Norfolk and Western #611 will operate for the final time at the Strasburg Railroad in May 2023. Tickets are now on sale for two weekends of events with the locomotive, May 19-21 and May 26-29 (Memorial Day weekend). In-cab experiences will be held on Fridays, and the locomotive will pull the half-hour train for the rest of the weekend. The half hour train meets the regular hourly train at Groff’s Grove, giving riders and photographers opportunities to experience two steam powered passenger trains passing each other in the 21st century.
The locomotive will return to Virginia after the May events at Strasburg, but no timeline has been provided and no future events have been announced.
611 first appeared at the Strasburg Railroad in 2019 for the “Reunion of Steam” event with Strasburg’s N&W #475. It returned to Strasburg in 2021 to pull excursions and received its annual inspection while it was there. The locomotive operated briefly in 2022 before being moved across the street to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in early 2023.
Learn more