The 611 steam locomotive, which began pulling excursions out of Goshen this fall, has been named to the Virginia Landmarks Register.
The Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 locomotive, owned by the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, was one of 11 listings approved by the Commonwealth’s Board of Historic Resources Dec. 14.
The engine was completed in May 1950 to transport passengers traveling from Virginia to Ohio, and from the western parts of the commonwealth to West Virginia. In 1952, it was one of the locomotives that pulled Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidential campaign train from Columbus, Ohio, to Kenova, W.Va. It was retired in 1959.
Three years later, the 611 was donated to the city of Roanoke and placed on display at the Roanoke Transportation Museum until 1981. Restoration was completed in 1982, after which the locomotive powered mainline rail passenger excursions throughout the Norfolk Southern Railroad system until 1994. It was restored a second time in 2014 and continues to be kept at the Virginia Museum of Transportation when not in use for excursions. In 2017, the locomotive was designated as the Official State Steam Locomotive of Virginia.
