It became the mainline star of the railroad's steam program, pulling excursion trains as far south as Florida, as far north as New York, and as far west as Illinois and Missouri.

In late 1994, when liability insurance costs led NS to end its steam program, the locomotive was again retired and moved back to the VMT.

[10][11] The class Js were the most powerful 4-8-4 passenger steam locomotives ever built, with 70 in (1,778 mm) driving wheels, 80,000 lbf (355.86 kN) of tractive effort, and an operating boiler pressure of 300 psi (2.07 MPa).

[18][19] The class Js were among the N&W's most reliable steam locomotives; they ran evenly on its mountainous and relatively short route at an average speed of 40 mph (64 km/h), producing 5,100 hp (3,800 kW) at the tender drawbar.

[25][26] Around the mid-1950s, all of the class J locomotives were given a pair of access holes in their streamlined front end, underneath the bullet nose, to ventilate the cross-compound air pumps from behind.

[25] They hauled N&W's Powhatan Arrow, Pocahontas, and Cavalier passenger trains, running 676 miles (1,088 km) between Norfolk, Virginia, and Cincinnati, Ohio.

[6][24] They ferried the Southern Railway's (SOU) Birmingham Special, Pelican, and Tennessean, running 209 miles (336 km) between Monroe and Bristol, Virginia.

[44][47] Some of the class Js continued to haul local freight trains on the Norfolk Division until their boiler flue time certificate expired around 1959.

611 should be retained in working order; he noted that the locomotive was in good condition with an extended boiler flue time certificate, thanks to the extensive overhaul that followed its 1956 wreck.

611 was cosmetically restored and put on static display at the new Roanoke Transportation Museum in Wasena Park, which opened on Memorial Day that year.

[60][64] In late 1966, at Claytor's request, SOU president D. W. Brosnan launched the railroad's steam excursion program with Ms class 2-8-2 No.

[69][70] Graham and his brother Robert even rooted for them and a meeting was arranged by the Chapter officials to seek permission from N&W president John Fishwick to perform a hydrostatic test on the locomotive.

[69][70] Two weeks after Fishwick retired on September 30, 1981, his successor, Robert Claytor leased the locomotive from the Roanoke City Council for $5,000 per year.

[72] It was discovered that the locomotive's bearings were already greased up, thanks to some N&W crew workers who had secretly entered the Roanoke Transportation Museum on its closing days in January 1981.

[69][70] On October 22, the locomotive left Roanoke; three days later, it arrived at the SOU's Norris Yard steam shop in Irondale, Alabama.

[72] The restoration work, performed by SOU master mechanic Bill Purdie and his team, began with supervision from retired Roanoke Shops foreman Paul Housman and ex-N&W draftsmen Mark W. Faville, who provided some of the original N&W class J design drawings.

[74][h] During that time, the N&W and SOU railroads merged to form the new Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), retaining the steam excursion program and doubling the trackage available for No.

[74][76] After some whistle stops in Anniston, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; and Salisbury, North Carolina, the locomotive arrived in Roanoke on August 22 in time for the city's centennial anniversary, where Claytor made a public speech in which he called No.

[74][85] The locomotive was to be turned on the Lambert's Point Yard turntable for the return trip to Roanoke, but it derailed on the sharply curved approach track, which was modified after the N&W steam era ended.

[2][75] On August 11 and 12, the locomotive pulled more excursions on ex-NKP rails, including between Erie, Pennsylvania, and Buffalo, New York, for the Lake Shore Railway Historical Society.

611 ran two round-trip excursions from Roanoke to Radford and Lynchburg, Virginia, pulling a matching set of ten Tuscan red passenger cars, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Powhatan Arrow re-equipment.

4501 on a triple-header, hauling a 28-car passenger excursion train from Chattanooga to Ooltewah, Tennessee, on November 3, during the NS steam program's 25th anniversary.

611 joined a double-header excursion run with Frisco 1522 for the annual NRHS convention in Atlanta for a series of trips to Chattanooga and Macon, Georgia.

[113] On October 29, NS CEO David R. Goode announced the decision to end the steam program due to rising insurance, maintenance costs, low spare system capacity, and delayed freight traffic.

611 was put on temporary display in front of the former N&W Roanoke passenger station, now known as the O. Winston Link Museum for National Train Day.

[167][168] On July 1, it returned to Roanoke, where it ran two round-trip excursions: the Powhatan Arrow to Lynchburg in the morning and the Pelican to Radford in the afternoon during the Independence Day weekend.

611 was unable to haul mainline excursions due to new restrictions on private charter trips imposed by Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson.

[218] On September 30, the VMT and VSR offered in-cab experiences for guests to operate or fire the locomotive along the Goshen industrial track.

[219][220] On October 6, the locomotive hauled VSR's weekend Shenandoah Valley Limited round-trip excursions through the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests between Goshen and Staunton, Virginia.

611 to turn around at Staunton, a pair of BB diesel locomotives were placed on the rear of the excursion train for the run back to Goshen.