Strasburg Railroad

Chat about Strasburg railroad's current operations including freight, passenger, and restorations.

Does anyone know when Strasburg 475 is going under its lengthy "checkup"?

NS 611 is running on the Strasburg Rail Road five consecutive long weekends beginning Friday Sept 27.
10:30 train returning.
running around the train at Leaman Place
tender leading
twelve-wheeler
NW 475 NW 475 tender leading
NS 611 leading again

What a gorgeous engine but a bit of an overkill for the Strasburg!

I was there, and both rode behind the 611, and blew her whistle. Very well done by Strasburg, NS, and the Virginia Museum of Transportation (and I guess a little bit of Amtrak).

pumpers wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:38 pm What a gorgeous engine but a bit of an overkill for the Strasburg!

What do you mean by this?

mcgrath618 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 01, 2019 12:41 pm I was there, and both rode behind the 611, and blew her whistle. Very well done by Strasburg, NS, and the Virginia Museum of Transportation (and I guess a little bit of Amtrak).

pumpers wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:38 pm What a gorgeous engine but a bit of an overkill for the Strasburg!

What do you mean by this?

611 was built by the N&W very late in the steam era, as the ultimate long distance passenger engine. Capable of pulling 25 or more cars, and of speeds up to 100 mph. The Strasburg RR, special as it is, is only about 3 miles long. If 611 ran at full speed, it would go end to end on the Strasburg in about 2-3 minutes. (I can't imagine Amtrak is letting them out on the mainline!)

N&W 611 may seem that way given its size, but can you imagine UP 4014 making an appearance?

pumpers wrote: ↑Tue Oct 01, 2019 5:31 pm

mcgrath618 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 01, 2019 12:41 pm I was there, and both rode behind the 611, and blew her whistle. Very well done by Strasburg, NS, and the Virginia Museum of Transportation (and I guess a little bit of Amtrak).

pumpers wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:38 pm What a gorgeous engine but a bit of an overkill for the Strasburg!

What do you mean by this?

611 was built by the N&W very late in the steam era, as the ultimate long distance passenger engine. Capable of pulling 25 or more cars, and of speeds up to 100 mph. The Strasburg RR, special as it is, is only about 3 miles long. If 611 ran at full speed, it would go end to end on the Strasburg in about 2-3 minutes. (I can't imagine Amtrak is letting them out on the mainline!)

It would be nice, but it would need CSS,ATC, and ACSES.

611’s front two pilot wheels derailed while passing through the switch just west of the East Strasburg station and the 12:30 train is now 45 minutes behind schedule. Goodness knows what 475 and it’s train will do until then!

Hi
Do you have any more information on the derailment of N&W 611, do they know what caused the derailment?
Does anyone have any photos????
Also is the N&W 475 still stuck at Cherry Hill, if so did they BUS the passengers back, and did Strasburg, refund their money. thanks, Pat.

Pat Fahey wrote: ↑Fri Oct 11, 2019 4:11 pm Hi
Do you have any more information on the derailment of N&W 611, do they know what caused the derailment?
Does anyone have any photos????
Also is the N&W 475 still stuck at Cherry Hill, if so did they BUS the passengers back, and did Strasburg, refund their money. thanks, Pat.

My apologies, I just now came across this thread.

I was at Strasburg on the 4th for the day's excursions, and unknowingly got a few shots of #611 derailed near the station. I was not aware she jumped the track until it was brought to my attention upon returning home later in the day.
Apparently, #611 picked one of the switches and her leading truck derailed. See photos:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=5202650

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=5202653

Ben

Heard the Strasburg RR is going to build a freight yard at Leaman Place. Can't seem to find out any information about it.

It looks like Strasburg put together a nice application and was rewarded with a sizable PennDOT grant of 1.7 million dollars! They are doing a terrific job of adding needed freight rail capacity to the region, finding new customers who want to use rail.

https://www.pennlive.com/life/2019/12/s ... jects.html

The quote from the article says:

The Strasburg Rail Road Company was among the entities that received the funding. It was awarded $1.7 million. The money will be used to construct less than one mile of track by extending interchange track and constructing new bulk, ladder, and lead tracks.

The construction project will more than double Strasburg’s current yard capacity, according to a press release from Gov. Tom Wolf announcing that 26 rail freight projects will receive money.

...

The Strasburg Rail Road in Strasburg Township is well known in central Pennsylvania for its tourists railroad but the funding is not for that operation but actually for its freight service that moves grain, lumber and agricultural products, according to a Lancaster Online report.

The railroad handles approximately 500 rail cars and with the help of the 1.7 million grant money, the $2.47 million project will develop a roughly seven-acre property along Meadow Lane just north of Route 30 to give more room for delivery trucks to load and unload onto rail cars and separate most freight operations from its tourist trains, the report said.

Stephen Weaver, vice president of roadway for Strasburg Rail Road told the paper he expects a spring groundbreaking for the project.

Looking at the location of Meadow Lane by Route 30:
https://goo.gl/maps/ZKV4Ag4w8puSaWv16

It will be interesting to see where they are building the yard. It looks like their current interchange track ends just to the East of Meadow Lane, so I imagine that the new yard will be on the same side of Amtrak as that.

That makes sense. I've watched the VR railcam and there has been some real interesting choreography between the SW8 switching and the passenger trains. I was down there in September and the railroad had freight cars just about everywhere, the freight yard was full, the stub track on the other side of Rte 741, there were cars on the track alongside the shop building. Even the passing track by the picnic grounds had a line of covered hoppers on it.

Why is it that although being named the Strasburg Rail Road since the 1830s, people insist
on calling it the Strasburg Railroad????