cheaper in fuel and maintenance costs and began making inroads even into stoic N&W.

With the emergence of the automobile as a primary transportation option, railroads fell out of favor overall and eventually passenger service discontinued throughout the N&W service area and other national lines transferred their service over to Amtrak. Of the fifteen J-class locomotives built, only the 611 survived, relegated to dormancy at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke.

An era had ended, and with it the railroad dreams of thousands of rail-fans.

Until March 31, 2015, when the 611 was fired up for the first time in over 20 years. And the unmistakable roar of steam once again echoed through the hollows of southwest Virginia.

Jane and I drove to downtown Roanoke where the 611 and a train of 20 or so cars lined up pointed westbound at the track nearest the O. Winston Link Museum across from Hotel Roanoke. There were hundreds of people waiting to board, each paying from $89 to over $300 for a ticket to the New River turn-around. Our movement from a standstill was largely imperceptible as we gradually gained modest speed through industrial west Roanoke and then Salem and eventually into the countryside. Our coach was comfortable, quiet and air-conditioned. I hate to be curmudgeonly about it, but it was TOO comfortable, as we couldn’t hear the roar of the engine, the wail of the whistle, or smell the coal smoke. Other than the puffs of smoke above us, we had no way to tell that we were being propelled by steam.

What was evident, though, was the excitement people had! The train with 15 or so passenger cars was mostly full. And there were people lining the track at every road crossing. The 611 is a rock star!

We chugged up the incline from Elliston to Christiansburg at a blazing 16-mph, according to somebody’s GPS. Over the Roanoke River / New River divide nearing Christiansburg, we picked up speed. But I doubt we ever exceeded 40-mph. Still, the scenery was beautiful and spirits were high. A large crowd of people took photos and waved to us near the Cambria station in Christiansburg. We did an about-face at the wye at the New River below Walton and headed back to Roanoke.

Back home that evening, I watched a YouTube video of France’s bullet-nose TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, “high-speed train”) reaching the amazing speed of 357-mph. Variations of the TGV have been in service since 1981 and when we rode one fifteen years ago from Paris to Lyon, in everyday service, it exceeded 150-mph. Amtrak, by comparison, is limited in service and painfully slow.

Especially in bad weather or on holiday weekends, I-81 is a nightmare. Perhaps we should be re-thinking passenger rail. Because folks around here love trains.