It only took me 26 years! When I was a budding 12-year-old railfan in 1987, I watched with intense interest (via the pages of Trains and Railfan & Railroad) as NS shopped 1218 and put it into excursion service. Living in Utah at the time there were no opportunities to see it or its stablemate 611 out on the high iron, but I vowed that I would see them both someday. Unfortunately, by the time I had my drivers licence and a car that could get me places, both engines were parked. I finally got my opportunity to see them this year, though they're both still cold at the moment. Hopefully I'll be shooting a live 611 someday!
