The 1980's were a great time to be a Railfan especially if you loved steam engines.
From the west coast to the eastern US, big steam was polishing mainline rails.
In 1982, N&W 611 was returned to steam to the delight of thousands of people worldwide. In April 1987, N&W 1218 made her debut after a two year restoration to join 611 in the Norfolk Southern Steam Program. One of the biggest and most anticipated events unfolded in Roanoke VA in late July early August of 1987 for the NRHS Annual Convention. It was a dream come true for Norfolk & Western steam fans. On Saturday August 1st, normal rail traffic was halted in the area to allow for both steam engines and their trains to run side by side as well as leap frog each other from Roanoke to Walton VA. 1218 pulled an empty hopper train while 611 pulled the passenger consist. It was an experience of a lifetime for all. This was all made possible in large part by one man, Robert Claytor, CEO of Norfolk Southern. That's Mr Claytor in the white ball cap standing in front of 1218 waving up to Frank Collins who is in charge of 611. Mr Claytor was engineering 1218 that day and has stopped here to let 611 pass setting up the side by side climb of the Christiansburg grade just a few miles ahead. Young and old railfans alike are still benefiting from Mr Claytor's vision and effort as 611 is still operating in 2021.
