[N&W] RE: 611 derailment

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

This is the picture caption from the book, The Norfolk & Western Railway:
Williamson Terminal - 1953 by Vern French, pg. 95.
	"At 12:51am on January 23, 1956, Train no. 3 with engine no. 611 and
11 cars derailed near Cedar, WV, about 80 miles west of Bluefield. The
engineer was killed and 60 others were injured. The accident was blamed on
excessive speed; the train was doing about 40 mph on a curve restricted to
30 mph for passenger trains. (I am of the opinion that this accident is the
reason No. 611 still exists today. After being repaired, the order to scrap
the Js was issued. Beginning in October 1959 with No. 604, all of the Js
except 611 had gone to the torch by the end of 1959. I think she was in just
too good of shape, so she was donated to the Transportation Museum at
Roanoke. - Vern French)"
	This is all I have about 611's accident. Hope it helps.

Jon
________________________________________
If you are talking about the derailment in 1956, I am writing a book about 
that very wreck and if you'd like some more details, please feel free to 
email me.  The 611 was on the westbound #3 "Pocahontas" passenger train and 
derailed on a sharp right hand curve going about 50-55 miles a hour. The 
engineer died and about 58 people were injured. The cause of the wreck was 
decided to be excessive speed, as the curve on which the train derailed was 
restricted to the speed of 30 miles a hour.  The actual date of the wreck 
is January 23, 1956. The 611 was rebuilt after this wreck, and the 
condition of her after the rebuild is a factor in the reason she is still 
with us today.
Lois J. Ponton
ljpli at hotmail.com