"Home" My last shot of the 611 from Saturday tells the story of the day, although I must admit I did not plan it that way. After searching and searching for a place not already populated by large crowds for One more shot, I found myself in the little town of Bonsack, Va just outside of Roanoke. It was not the most photogenic of places, and the crowd of local folks was thick (but I was the only One there that I knew!)..I was hot, tired, aggravated and decided to just park and watch the train go by before I started the long drive home...I had a few keepers anyway. It wasn't long before the crowd got thicker and thicker...young, old...from all walks of life, and not a railfan to be seen. I soon found my self in a polite "howdy do" conversation with a elderly gentleman. That Gentleman (a Mr. Purvis if I recall) told me that he had lived in the big white house there by the tracks for over 50 years, and that he had been employed as a pattern maker in the N&W Roanoke shops, and then had moved on to other RR shop jobs after "Those Dam Diesels put a lot of us out of work".. I spent over an hour talking (more listening on my part) to him and his wife and somewhere in there I realized I had found THE spot to be to watch the 611 come home. He was proud of his time with the N&W, proud of his family (some of which still work for NS). He and his wife stood up out of the lawn chairs as we heard the whistle, and the crowd started cheering and waving as the train passed, just as a few thousand other soon would be down in Roanoke. We often strive to keep those pesky crowds out of our shots, just focusing on the machine...but it took people to make the machine, to run it, to maintain it, and yes...to even mourn its passing. It took forward looking and hard working, dedicated people to make it live again..... Those were some mighty proud people to see the 611 back alive again and rolling through town....Mr. Purvis probably the proudest. I had no intention of even taking a picture when I got there....but I am sure glad I did...it was the best shot of the day.