The auctioning off of five of the NS excursion coaches last summer should have been a sign that NS is ending support of any steam excursions. Now, VMT has to work with Amtrak and also have NS’s permission to use their tracks. I read that NS won’t even allow 611 to run under Amtrak’s umbrella which would essentially ban all mainline excursions with 611. Hope that isn’t true. Also the article says that 611 can’t run on its own anymore which probably means it must have a diesel behind it for every run on NS from now on. If they are able to run with Amtrak, we’ll probably see an Amtrak diesel unit behind the 611 and perhaps Amfleets to make up for the missing NS coaches. But it does seem that steam on NS otherwise is over. 21st Century Steam was only intended to last through 2015, and NS gave VMT two additional years of excursions. I guess we have to realize that steam excursions on class 1 railroads are a big liability and that publicity traded railroads have to please shareholders by moving freight and making a profit. Steam excursions don’t make a profit. They cost money. But why is there an article out there that says NS approved more 611 excursions for 2018? Did they change their mind since then?
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