Probably what I'd rate the "best" excursion train experiences I ever had was riding one of the N&W's "Farewell to Steam" excursions, in July of 1959 when I was six. N&W #611 was suppose to pull the train, but tickets sold like hotcakes and the train's length grew to 14 cars, exceeding what the 611 could handle, and the railroad substituted two (count 'em,
two) N&W articulated locomotives at the last minute. I was disappointed at first but the sights and sounds of a huge Class A pulling the train into the Bluefield station made change my mind. The "A" pulled the train from Bluefield, WV, to the wye at Iaeger, WV, then on the return trip back (upgrade) to Bluefield a N&W Class Y6b Mallet took over. For a few hours that day, I thought I'd died and gone to steam train heaven!
Below, Class A #1240 pulls into Bluefield.
The photo run-by was awesome! The Y6b #2174 put on a real show crossing the massive Trace Fork viaduct. Halfway across, the Y's front drivers started slipping (badly!) and it seemed like the Y's exhaust shot up a mile in the sky!
One of the best parts of the trip was riding in the open gondola cars on the rear of the train, getting covered up with cinders while watching the train snake through the rugged terrain of the Pocahontas Division!
