Meet the Norfolk Southern engineer who brought the 611 into Roanoke

[NS Newsfeed]

WDBJ-TV (Roanoke, Va.), May 31, 2015



Meet the Norfolk Southern engineer who brought the 611 into Roanoke;

Darin Bridger is a Roanoke native and a lifelong railroader. He comes from a big family of railroading that includes his brother, sister, father, and mother, as well as his wife's side of the family



By Shayne Dwyer



ROANOKE, Va. -- The mighty Class-J 611 rumbled home Saturday afternoon and while it took an entire crew to get here from Spencer, North Carolina, one hand was on the throttle at the final moment when the steam locomotive turned the corner and greeted hundreds of fans lining the tracks in downtown Roanoke.



The hand was that of Darin Bridger, a life-long Roanoke resident and railroad employee.



"To get on the 611 and crack the throttle, it's an honor," Norfolk Southern Engineer Darin Bridger said. "You know it might be temporary, you don't know how longs it's going to last, but just to create that memory, that something you did in your career, it was fun, it was special."



In this photo posted to Norfolk Southern's Instagram, Bridger is seen pictured on the left in a red hat, standing with Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman and two other members of the crew.



Bridger's family made a life on the rails. Darin's father, mother, brother, sister and members of his wife's family all worked for the railroad. Darin is now a short haul Norfolk Southern Engineer celebrating 30 years of service this year -- he's based out of Lynchburg and commutes about 600 miles by car weekly to his home in the Roanoke Valley.



"In February of 1985 is when I started working at Norfolk Southern, janitoring in the East End Shops," Bridger said.



The engineer has worked many special excursion crews, including runs for Amtrak, the circus, and Norfolk Southern executive travel. Bridger couldn't say why he was picked, only noting that "he does a good job" and "doesn't goof off."



On the trip from Spencer, North Carolina to Roanoke the 611 used two different Norfolk Southern crews. One worked from Spencer to Lynchburg, and the second worked from Lynchburg to Roanoke. The main steam crew worked the entire route from North Carolina to Roanoke.



Bridger was the engineer on the second crew and held the position of pilot. The pilot is a senior position with extensive knowledge that helps the steam engineer navigate the route, much like a maritime pilot guides cargo ships through a harbor.



"Bob Saxton who is the steam engineer on the 611, very gracious, very gracious, he got up and said 'have a seat, run her, run her,'" Bridger said. "So I jumped into the seat and it was a blast to say the very least."



Bridger said Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman was at the controls for a good part of the journey.



Bridger took control of the 611 right around Bonsack, and was in control as the locomotive made her last few miles into Roanoke. When the locomotive passed Roanoke's East End Shops, the same place where the 611 was born exactly 1 day and 65 years ago, Bridger asked the steam engineer if he was ready to take it back over.



"I said Bob (Saxton) you ready to take her?," Bridger said. "He said 'you're doing fine,' he said 'keep it up.'"



Bridger said at that point he was afraid of stealing some thunder from the crew that's worked very hard, but was reassured when Saxton gave this order.



"He (Saxton) said don't forget, this is a homecoming, people have been waiting for hours," Bridger said. "He (Saxton) said let's make some noise."



It was in those moments Bridger felt his father Bill Bridger, a life-long railroader himself, looking down on this special honor. Bill Bridger passed last December after 35 years of service to the railroad.



"It created a fantastic memory that I'll never forget, and I'll look back and think like my dad used to say, it's not bragging when you've done it," Bridger said.



One of many with Roanoke blood responsible for bringing the 'Spirit of Roanoke' back home.