Norfolk and Western Class J 4-8-4 number 611 was one of 14 streamlined engines built by owner Norfolk & Western. It ran for the N&W between 1950 and 1959. It was restored and operated once again in excursion service from 1982 to 1994. Now in 2015 we get to enjoy the locomotive once again for its third tour in operation.
First we have a segment shot in Spencer at the North Carolina Transportation Museum where a photo day was held being the first public event for the locomotive. Background information on 611 is mentioned in this section as we enjoy the engine on the turntable, entering the roundhouse and making a few runbys with a freight train consist. A couple of historic autos are aso used during the event.
The next part of our show is the much anticipated "Homecoming Trip" as 611 travels with a passenger train of invited guests returning from Spencer to Roanoke. The train travels the former Southern Mainline to Lynchburg, then the former Norfolk and Western(Home Rails), to Roanoke. All this today of course is Norfolk Southern Corp. Most of this segment is trackside runbys, but we also get a couple of views from onboard the train.
The bulk of the video is the great action over the July 4th weekend in 2015. For three days 611 puts on a great show tackling the many grades on these 2 a day roundtrips. In the morning the train would run from Roanoke to Lynchburg over the famous Blue Ridge Grade east of Roanoke, and on the return traverse the eastern slope back to Roanoke. Wet rails on one trip create some dramatic slipping. We also see the engine passing the Roanoke Shops where the engine was built in 1950.
In the afternoon each day the 611 hauled passengers from Roanoke to Walton, where there is a junction between the mainline to Bluefield and the line to Bristol. We enjoy the westbound climb up Christiansburg grade through places like Shawsville, and watch the eastbound climb on the other side of the mountain passing through the old coaling tower at Vicker, and Christiansburg. 611 sounds great on these trips as locations with some slight grade or bigger climb were selected for better viewing and sound. Two different photographers contributed to this video.
Don't miss this return to steam operations for 611 in 2015. All shot in High Definition, and available in Standard Definition, or HD Blu-Ray.
Color, live audio, and limited narration so you can enjoy the action.
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DVD Item#:
GSVP-089
Blu-ray Item#:
GSVP-092
Runtime:
1 Hour, 15 Mins ($0.30/min)
Producer:
Greg Scholl Video Productions
Aspect Ratio:
Wide Screen
DVD UPC:
604435008992
BLU-RAY UPC:
604435009296
Shrink Wrapped?:
Yes
Disc Type:
DVD or BLU-RAY
Region Code:
0 Worldwide NTSC
611 Trilogy Volume 1 DVD
chris collins (fletcher north carolina) on 2019-11-13 21:30:28.
People who found this review helpful: 1
5 of 5
611 trilogy is a three vol set which covers the return of norfolk & western class j northern no.611 since i really liked the 5 vol reborn series videos from steam train videos by james parfrey (which have to be my favorite 611 videos) i thought i'd see how the ones by greg scholl were and these turned out pretty well in vol.1 this video looks at the return of the 611 at the restoration at the north carolina transportation museum in spencer north carolina in 2015 some of the intresting parts are an information on the 611 than seeing the engine on the turntable and entering the roundhouse (the museum is part of the historic Spencer shops during the days of the southern) there's also a photo shoot with 611 on a fright train with some vintage autos making it look like the steam days than the next part looks at the return to the 611's home in roanoke virginia than finishing with the roanoke trips during the 4th of july holiday weekend (before that there's a little look at the ferry move to Manassas virginia for 611's first public excursions) so this was quite a pretty well video with 611 putting on a show
Additional remarks by chris collins: Narration:Just enough. Would kids enjoy this?Maybe. Image quality:Excellent! DVD Value:Good Value Recommend to others?Definitely.
611 Trilogy Volume 1 DVD
Steamboy (Revere MA US) on 2017-01-06 18:34:19.
People who found this review helpful: 1
4 of 5
In the first part but the shortest one in this trilogy, there is lots of interesting scenes such as the roundhouse and turntable at spencer, plus a small freight special, and a one-way homecoming trip from Spencer to Roanoke. All of these footages are shot by Ronald Burkhard and Brady Sanker due to Greg himself inserting the finishing touches on the September 2014 Cumbres & Toltec Programs at the time 611 made second revival trips.
Additional remarks by Steamboy: Narration:Could have used more. Would kids enjoy this?Yes. Image quality:Excellent! DVD Value::Fair. Recommend to others?A "Must Have"!
611 Trilogy Volume 1 DVD
ecarfar (Long Island, NY) on 2022-06-27 10:28:29.
1 of 5
Not a review of the content of the video (because I've never seen it) but more of the quality of the disc. I purchased all three of the 611 Trilogy discs in Blu-Ray format along with another Greg Scholl Blu Ray video and NONE of them play on ANY of the four Blu Ray players in my house. A couple of them start but the video and sound break up within a few seconds and one of them actually freezes my player where I have to pull the plug to get it to reset. None of them are watchable at all. I brought this up to Greg Scholl himself via email and mentioned he might have a problem with his Blu Ray transfers and he was no help at all, telling me that he received no other complaints. I found that incredibly hard to believe since every other Blu Ray disc I've played has never had a problem. I even offered to send them to him for inspection, at my own expense, but he was insinuating they might me counterfeit and didn't want to be bothered. I'm stuck with $100+ of worthless plastic discs. Don't buy the Blu Rays, get the DVD's instead. I will not be adding any other Greg Scholl videos to my vast collection of railroad related DVDs....
Additional remarks by ecarfar: Narration:There was no narration. Image quality:Poor. DVD Value:Overpriced for the amount of enjoyment I got out of it. Recommend to others?Definitely not!.
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