Railfan foriegn exchange program

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 22:48:46 +0300
From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Subject: A new member from Northern Europe
To: <NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org>
Message-ID:

<20050726194846.CHUN10027.fep01-app.kolumbus.fi at mta.imail.kolumbus.fi>
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Hi all, 

Greetings from a newly joined 611 & N&W friend from
Finland!

I am a Finnish male, born at May, 1950, height 70
inches, strong built.  This partially explains that I
consider the 611 the all time greatest locomotive in
the world.

In my second latest visit to US in summer 1998, I met
another steam enthusiast at Homeward Suites hotel,
Austin, Texas, who learning that my details match the
611's, donated me the 611 "Thanks for the Memories" 
T-shirt which I am wearing writing this.

As to the J series in general, 80.000 lbs tractive
effort without booster, capability to have a constant
speed of 110 mph hauling 15 heavy passenger cars on
level, combined with superior reliability and modest 
service requirements makes this loco in my mind
impossible to beat.

Do you see it feasible to once again restore the 611
to a running condition?  

Markku Kastinen


July 27, 2005

Small world, Markku:

Betweem July 7 and 26, I was in Finland, with a
week-long side trip through Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania to reach Poland.  In my opinion, the world's
largest railway museum is in Poland; it is its entire
PKP rail system.

Regarding your question, 611 may be serviceable with
sufficient money --after all, with a lot of funds just
about anything is possible.  However, Norfolk Southern
is not presently planning to reinstitute its stream
program.  The Virginia Museum of Transportation
doesn't appear to have the ability to finance anything
more than cosmetic repairs on equipment in its
collection.

I invite you to contact me at fscheer at email.usps.gov
or at my email address below, so we can continue
discussions off-line.  If anyone else wants photos
from my travels, they may also write.

Best wishes,