Norfolk & Western No. 611 roars back onto the main line, but wye is a problem NEWSWIRE

SALISBURY, N.C. – Norfolk & Western 4-8-4 No. 611 made a triumphant return to the main line Thursday, showering fans with cinders, and putting on a show worthy of the biggest and best in steam passenger power, but it ran into a snag when it tried to wye the train upon return.

No. 611 pulled a canteen, tool car, and eight coaches with a handful of people who had put the engine back together over the last year. It strode along effortlessly, stopping only for one inspection at Linwood Yard, meets in Thomasville and Lexington, N.C., and to wye 44 miles north of Spencer in Greensboro. The plan upon return was to wye the 611 and train at Salisbury, next to Spencer, to be positioned for the next mainline outing on May 30, but the Salisbury wye proved to be too tight and when the crew saw the cab and tender touching, they abandoned that plan and returned to Spencer facing south.

No. 611 had long used the Salisbury wye in its previous excursion career, but locals said the track had been laid with new and heavier rail last winter and that it still needed to be aligned before 611 could use it again.

Otherwise, the trip saw no major issues. No. 611’s crew plans to use Friday to make additional adjustments to the locomotive. On Saturday, the North Carolina Transportation Museum’s 611 Send Off Party takes place. For details, go to www.nctrans.org.

The Virginia Museum of Transportation and Norfolk Southern will return No. 611 to its home in Roanoke, Va., with a VIP trip on May 30 and a public event in Roanoke on May 30 and 31. For details, go to www.fireup611.org.

Trains Magazine will provide live streaming video coverage of both events at www.TrainsMag.com. Coverage will also include a feature story in the August issue, and a special 76-page magazine, 611 in Steam, and a companion DVD by the same name, available in July and October, respectively.