…here is her website - she is a beauty…saw she last June when she came through Manassas...would think highly unlikely in New England, but you never know..http://fireup611.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Would there be any problems moving her through Hoosac Tunnel? I don't know if any of the previous routes excursions have been on had tunnels on them. The Hoosac Tunnel isn't trivial in length... it's the largest east of the Rockies, and I don't know if the ventilation is sufficient to keep up with a steam locomotive.
In steam days on the B&M electric locomotives pulled steam powered trains through the tunnel.
The fires in the steam locos were banked to keep down smoke while the electric locos did all
the work. Diesels eliminated the need for the electrics, but an exhaust fan system was installed
to remove diesel exhaust.
611 would be a spectacular sight in Boston's North Station. It's a whole different animal, but if we can host Tall Ships celebrations, Indycar races on city streets, and seriously consider hosting Olympics here, surely we could accommodate a visiting steam locomotive with advertising sponsors helping offset the costs.
...probably another reason why 611 will not show up in New England is that her support base is in Roanoke, VA and excursions in New England might be a little far...looking forward to her appearance at the Manassas Railroad Days on 3/4 June...
I don't have a current link to the NS release when they pretty much restricted steam operations to Virginia and North Carolina and 611 only. I don't think there is a snowball's chance 611 will go to the northeast anywhere at least not east of Buffalo and probably not there either. No way would they allow 611 to operate through Hoosac Tunnel except with a diesel ahead doing the work.
Noel Weaver