DANVILLE, Va. – An earlier trip to Danville had to be postponed for repairs, but the “Queen of Steam” huffed through town Monday.

The N&W 611 left the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer Monday morning en route to Strasburg, Pennsylvania.

The 611 was built in Roanoke in 1950. The train was in regular passenger service until 1959 and was donated to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in 1962.

The 611, also known as “The Queen of Steam and “The Spirit of Roanoke,” is under steam power but a Norfolk Southern diesel engine is towing the locomotive and its cars. The engine stopped on Lynn Street in Danville to take on water.

The 611 will be a major attraction at the  Strasburg Railroad in Pennsylvania, where it will make brief runs to raise money for the train museum in Roanoke.

Photo: Ken Warrick