As part of the 21^st Century Steam program of Norfolk Southern and the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, a number of excursions are being offered in June in North Carolina and Virginia behind steam locomotive 630.

June 16-17, Spencer to Barber, N.C, and return

·      Host: North Carolina Transportation Museum

·      Train departs from Museum: 9 a.m., 12:15 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. each day

·      Route: Norfolk Southern “S-Line” between Spencer and Barber, 24-mile round trip

·      Power: steam locomotive 630 only (no diesels assisting)

·      Equipment: air-conditioned coaches with reclining seats and large picture windows

·      Fare: $35 adults, $25 children ages 3-12.  Kids ages 2 and under not occupying seats do not require tickets.

June 23, Spencer to Winston-Salem, N.C., one way (bus return)

·      Train departs North Carolina Transportation Museum: 10 a.m.

·      Train arrives Winston-Salem: 2 p.m.

·      Bus arrives North Carolina Transportation Museum: 3 p.m.

·      Route: Norfolk Southern main line Spencer-Greensboro; NS “K-Line” Greensboro-Winston-Salem

·      Power: steam locomotive 630 with diesels assisting

·      Equipment: air-conditioned coaches

·      Fare: $80.  Includes box lunch and bus return to North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer.

June 24, Winston-Salem, N.C., to Roanoke, Va., one way (with bus connections from Roanoke and to Winston Salem)

·      Train departs Winston-Salem: 10 a.m.

·      Train arrives Roanoke: 3:30 p.m.

·      Route: Norfolk Southern “Punkinvine” line, Winston-Salem-Roanoke

·      Power: steam locomotive 630 with diesels assisting

·      Equipment: air-conditioned coaches

·      Fare: $95.  Includes box lunch and bus transportation.  For Roanoke-originating passengers, bus will depart Roanoke 7 am; for Winston-Salem-originating passengers, bus will depart Roanoke within a half hour of train’s arrival in Roanoke.

Tickets for all trips are available through the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s website at www.tvrail.com.

Additional one-way excursions are planned in July and September.  Keep checking TVRM’s website or call 894-8028 for the latest information.

Southern Railway 630, the steam locomotive featured on these trains, is a Consolidation-type locomotive built in 1904 at the Richmond, Va., works of the American Locomotive Company.  Number 630 pulled freight trains during the first half of the last century, mostly in North Carolina, and in the 1970s and ‘80s traveled extensively in excursion service throughout the Southeast.  Small of size but big in character, this locomotive underwent an exhaustive ten-year rehabilitation at TVRM’s Soule Shops complex in East Chattanooga before returning to service in 2011. 

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum was founded in 1961 in Chattanooga to create an interpretive operating museum of historic equipment and artifacts in an authentic setting.  Today it operates an extensive schedule of historic and scenic trains in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia, supported by its East Chattanooga locomotive and shop complex.  TVRM is the largest operating historical excursion railroad in the Southeast.

Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies.  Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers.  Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

21^st Century Steam is a partnership between Norfolk Southern and TVRM to operate steam-powered excursions throughout the territory Norfolk Southern serves.