If UP merges with NS, could 611 and 1218 come out of reitrement?
I do not recall UP restoring or operating any steam locomotives of any other railroad it has taken over, so the answer is no.
Who says UP would be the one doing the take-over?[;)]
It is just some crazy idea I had. I know it seems unbelievable, but you never know. Perhaps if they do merge, they will take the Southern from NS and Pacific from UP for the new company name.
maybe norfolk pacific, or union of norfolk
Hey, I like the idea of Norfolk Pacific. I even know of a real cool logo that they can use (if they can buy the rights to it from a rather nice company that no longer seems interested in it).
The 3985 double headed with the 844 on one track
The 1218 and the 611 on the other track
Racing up the Cajon Pass
I like it!
I think both n&w 611 and n&w 1218 have had the tubes removed.But someone mentioned that the up steam shop bought them off the scrap dealer who originaly did at auction. Who knows it sounds great. Maybe a good name for the merger would be “Coast to Coast”.Oh wait ,thats the name of my favorite nightime talkshow.
There is nothing wrong with either 611 or 1218. Go put a fire in them and after a while they will run. The flue time may have expired but the flues are still in the boilers. UP may have bought all the tubes in the shop.
You better hope UP is the dominant RR and not NS or the UP engines will join the others in museums.
There was a rumor floated about several years ago that UP came calling on N&W about a take-over. The boys in Roanoke pulled out their checkbook and said," what is your stock selling for today?" That was the end of the merger (UP take-over) talks.[:D]
If NS did the takeover, 844 and 3985 would be parked in Museums like 611 and 1218 have been.
Not necessarily, David Goode is the one who got rid of those. There is now a new CEO in there that is a “Closet Railfan”. He is the one that got the F-units that will be painted in the Tux scheme.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t 1218 and 611 legally belong to the Virginia Museum of Transportation now rather than Norfolk Southern? Think that NS donated them to the museum. Unlikely they’d let their star attractions go!
I believe the 1218 is in pieces.
i have read rumors that a railfan group was planning to buy or lease the 611 and restore it for excursion service.Hope so!
The 611 is entirely intact, all of its parts are there. It could come out today and be ready to run after a little restoration. The locomotive is like it came right off the rails. The 1218 is not so lucky. The [censored] cut the steam program and decided not to finish the 1218 and send it to the mesuem. Most all the her insides were sold for scrap and all the spare parts for both locomotives are long gone. It was a miracle the side roads and driving rods were saved. Restoring the 1218 to running condition would be a very difficult task.
If I’m not mistaken the 611 was pulled from service in 1957 and the Norfolk and Western gave the locomotive to the City of Roanoke in 1959. I believe the 1218 was given to the city around the same time. Both locomotives sit side-by-side outside under a large covering with many other locomotives and rolling stock. I did notice last time I was there that some vandals had broken a piece a glass on the 611.[:(!]
I rode on the N&W from Cincinatti to Norfolk on a bitter cold day in Jan 1958. It was pulled by a J.
I have always hoped that it might have been the 611. Apparently it was not.