The Virginia Museum of Transportation, home to the Norfolk & Western Class J 611, one of the most powerful steam passenger locomotives ever built, has announced it will publish “Dash Dupree and the Queen of Steam,” a 32-page fictional children’s book that will tell the story of an unlikely friendship between a boy and the 611 that blossoms into a magical and life-changing journey for them both.
The Museum commissioned the children’s book to celebrate the restoration and homecoming of the Norfolk & Western Class J 611 Steam Passenger Locomotive. After a year-long capital campaign that drew over 3,000 donations from all over the world, the Class J 611 is currently under restoration at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina.
The 611 is expected to steam home to Roanoke, where the locomotive was designed and built, in mid-2015. Dash Dupree and the Queen of Steam will be published in conjunction with the 611’s long-awaited homecoming under steam.
“The Class J 611 locomotive is one-of-kind – the last surviving Norfolk & Western Class J left in the world,” says Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, Jr., executive director of the Virginia Museum of Transportation. “The 611 deserves a special story that touches the soul, and this is why the Museum commissioned this story.”
The Museum has a “dream team” of storytellers working on Dash Dupree and the Queen of Steam, Fitzpatrick says.
Nancy Ruth Patterson, an award winning children’s novelist, serves as the project’s creative director. Alice Standish, a graduate student in the Hollins University Children’s Literature Graduate Program in Roanoke, is the author. Ann Glover, a renowned artist from Roanoke is the illustrator.
The project is the result of a creative discussion between Patterson and Fitzpatrick before the 611 left for restoration. “We talked at length about how we could tell a story that captures the sentiment of what the 611 means to her fans, both young and old,” Fitzpatrick says. “Because of the vision of and friendship of Nancy Ruth and the talents of Alice and Ann, we will have a beautiful story that captures the love and respect people have for one of America’s finest locomotives.”
“Our hope and mission is to create a story that will come alive and inspire people around the world,” Patterson says. “Alice Standish is a brilliant young writer and Ann Glover, whose work has been featured in The New Yorker and The Altantic, as well as in museums and private collections throughout the country, is perfectly suited to illustrate her words.”
The Museum is inviting fans of the 611 to be a part of the story. For a donation to the Museum of $300 or more, a 611 fan can have someone they select included in an illustration in the book, as part of a group or a small crowd.
“This is a wonderful way to immortalize your love for the 611” Fitzpatrick says. “The 611 lives in so many of our memories. This is a way to share those memories with the next generation.”
Fans of the 611 can gift the illustration to a special person, or have their likeness drawn into the story, or select a special friend or relative. Only 50 illustrations are available. “We expect this to be very popular, and the slots to sell very quickly,” Fitzpatrick says. Donors will receive two complimentary copies of the book, signed and annotated by the author and illustrator where their likeness appears.
Visit vmt.org or fireup611.org for details and information about donating to the project and submitting pictures.
