614 Trilogy

DVD When Rich Melvin set out to shoot the 614's first trips on video back in the 1980s, he never gave any thought to the fact that these videos would become historical artifacts. The three videos on this DVD show the 614 and her owner, the late Ross Rowland, in their prime. The 614 puts on quite a show in all of these videos, and Ross tells of the unfortunate circumstances that led to his acquisition of the 614. Ross Rowland had a life-long passion for steam locomotives and what they represented to the formative years of our country. In the 1960s it was Ross Rowland who blazed the trail for every other private steam locomotive operator to follow. He started with NKP 759, then moved on to Reading 2101 on the Freedom Train in 1976, and finally to Chesapeake & Ohio 4-8-4 No. 614 in the 1980s. We lost Ross on July 19, 2025, but his legacy lives on in these videos.