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- Norfolk and Western 611, also known as the "Spirit of Roanoke" and the "Queen of Steam", is a Norfolk and Western (N&W) class J 4-8-4 "Northern" streamlined steam locomotive built in May 1950 by the N&W's East End Shops in Roanoke, Virginia. It was one of the last mainline passenger steam locomotives built in the United States and represents the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology. No. 611 was assigned to haul the N&W's premier passenger trains between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio; and to ferry the Southern Railway's (SOU) passenger trains between Lynchburg, Virginia, and Bristol, Tennessee. In 1959, it was retired from revenue service and served as a steam generator at the East End Shops. Three years later, the No. 611 locomotive was donated to the Virginia Museum of Transportation (VMT), where it sat on display as the sole survivor of the class J locomotives. In 1982, No. 611 was restored to operation by the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), N&W's successor. It became the main line star of the NS steam program, pulling excursion trains throughout the eastern United States. Former N&W president and NS chairman Robert B. Claytor, who was responsible for the restoration of No. 611, signifies the locomotive as Roanoke Born, Roanoke Bred, and Roanoke Proud and the finest steam passenger engine ever built. In 1984, No. 611 was dedicated as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). It was often invoked as an icon of Roanoke and its railroading history. In late 1994, when liability insurance costs led NS to end its steam program, the locomotive was again retired and moved back to the VMT. In early 2013, the VMT helped raise $3.5 million to restore No. 611 to operating condition once again. After a year of restoration work at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina, the locomotive returned to excursion service in mid-2015. In 2017, the Virginia General Assembly designated the 611 as the official state steam locomotive of Virginia. In 2019, 2021, and 2022, No. 611 visited the Strasburg Rail Road (SRC) in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, running short tourist excursion trains in the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside. (en)
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