Southern Fried Railroading 2021
Published 5-28-2021
Post Updated 6-11-2021 3:58PM EST
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Hello Readers, this is Ryan Casey, and welcome to Southern Fried Railroading 2021! Ah yes! North Carolina and Virginia, the beginning of the South, and home to two significant steam legends, built in Roanoke, Virginia. Norfolk and Western #1218, and #611. The latter engine resides in Spencer, North Carolina, home of the North Carolina Transportation Museum, and the largest surviving roundhouse in the Eastern United States. We returned to Roanoke, Virginia to once again visit the Virginia Museum of Transportation, and then the North Carolina Transportation Museum, the main focus of this story. Shall we begin?
I Don't Miss the Hassles of Air Travel - May 20th
For many years, my father and I have always wanted to travel to Spencer, North Carolina to see the big roundhouse. But we just couldn’t figure out how. Originally, we were going to visit Spencer as part of our 2014 road trip, but due to financial limitations at the time we had to skip it. Years went by, until finally in 2021, we decided to go as part of an RV trip. However, planning the RV trip seemed to be too problematic. So we decided to fly down to North Carolina instead, now that more people are getting vaccinated. On the morning of May 20th, 2021, we began our trip at Newark Airport, where we would board an American Airlines flight to Charlotte and return. As usual, the TSA at Newark airport gave us a hard time. Our bags were once again searched and swabbed, and the agent was rude. But we got to the gates fine. Unlike other trips, we took American Airlines both ways this time around. The first flight was bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, and ran right on time.
Upon reaching Charlotte and taking our bag, we then proceeded to the car rental place. Unfortunately, we found that there were only two desk agents, plus a long line of people. The problem was that more people are beginning to travel again in the not so distant post-pandemic future, but not enough employees. So we had to wait a half hour before we got our rental car to drive all the way to Winston-Salem. It was hot that evening, and we had to stop several times on the way there. We drove up I-85, and there were two accidents encountered. One heading south, which backed up traffic for miles, and one just in front of us, that just happened. Soon we reached Winston-Salem, where we would spend the next three nights. All this for a cheaper flight, indeed.
Return to Roanoke, Virginia - May 21st
Next morning, we drove up to Roanoke, Virginia directly from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It was sunny, and going to be a hot one. Passing by farms and woods, the further North you went, the more mountainous it became. On this trip, we took US 220, which is slated to become an extension of I-73. Meaning that any building’s driveway that comes off the highway would have to be cut off and be reworked into exit lanes. Soon we reached downtown Roanoke, Virginia for another visit to the Virginia Museum of Transportation. This was our second visit in seven years, when we did a Road Trip called The Virginia Venture in 2014. Things were arranged differently than the last time. N&W 1218 was now on the platform track replacing the Wabash 1009, and a CSX YN1 SD40 was now missing. In it’s place was an SW1000 that once belonged to the AEP Glen Lyn Plant. But the biggest change in Roanoke was the railroading. Since Norfolk Southern began practicing Precision Scheduled Railroading in 2018, the yard in Roanoke was nearly empty, and the diesel shop closed. An Eastbound train, parked in front of museum property was waiting to be moved, while another was waiting to go past a work crew. Then a westbound passed by unseen, and then the two eastbound trains moved. Soon it was time to head back to Winston-Salem after lunch and stopping at a comic book store.
That evening, in Winston-Salem, we decided to go into town for dinner. Parking there was a problem as on Trade Street, a block party was going on, and the restaurants were filling up. The Valet parking was unreliable, so after three tries, we finally parked a block away from where the event was taking place on the corner of 6th Street. We had to wait a long time to get a table, so we walked around. The weather was nice that evening, so it was good to get out and take in the night life air. Especially in The Great Pandemic.
North Carolina Transportation Museum - May 22nd
Next morning, the main event and focus of our trip occurred. A visit to the one and only, North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina! A half-hour drive south of Winston-Salem and north of Charlotte. On this weekend, there was a big model train show happening in addition to regular railroading activities. N&W GP9 #620, and a Norfolk Southern Intermodal train were the first trains encountered upon arrival at Spencer. A long line ran out the station door and into the parking lot. But we managed to grab our tickets early to board the 10:00AM excursion train. What’s interesting about this is that two former Norfolk Southern Office cars were in the consist. The Florida, and the New York. We soon boarded the train, and found seats in the recently acquired former Seaboard Coast Line Observation Car number 5604. However, our train did not depart on time as there were still people getting on, and it was clear that they haven’t had a big event like this one since 2019. While waiting for the train to depart, Southern GP30 #2601, with a photo freight train in tow, pulled up behind our train.
At 10:19AM EST, we departed the station building, and rode past a junction. Then the train reversed onto a track, which was once part of the Southern Railway steam shops. As we passed by the authentic roundhouse and buildings, we saw that 611 was there and in steam! In addition, our train also operated into part of Norfolk Southern’s yard, which is the only part of the 60 acre shop property still in active use. This is the only museum in America, whose passenger excursion train runs into an active class one railroad yard. This practice was begun only recently, as NS began transferring railcars from Lexington, North Carolina’s yard, into Spencer’s yard. The NCTM train can operate there as long as it doesn’t disturb the freight train operations. Following closely behind our train was the demonstrator “photo freight” train, pushed and pulled by Southern GP30 #2601.
Underestimating our hunger, and after disembarking from the train, we ran across the street to pick up a breakfast sandwich, and then began our exploration. First, I tried to film the Southern freight train, but the batteries ran out at the last minute. But there were going to be other opportunities during the day to catch it again. We made our way to the flue shop, where an N scale railroad, and car exhibit was. It was here where I filmed the excursion train and the freight train with the Nikon Camera (Videos below). I was too distracted and overwhelmingly excited to pay attention to anything else! After the trains passed, we went into the car exhibit, where we encountered some pretty rare automobiles. Including a rare 1961 Chevrolet ramp-side pickup truck.
The Roundhouse and 611
Shortly after viewing the car exhibit, it was time to head into the giant steam shop building, where a model train show and sale was taking place. As a result, the exhibits in this building that day were moved around a bit. But the one that attracts most of the attention, is a French Gratitude Train boxcar or van, in European terms. This was the second of these boxcars that I’ve encountered. The first one being at the B&O Railroad Museum back in 2010. After World War II, France sent forty-nine boxcars to the United States to show their gratefulness for the liberation from Nazi Germany. Surprisingly, Alaska, which was a territory at the time, did not receive a boxcar. Maxing out on my excitement, it was time to head outside and see the rest of the exhibits and engines.
At last! The giant Roundhouse and turntable of the former Southern Railway Spencer Steam Shops! With enough space, this was the ideal location to host both the NS 30th Anniversary, and the Streamliners at Spencer events back in the mid-2010s. First, we saw E6A locomotive #501, which was originally built by EMC or Electro-Motive Corporation. This unit has been active or running its entire life, and is the world’s only operational example of an E6A. The NS Exhibit Car was also there, and once had a working train cab simulator. A few minutes later, we encountered 611 idling. The engine had a broken bolt in its stoker, so they had to fabricate a new one, which is why it didn’t exactly run. But still, the engine is such a marvelous sight to behold in any fashion! It’s not very often that I get to see Amtrak F40PHs, so I made sure to get a good shot of Amtrak 307. Soon it was time to see the inside of the roundhouse.
There were lots more engines and cars to see, while walking through the stalls. But the paint was beginning to peel off some of them, and did need some TLC. One particularly interesting locomotive was Seaboard Air Line 2-10-0 Decapod #544. This locomotive, originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for use in Russia during World War I, and the beginning of the Spanish Flu Pandemic, is known as a Russian Decapod. This engine, as well as many of its sisters, were not shipped due to Red October and the Bolshevik Revolution. This engine’s driving wheels were originally designed to run on 5-foot gauge track. But extra wide tires were fitted onto the drive wheels to allow the engine to run on standard gauge US track of 4 feet 8 1/2 inches. Fifteen minutes in, we heard another diesel engine running.
Upon reaching the doors to the tracks, we encountered a Fairbanks Morse H12-44, pulling Southern FP7 #6133 out of the roundhouse, and being turned on the turntable. Both engines went back into another stall. Walking through the immense roundhouse, we also encountered aircraft exhibits, and a replica of British Built 0-4-0 named Raleigh. The one exhibit that also attracts a lot of attention is a replica of the Wright Brothers’ experimental plane. In 1903, this aircraft flew 120 feet off of a hill in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, changing the world’s travel forever. Continuing on, we then reached the shop area, where cars and locomotives are restored or repaired. The diesel crew was working on the Fairbanks Morse unit with the prime mover running.
Finally, we reached the last section of the roundhouse, where we encountered North Carolina’s only surviving Shay, a Jim Crow gas-powered car #M-200, and a US Army GE Center Cab #7497. The Jim Crow car was particularly interesting, as it was left exactly the way it was when it was donated to the museum in 1998. Segregation also applied to railroads, and depending on the states where the car traveled, the “colored-only” signs were replaced or removed. Seeing the US Army center cab was like a throwback to my days running 7751 on the old Pine Creek Railroad! Soon after, it was time to head back out and purchase some rolling stock for the layout. By that time, the clock had reached 2:15PM EST and it was time to catch the trains one more time (Videos Below). After filming the freight train, we decided to ride a speeder for some distance into the yard. Then it was time to head back to Winston Salem. The North Carolina Transportation Museum could be a model for a US National Railroad Museum in the same fashion as the National Railway Museum in York, UK.
The Return Trip and Retrospect - May 23rd
Returning home, we had to get up very early in order to catch our flight home. Plus, it was an hour’s drive on I-85 back to Charlotte. But the flight home was smooth. All in all, this trip was a huge step forward in returning to normal. This is a sign of the times that things are getting somewhat better, but we still have a long way to go before COVID-19 comes down to an endemic level. People are heading out again, but employees are scarce. Transportation is still at limited capacity, so people have to drive everywhere. Plus, we could still expect longer wait times and higher shipping prices than in years past. As long as more people are getting vaccinated, I’ll be able to continue to writing this exclusive content, and taking trips. A week after our trip to Spencer, N&W 611 was sent up to Strasburg again to once again run excursion trains. Let’s hope that this continues for long time to come.
Thanks for reading!
Coming soon: Steamtown Memories, Southern California trips – Volume 4 – June and July 2021, and more.
To catch up on my previous post, click here:https://empireofrails.com/index.php/2021/04/17/nw-611-steam-excursion-strasburg/
To check out the latest on N&W #611 click here:http://www.vmt.org/
For a Grand Experience at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, click here to learn more:https://www.nctransportationmuseum.org/
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Penn Station and Moynihan Train Hall: Explored Again - Empire Of Rails · November 4, 2021 at 3:15 pm
[…] To catch up on my previous post, click here:https://empireofrails.com/index.php/2021/05/28/southern-fried-railroading-2021/ […]
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