Norfolk & Western 611: Storming the Mainline with the Shenandoah Valley Limited

On October 7th and 8th, I chased Norfolk and Western #611 on the Buckingham Branch Railroad as it pulled some of the first excursions of the Shenandoah Valley Limited, which are 611's first mainline excursions since 2016. Beginning at the recently constructed Victoria Station in Goshen, VA, 611 leads its consist east through the Shenandoah Valley as it climbs the mountainous grades to Staunton, VA, where the train stops briefly to be joined by a pair of diesels at the rear of the train that leads the consist back to Goshen. I focused my chase primarily on the portion with 611 leading, however, I did catch a couple of nice shots of the Buckingham Branch diesel helpers. One important thing to note if you are planning to come chase or ride 611 on the Shenandoah Valley Limited; 611 has to reverse out of Victoria Station and travel West through Goshen first in order to switch onto the Buckingham Branch mainline. It then leads the consist East through Goshen on its way to Staunton. Essentially, 611 will travel on both tracks that can be found crossing the main street in Goshen! This was my first time seeing the Queen of Steam on the mainline, and I can say that I was thoroughly impressed!! Especially the shot I caught of 611 climbing the grade to North Mountain (Thumbnail). Watch as the nose of 611 slowly appears up the visibly steep grade as it thunders toward a meet with Amtrak 51! I'd like to give a special thank you to the Virginia Museum of Transportation and Virginia Scenic Railway! While I did not ride the train on this visit, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to chase the excursion as it was a childhood dream of mine to see 611 running on the mainline. Thank you so much for creating these excursions, and I look forward to the future of this amazing locomotive, and next time going for a ride! Please enjoy this epic adventure of the 611's grand return to the mainline!! 0:00 Intro 0:57 Reversing West through Goshen 3:34 Departing Goshen for Staunton, VA 4:55 Running at Speed Over Little River Rd. 6:20 Lehigh Rd. Bridge 8:35 Flying upgrade toward Augusta Springs 9:33 The new meets the power of the old! Amtrak Cardinal 51 Meets 611 14:00 Pacing on Hewitt Rd. 16:12 Waldrop Rd. 17:49 A Scenic Birds Eye View (Hewitt Rd) 18:49 Buttermilk Spring Rd. 20:04 Stuart St. 23:40 Staunton Station Arrival 25:21 Diesels Attach to the Rear and depart for Goshen 28:24 Traveling West past Goshen Depot 30:20 Returning to Victoria Station 34:00 Outro Music in this video: Song: Straight Fuse Artist: French Fuse Licensed to YouTube by: YouTube Audio Library