July 15, 2007

There were 2 posts published on July 15, 2007 (this is page 1 of 1).

The Last Run of the Norfolk and Western 611

When the kids see me at the computer, they like to ask to see a train video. Today I decided to find a video of a steam train. That’s when I found clips from the last steam run Norfolk Southern ever made: the Norfolk and Western 611 excursion train making its last run to its final resting place in Roanoke, Virginia in 1994. I wish I had known about it then.

Take a look at these clips on YouTube. Hear that steam whistle? Haunting, isn’t it? I can imagine what it must have been like in the 1950’s, lying awake on a rainy night and hearing that lonely whistle sounding across the dark landscape. That whistle has soul. No diesel’s air horn will ever sound like that.

The 611 was well-prepared for its retirement by its Norfolk Southern crews. It is now on display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Just last month it was rolled out of the roundhouse, still looking ready to go.

I’ve got to visit the 611 the next time I’m in Roanoke!

Intrepid Earth

Every time I fire up Google Earth I marvel at how much fun it is to zoom around the Earth from the comfort of my easy chair. The other night, a friend sent a Google Maps link to India’s Alang shipyard: the place where supertankers and other ships go to die.

Zooming around the imagery of Alang, I spotted an aircraft carrier waiting to be dismantled. That lead to a Google search of its identity, revealing it to be the former British Royal Navy HMS Vengeance. While the story of Alang is fascinating in itself (and worth a read, or a look on Google Earth), I happily discovered a site that documents these Google Earth finds:
Intrepid Earth.

Intrepid Earth scours the world through Google Earth, bringing you the good stuff. As a former “spook,” I was pleased to see the all the military and defense-related images, such as Iran’s Bandar Abbas naval base or Russia’s behemoth Typhoon-class submarine. Intrepid Earth makes for a great tour guide.

MT.Net says check it out!