As one who remembers the beginnings of the first NS(excuse me Southern)steam program, I see this as a great turnaround. From what I have read in their press release it sounds like LIMITED trips, but that TVRM engines will be used primarily at first. I look for 610(ex army) to do something this fall, and ex Southern 630 to run some trips next year.
Hopefully 4501 will be ready sometime in 2011 as well to celebrate its 100th Birthday.
In addition, this whole thing opens-up a whole lot of other possibilities in the near and distant future. NS could lease another engine that is already rebuilt, such as 765, or some other engine. It might also pave the way for something like 765 to operate some trips for their own group. Down the road who knows what possibilities might take place. 611 and 1218 are still in Roanoke should NS wish to get that involved in the distant future. At least we are far better off with this great news now that we were from 1995-2010? Frankly I thought we would never see this happen again. If NS were smart, and it sounds like they are, they will use these opportunities for Public Relations as much as excursions for the fans. During the 1980-1994 stretch few PR trips were operated, they were all fantrips. When 611 first ran, I chased a couple of school-children trips that were operated as one-way trips to get the train to the next location. Those stopped a couple of years later. They were a nice touch for PR, and education for the kids, not to mention some good fun.
I know from my experiences a lot of people basically quit being fans when the NS steam program went away. Why, because they had no way to enjoy their fascination with steam, if they were casual fans. And those are the ones that usually come out for these things. It will be fun to see how things develop.
Greg Scholl
PS Check my web site if you want to see preview clips of the NS steam
and 4501 from years ago. Norfolk and Western used to run through my hometown here in SW Ohio, so I grew up with steam ops here.
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www.gregschollvideo.com]
