In the darkness of the mountains of southern West Virginia, along the Tug River in Cedar, WV, the 1956 wreck of Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 unfolded unseen. There were no cameras and no eyewitness footage. There was just a powerful locomotive, a remote stretch of railroad, and a moment that would become one of the most talked-about chapters in 611’s storied life. While no one was there to witness the event in real time, we can begin to imagine how it may have transpired thanks to 611 fan a