NS Announces Steam Program 2012

Steinzeit gave the general stuff.  Pull up yahoomaps or Bing maps for the track layout.  Both show the tracks if you zoom in enough, or you can go to the aerial photos part for a better view.  That said, nothing beats a bit of on-the-ground reconnaissance work.

Have fun,

Kevin

Is the Illinois division the old Wabash that goes thru Danville and Deacatur,Il?

Ahh, the chance to photograph the 765 westbound out of Elkhorn Tunnel on the Pokey!  Or even around the Huger Tunnels at Superior!  Cool.......

plenty of NKP Berkshires out here, thank you.

cheers...gary

unless the schedule changes or they route 765 down through Bluefield to Roanoke and up to Hagerstown on the way to PA, they aren't going to get that far down the Pokey.  Current stuff doesn't have them coming any closer than Matewan.

I wish they would put 611 in service but I am happy they have 765 

I'll play.  Here's a couple old pics (Sep '70) of Berk 759 traveling through Altoona.

She's resting in Scranton now.

We're not going that way. Hard to get to Pittsburgh  via that route!

I'll post of 759 too. This is footage (not mine, I wasn't born until 1990) of 759 running along the Lehigh River (Eastern Pa) up to Jim Thorpe.

Does anyone know if the 630 will run from Chattanooga to Atlanta on June 2-3 for the Inman-Austell runs under her own power or will she be towed? Also does anyone know which days she will make the trip down to Atlanta and back up to Chattanooga before and after the excursions?

CofG

"The Right Way"

It's too bad the Amtrak station in Norfolk isn't ready yet, I'd like to see some more steam come down this way.

Here's a photo I found of where the new Amtrak station is being built:

http://stavely.org/ryan/files/.../Norfolk_Station.png

The red icon at the top is where our light rail train "The Tide" stops and the green icon on the right is where the new Amtrak station is being built.

Last word on The Tide was that ridership has exceeded all expectations since they started less than 1 year ago.

Does anyone know where The 765 will be going in Illinois?

NS Steam Program rider unfriendly...yeah...but just a short two years ago there was no chance of Steam on NS. Baby steps! And Thank You NS for this!

Yes.

Say what? I guess it all depends on your definition of what "rider unfriendly" is.

These trips are being run for NS employees and their families. These folks are NOT railfans. They enjoy trains and railroading, but they are not fans. An all-day train ride would not be a very enjoyable experience for this audience. And, if only a single trip per day was run, there is no way that NS could provide enough seats so that everyone who wanted to ride could go on the train. For example, there are over 1,000 engineers working out of Conway Yard alone! That doesn't even count the car knockers, diesel shop mechanics, the MOW people, signal department, etc.

By running multiple short trips, the ride is an interesting 2-hour experience where Daddy (or Mommy) can show the family where he/she works. More people have the chance to ride because we can fill the train at least twice.

Say it again...100 times...maybe it will sink in. These are not railfan trips. These are not Railfan trips. These are not railfan trips. These are not Railfan trips. These are not railfan trips. These are not Railfan trips. These are not railfan trips. These are not Railfan trips. These are not railfan trips. These are not Railfan trips.

Get the idea?

Oh...one more thing...I also know where the 765 is going in Illinois. We're just passin' through...on the way to Missouri.

Will these be Railfan Trips Rich?

Missouri?....Where's that?..... 

I'm told it is just on the other side of some big river west of here...

What are some of the towns The 765 will be going thru on its way across Illinois?  Is this still to be determined or is it too early to let the public know?