Norfolk & Western 611: Storming the Mainline with the Shenandoah Valley Limited

On October 7th and 8th, I chased Norfolk and Western #611 on the Buckingham Branch Railroad as it pulled some of the first excursions of the Shenandoah Valley Limited, which are 611’s first mainline excursions since 2016. Beginning at the recently constructed Victoria Station in Goshen, VA, 611 leads its consist east through the Shenandoah Valley as it climbs the mountainous grades to Staunton, VA, where the train stops briefly to be joined by a pair of diesels at the rear of the train that leads the consist back to Goshen. I focused my chase primarily on the portion with 611 leading, however, I did catch a couple of nice shots of the Buckingham Branch diesel helpers. One important thing to note if you are planning to come chase or ride 611 on the Shenandoah Valley Limited; 611 has to reverse out of Victoria Station and travel West through Goshen first in order to switch onto the Buckingham Branch mainline. It then leads the consist East through Goshen on its way to Staunton. Essentially, 611 will