Steam Saturday: My First and Only Photograph of Observation Car ‘Lookout Mountain’

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After seeing the article and photograph of the ex-Southern Railway (Iowa Pacific) passenger car  Lookout Mountain being transported to the Reading & Northern it prompted me to search through my archives.

I knew it was the tail car of two Southern excursions I rode in 1979 and 1980 behind Royal Hudson ex-Canadian Pacific No. 2839.

I for sure remember it being at the 1983 National Railway Historical Society’s Richmond Convention.

It was a special outing since it was my introduction to Norfolk & Western 4-8-4 No. 611. My first excursion behind it was the trip on the ex-Chesapeake & Ohio from Richmond to Balcony Falls, Virginia.

My very first photo ever of the Class J 611 was the first photo runby. The image is not great at all but it is the first.

The second and third images are from the second runby the latter being my only photo of the Lookout Mountain.

I do remember riding in it on the return trip along the James River. I do have footage from riding in it on the 8 mm movies I shot.

My photography improved at the runby at Balcony Falls as shown on the bottom image. All the pictures are from that July 21,1983, convention excursion.

My bucket list for 2022 is to see and ride the Lookout Mountain behind Reading 4-8-4 No. 2102.

Article and Photographs by Edward Ribinskas

Tags: Edward Ribinskas photograhs, N&W 611, N&W 611 excursions, Norfolk & Western 611, NRHS conventions, passenger car Lookout Mountain