The Norfolk Southern Railway is a
Class I freight railroad in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
formed in 1982 with the merger of
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...
and
Southern Railway. With headquarters in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31,250 km) in 22 eastern states, the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, and has rights in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
over the
Albany to
Montréal route of the
Canadian Pacific Railway. NS is responsible for maintaining , with the remainder being operated under trackage rights from other parties responsible for maintenance. Intermodal containers and trailers are the most common commodity type carried by NS, which have grown as coal business has declined throughout the 21st century; coal was formerly the largest source of traffic. The railway offers the largest
intermodal rail network in eastern North America. NS was also the pioneer of
Roadrailer service. Norfolk Southern and its chief competitor,
CSX Transportation, have a
duopoly on the transcontinental freight rail lines in the
Eastern United States.
NS has long been a major transporter of domestic and export coal, though this business has declined in the 21st century in favor of intermodal traffic. The railway's major sources of the mineral are located in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
's
Cambria and
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...
counties, as well as the
Monongahela Valley;
West Virginia; and the Appalachia regions of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...
, and
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...
. Coal transported by NS is then exported to
steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finish ...
s and
power plants around the world.
Norfolk Southern is the namesake and leading subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Corporation, based in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
; it was headquartered in
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
until 2021. Norfolk Southern Corporation was incorporated in Virginia on July 23, 1980 and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol ''NSC''. The primary business function of Norfolk Southern Corporation is the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods across the Southeast, East, and Midwest United States. The corporation further facilitates transport to the remainder of the United States through interchange with other rail carriers while also serving overseas transport needs by serving several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. As of April 10, 2019, Norfolk Southern Corporation's total public stock value was slightly over $51.6 billion.
History
Predecessors
Norfolk Southern's predecessor railroads date to the early 19th century.
The SOU's earliest predecessor line was the
South Carolina Canal & Rail Road. Chartered in 1827, the South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company became the first to offer regularly scheduled
passenger train
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...
service with the inaugural run of the ''
Best Friend of Charleston'' in 1830. Another early predecessor, the
Richmond & Danville Railroad (R&D), was formed in 1847 and expanded into a large system after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...
under
Algernon S. Buford
Algernon Sidney Buford (January 2, 1826 – May 6, 1911) was a Virginian businessman, politician, and lawyer best known for his 22-year presidency of the Richmond and Danville Railroad, during which he was responsible for growing the line from 1 ...
. The R&D ultimately fell on hard times and in 1894, it became a major portion of the new Southern Railway (SOU). Financier
J. P. Morgan selected veteran railroader
Samuel Spencer as president. Profitable and innovative, Southern became, in 1953, the first major U.S. railroad to completely switch to
diesel-electric locomotives from steam.
The
City Point Railroad, established in 1838, was a railroad in Virginia that started south of
Richmond — specifically,
City Point City Point of CityPoint may refer to:
United Kingdom
* CityPoint, an office tower in London, England
United States
*City Point (New Haven), a neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut
* City Point, a section of the South Boston area in Boston, Massac ...
on the navigable portion of the
James River, now part of the independent city of
Hopewell — and ran to
Petersburg
Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to:
Places Australia
*Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia
Canada
* Petersburg, Ontario
Russia
*Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg
United States
*Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...
. It was acquired by the
South Side Railroad in 1854. After the Civil War, it became part of the
Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad (AM&O), a trunk line across Virginia's southern tier formed by mergers in 1870 by
William Mahone, who had built the
Norfolk & Petersburg Railroad in the 1850s. The AM&O was the oldest portion of the Norfolk & Western (N&W) when it was formed in 1881, under
new owners with a keen interest and financial investments in the
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as stratum, rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen ...
fields of Western Virginia and West Virginia, a product which came to define and enrich the railroad. In the second half of the 20th century, the N&W acquired the
Virginian Railway (1959), the
Wabash Railway, and the
Nickel Plate Road, among others.
Formation
In 1980, the Norfolk Southern Corporation was created as a
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
for the
Southern Railway (SOU, formed in 1894) and
Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W, formed in 1881). In 1982, the Southern Railroad was given the new name of the
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
, an older line acquired by SOU in 1974, that primarily served
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...
and the southeastern tip of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
; following this, Norfolk and Western was merged into the company, forming one, united, railroad. Headquarters for the new NS were established in
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
. The company suffered a slight embarrassment
when the marble headpiece at the building's entrance was unveiled, which read "Norfork Southern Railway". A new headpiece replaced the erroneous one several weeks later. NS aimed to compete in the eastern United States with
CSX Transportation, formed after the
Interstate Commerce Commission's 1980 approval of the merger of the
Chessie System and the
Seaboard System
The Seaboard System Railroad, Inc. was a US Class I railroad that operated from 1982 to 1986.
Since the late 1960s, Seaboard Coast Line Industries had operated the Seaboard Coast Line and its sister railroads—notably the Louisville & Nashv ...
.
Conrail purchase
The system grew with the acquisition of over half of
Conrail. The Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) was an system formed in 1976 from the
Penn Central Railroad (1968–1976),
and five other ailing northeastern railroads that were conveyed into it, forming a government-financed corporation. Conrail was perhaps the most controversial conglomerate in corporate history. Penn Central itself was created by merging three venerable rivals — the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
(PRR, 1846), the
New York Central Railroad (NYC, 1831), and the
New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (NYNH&H, 1872) — as well as some smaller competitors. In 1980, Conrail had become profitable after the
Staggers Act largely deregulated the U.S. railroad industry. In 1996,
CSX bid to buy Conrail; Norfolk Southern, fearing that CSX would come to dominate rail traffic in the eastern U.S., responded with a bid of its own. On June 23, 1997, NS and CSX filed a joint application with the
Surface Transportation Board
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the United States is a federal, bipartisan, independent adjudicatory board. The STB was established on January 1, 1996, to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the Intersta ...
(STB) for authority to purchase, divide, and operate the assets of Conrail. On June 6, 1998, the STB approved the NS-CSX application, effective August 22, 1998. NS acquired 58% of Conrail assets, including about of track, most of which was part of the former
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
. CSX got the remaining 42%. NS began operating its trains on its portion of the former Conrail network on June 1, 1999, closing out the 1990s merger era.
21st century
In 2016, a proposed merger that had been months in the pipeline with
Canadian Pacific was abandoned abruptly. The proposed merger would have seen the joining of two companies worth over $20 billion each.
According to NS's 2018 Annual Report to Investors, at the end of 2018, NS had more than 26,000 employees, 4,100 locomotives, and 54,400 freight cars. At the end of 2018, the transport of coal made up 16% of the total operating revenue of NS, general merchandise (automotive, chemicals, metals, construction materials, agriculture commodities, consumer products, paper, clay, and forest products) made up 59%, and intermodal made up 25% of the total. Norfolk Southern has since slimmed its fleet to roughly 3,950 locomotives.
On December 12, 2018, Norfolk Southern announced that it would be relocating its headquarters to
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
; leaving its hometown of Norfolk after 38 years. The new headquarters building was opened on November 10, 2021.
Company officers
*
John P. Fishwick, Sr.
** CEO and President of Norfolk Western Railroad: 1970-1980
** CEO and President of Norfolk Southern Railroad: 1980-1981
*
Robert B. Claytor
Robert Buckner Claytor (February 27, 1922 – April 9, 1993) was an American railroad administrator. He became President of the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1981 and was instrumental in the merger of the Southern Railway and the Norfolk & West ...
** CEO: 1982 – 1987
* Arnold B. McKinnon
** CEO and President: 1987 – 1992
*
David R. Goode David R. Goode (born 1941, Vinton, Virginia) is the retired Chairman, President, and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation (holding company engaged principally in surface transportation). Other directorships: Caterpillar Inc.; Delta Air Lines, Inc.; G ...
:
**CEO: 1992 – 2005
**President: 1991 – 2004
*
Charles "Wick" Moorman:
**CEO: 2005 – 2015
**President: 2004 – 2013
*
James A. Squires
James A. Squires is an American railroad executive who was the president, chief executive officer, and executive chairman of Norfolk Southern Railway until his retirement on May 1, 2022. (He left the presidency on December 1, 2021.)
Squires was bo ...
:
**President: June 1, 2013 – December 2021
**CEO: June 1, 2015 – Present
*Alan H. Shaw
**President: December 2021 – Present
Current trackage
Regional divisions
Norfolk Southern is divided into 3 operation regions, each containing 2 divisions.
* Southern Region
** Gulf Division
** Coastal Division
* Central Region
** Midwest Division
** Blue Ridge Division
* Northern Region
** Great Lakes Division
** Keystone Division
Premier Corridor
The Premier Corridor is Norfolk Southern's principal east–west line from the East Coast to the Midwest. An average day sees 40-60 trains of all types. The main (New York to Chicago) segment of the corridor consists of the Lehigh Line, Reading Line, Harrisburg Line, Pittsburgh Line, Fort Wayne Line, Cleveland Line, and Chicago Line.
Chicago Bypass
Meridian Speedway
Pan Am Southern/Patriot Corridor
On May 15, 2008, NS announced that it would join with
Pan Am Railways to create the "Patriot Corridor", an improved rail route between
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Ci ...
, and the greater
Boston, Massachusetts, area. On March 12, 2009, STB approved the deal. Each of the two companies now owns 50% of a new company known as
Pan Am Southern (PAS). PAR's trackage between
Ayer, Massachusetts, and
Mechanicville, New York, was transferred to PAS, and continues to be operated and maintained by PAR's Springfield Terminal Railway Company subsidiary. NS transferred to PAS cash and property valued at $140 million. The railroad operates 22K and 23K from Mechanicville, NY to Ayer, MA. Due to the unique ACSES PTC system used on Keolis-operated trackage, which the 22K and 23K runs on between Wachusett and Ayer, only specific SD60E locomotives equipped with ACSES can lead trains.
In 2021, CSX announced its intention to purchase Pan Am Railways. Norfolk Southern protested, arguing that CSX, which would own 50% of Pan Am Southern, would be able to block Norfolk Southern out of the northeast. As part of the Surface Transportation Board merger requirements, CSX will give NS limited trackage rights to run intermodal trains, and Pan Am Southern will be operated by the
Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad
The Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad , also known as the Shawmut Line, was a short line railroad company operating passenger and freight service on standard gauge track in central and southwestern Pennsylvania. Since 2004, it has been operated as ...
, under the name
Berkshire and Eastern Railroad
Berkshire and Eastern Railroad (B&E) is a shortline railroad in New England and New York, using tracks owned by Pan Am Southern. Pan Am Southern is jointly owned by CSX Transportation (CSXT) and Norfolk Southern Railway (NS).
Following CSXT's pur ...
.
Yards and facilities
Largely an eastern U.S. railway, NS directly owns and operates of track in 22 states. It operates four primary hubs in its system:
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in P ...
,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
, and
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
and maintains facilities across the Eastern US to facilitate operations, including
rail classification yards, intermodal yards, and locomotive shops
NS has rights to operate its trains with its own crews on competing railroads' tracks. These
trackage rights permit NS to operate as far west as
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...
, on BNSF Railway tracks, as far north as
Waterville, Maine
Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The city is home to Colby College and Thomas College. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census the populatio ...
, and as far south as
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
, on the Florida East Coast Railway tracks. NS locomotives also occasionally operate on competitors' tracks throughout the U.S. and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
due to the practice of locomotive leasing and sharing undertaken by the Class I railroads. Not including second, third, and fourth main line trackage, yards, and sidings, NS directly operates of track. In addition, NS has direct control over approximately .
General freight classification yards
Intermodal classification yards
Locomotive shops
NS also shares interest with CSX in the
Oak Island Yard
Oak Island Yard is a freight rail yard located north of Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal and Newark International Airport in an industrial area of Ironbound, Newark, New Jersey at 91 Bay Ave., United States. The sprawling complex inc ...
, managed by
Conrail Shared Assets Operations in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...
.
Environmental record
On January 6, 2005, a
NS derailment resulted in a large amount of chlorine and diesel fuel being released into nearby waterways in
Graniteville, South Carolina
Graniteville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,614 at the 2010 census. It lies along U.S. Route 1, west of Aiken in Horse Creek Valley, which originates in the nearby town o ...
. In addition, a toxic cloud covered the city resulting in the town being evacuated. Federal
common carrier laws prevent railroads from refusing to transport chlorine and similar Toxic Inhalation Hazard (TIH) commodities. Local wildlife was killed, many of the local crops and vegetation were contaminated or killed, nine human deaths were reported, and thousands were injured. The company was taken to court and fined for violating the
Clean Water Act and the Federal Superfund law. NS spent a total of $26 million for the cleanup.
In early spring of 2008, the state program manager for air quality planning in Georgia, Jimmy Johnston, had been talking to NS about voluntary upgrades to reduce the company's environmental impact. NS is upgrading 3,800 of its locomotives with new technology that is 73 percent more efficient than previous models. The new technology being put into the locomotives is making the ride more fuel efficient and reducing idle time.
NS has also introduced an experimental battery-electric
switcher
A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as ''switching'' (US) or ''shunting'' (UK). Switchers are not inten ...
locomotive,
NS 999. This prototype locomotive was developed by Norfolk Southern, in collaboration with the
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
, the
Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail s ...
and the
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
.
Labor relations
In 2019, Norfolk Southern made a plan to lay off over 3,500 workers as a result of
precision railroading.
Locomotives and rolling stock
Paint and colors
NS's locomotives are often called "catfish" by railfans, as the stripes are said to look like catfish whiskers.
The current "Horsehead" paint scheme for NS locomotives is black and white, with yellow grab irons and step-edge highlights. Locomotives feature a rearing horse decal enclosed in the "catfish" stripes on both the nose and rear, which is consistent with marketing campaigns where NS has billed itself as "The Thoroughbred of Transportation".
The first few
AC44C6Ms features a special version of the Horsehead scheme, which is painted for the D.C. To A.C. Project. The others retain the regular paint job. The GE AC44C6Ms are rebuilt from GE Dash 9-40Cs.
In 1994,
EMD GP59 No. 4610 was painted in predecessor Southern colors of green and white with gold trim and was a favorite of railfans. The locomotive was repainted in the Norfolk Southern "Operation Lifesaver" paint in February 2012 because of ES44AC #8099 also being in Southern paint.
Norfolk Southern painted 20 new-order
ES44ACs and
SD70ACes in commemorative heritage paint schemes as part of NS's 30th anniversary celebration in 2012 (more info below in the "Heritage Schemes" section).
Norfolk Southern also has many locomotives painted in various versions of the Operation Lifesaver scheme.
In February 2015, Norfolk Southern unveiled restored NS 3170 in the Southern Railway "Tuxedo" paint scheme. The 3170 is a
SD40, the first ordered by the Southern Railway and was retired by Norfolk Southern in 2007. In September 2015,
SD45-2
The EMD SD45-2 is a 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD). EMD built 136 locomotives between 1972–1974, primarily for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF). The SD45-2 was an improved ...
1700 was unveiled wearing its original Erie Lackawanna paint. Another SD40, NS 1580, was set aside for repaint into its original Norfolk and Western paint scheme; however, as of January 2017, it has yet to be repainted. As of 2020, there is still no information on where #1580 will go when it is donated.
In January 2015, the first of the state-funded "ECO Class" units – painted in a two-tone green, white, and black paint scheme – was completed. "ECO" locomotives thus far (January 2017) include
GP33ECO and SD33ECO; additionally, these units come with 'slug' types: RP-M4C (GP33ECO) and RPU6D (SD33ECO).
In November 2011, Norfolk Southern unveiled
SD60E 6920 – painted in a blue, red, white and black "Honoring our Veterans" paint scheme. In March 2013, Norfolk Southern released NS SD60E 6963, which was painted in a special paint scheme for "GORAIL." In May 2015, Norfolk Southern unveiled another SD60E, number 911 – painted in a red, white, and gold, "Honoring First Responders" paint scheme.
Locomotives
A large majority of Norfolk Southern's locomotives come from the company's many predecessors, which include but are not limited to
Norfolk and Western,
Southern Railway, and
Conrail. Of the engines from Norfolk and Western (NW) and Southern, many were equipped with high short hoods. Although these locomotives are aging, some 'high hoods' still remain on the roster as of April 2020. Norfolk Southern has drastically reduced the number of them by scrapping, rebuilding, or selling them.
Historically, NS has only purchased
DC traction
diesel locomotives, and was one of the last North American AC-traction hold-outs aside from
Canadian National Railway. In September 2008, however, NS placed its first order for new AC traction locomotives: 23
GE ES44ACs, numbered 8000-8023. In the years since, NS has purchased several more ES44ACs as well as over 150
EMD SD70ACes.
Beginning in 2012, Norfolk Southern began to take delivery of several types of older
EMD locomotives from various railroads and leasing companies, including 9 ex-BNSF "tri-clops"
SD60Ms, 6 ex-ATSF (BNSF)
SD75Ms, the remaining 12 ex-
Conrail SD80MACs owned by
CSX, a majority of
Union Pacific's
SD9043MACs, and more than 130 SD40-2's from First Union Rail, CIT Group, and Helm Leasing.
Norfolk Southern is the only railroad ever to own SD80MACs and SD90MACs simultaneously. Norfolk Southern owned all of the SD80MACs and 110 of the SD90MACs from Union Pacific. Norfolk Southern also acquired 10 SD90MACs from CIT Group in exchange for 15 MP15DCs. The SD90MACs have been rebuilt into
SD70ACUs. By late 2021, the SD80MACs were been sold (most scrapped), and most of the EMD SD70ACus were sold.
Norfolk Southern has a very large program for re-cabbing locomotives. NS has its own designed "Admiral Cab," which they use on their 'standard cab' rebuilds. NS has rebuilt
GP38-2s,
SD40-2s, ECO units, and many more with the Admiral Cab.
In 2015, Norfolk Southern began a program to convert their reliable, but aging
GE Dash 8-40C
The GE C40-8 is a 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by GE Transportation Systems between 1987 and 1992. It is part of the GE Dash 8 Series of freight locomotives, and its wheel arrangement is of a C-C type.
This locomotive model is often r ...
s into
Dash 8.5-40CW units (NS calls them D8.5-40CW). The few units that were upgraded included new cabs, rebuilt and modified engine, electrical upgrades and more. Due to repeated failures, the program was deemed unsuccessful in 2016, and ET44AC units were ordered to replace the un-rebuildable 8-40Cs. The Dash 8.5s have since been sold.
In 2016, NS bought 46 GE
ET44AC Locomotives, also known as Tier 4 Locomotives, numbered 3600-3646. These are the first Tier 4 road engines purchased, and not immediately stored, by NS. Norfolk Southern purchased 34 more units, delivered in 2017. The ET44ACs were purchased as the replacement for the
Dash 8-40C units, all of which were sold shortly after the ET44ACs entered service. They were the first order of new locomotives from NS since late 2014, when
EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
Tier 4 requirements were put in place.
In 2016, Norfolk Southern began a rebuild program on the
Dash 9-40C units. The rebuild involved overhaul of the engine, emissions upgrades, a new cab (featuring GE Trip Optimizer, PTC, and NS Cab Signals / Locomotive Speed Limiter), new electronics, DPU and ECP capabilities, increased weight, and an electric parking brake. Norfolk Southern has rebuilt all the C40-9 "Top Hats" and some of the
Dash 9-44CWs. The new locomotives are being classified as
GE AC44C6M.
Heritage fleet
In the first half of 2012, Norfolk Southern painted 10 EMD SD70ACes and 10 GE ES44ACs as special heritage units, each bearing the paint schemes and markings of the various predecessor railroads of Norfolk Southern and Conrail. On July 1–3, 2012, all 20 units gathered together at the
North Carolina Transportation Museum
The North Carolina Transportation Museum is a museum in Spencer, North Carolina. It is a collection of automobiles, aircraft, and railway vehicles. The museum is located at the former Southern Railway's 1896-era Spencer Shops and devotes much o ...
at
Spencer, North Carolina, as the highlight of NS's 30th-anniversary celebration. The locomotives have since traveled throughout the United States on various Class I railroads as run-through pool power, attracting much attention from railfans.
The Heritage Units include:
Steam excursion programs
After the 1982 merger, NS President Robert Claytor retained the Southern Railway's steam excursion program begun in the 1960s by his brother, SOU president
W. Graham Claytor
William Graham Claytor (December 20, 1886 – February 28, 1971), of Roanoke, Virginia, was the vice president of Appalachian Power Company, an electric utility service.
He is best remembered for supervising the construction of the Claytor Dam ...
. NS initially used former
Chesapeake and Ohio 2716
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway No. 2716 is a class "K-4" 2-8-4 "Kanawha" (Berkshire) type steam locomotive built in 1943 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O). While most railroads referred to these ...
, which had been modified and decorated as a Southern locomotive for the steam program; however the engine developed with mechanical problems in her fire box after less than a year in excursion service and was replaced by
Nickel Plate 765
Nickel Plate Road 765 is a class "S-2" 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, commonly referred to as the " Nickel Plate Road".
No. 765 continues to operate in mainline excursion service and ...
.
Merging with the
Norfolk & Western Railway prompted the steam program to acquire and overhaul
Norfolk & Western 611 in 1982, and
Norfolk & Western 1218
Norfolk and Western 1218 is a preserved four-cylinder simple articulated 2-6-6-4 steam locomotive, built in June 1943 by the Norfolk and Western's (N&W) East End Shops in Roanoke, Virginia as part of the N&W's class "A" fleet of fast freight loco ...
in 1987.
These two locomotives and 765 joined the steam program veterans –
Southern Railway 4501, Savannah and Atlanta Railway 750,
Nickel Plate 587,
Louisville & Nashville 152,
Atlanta and West Point 290,
Tennessee Valley Railroad 610
Tennessee Valley Railroad No. 610 is a coal-burning S160 Class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation for the U.S. Army in March 1952. It is one of the last steam locomotives built for servi ...
, and
Frisco 1522 – for an extensive series of excursions throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Norfolk Southern's management under David R. Goode was forced to end the program in late 1994 citing safety concerns, rising insurance costs, the expense of maintaining the steam locomotives, and decreasing rail network availability due to a surge in freight traffic. On December 3, 1994, the 611 became the last steam locomotive running on Norfolk Southern's trackage, running her last steam-powered excursion round-trip between
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
, and
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, it also extends into Marion County, Tennessee, Marion County on its west ...
. After that, the 611 went on a three-day ferry move from Birmingham to
Roanoke, Virginia.
[.] She stopped at
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...
, for the night on December 5 and next to
Salisbury, NC
Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Loc ...
the next day on December 6.
Finally, the 611 departed Salisbury and continued her final trip.
When the locomotive arrived back in Roanoke, 611 had its fire put out for the last time.
In June 2010, Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman announced that NS would run excursions with Southern Railway 4501,
Southern Railway 630, and
U.S. Army 610 with their new
21st Century Steam program.
The program began in 2011 with excursions in the south powered by 630 and in the north by 765. On February 22, 2013, the
Virginia Museum of Transportation (611's owner) formed a campaign called "Fire Up 611!" to conduct a feasibility study with the goal of returning the 611 to active service and have it join the program. The locomotive was removed from her static display from the Virginia Museum of Transportation to the
North Carolina Transportation Museum
The North Carolina Transportation Museum is a museum in Spencer, North Carolina. It is a collection of automobiles, aircraft, and railway vehicles. The museum is located at the former Southern Railway's 1896-era Spencer Shops and devotes much o ...
in 2014 to be overhauled. That same year, TVRM completed their restoration of
Southern Railway 4501 – joining the 21st Century Steam program for the 2015 season and pulling excursions in Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia. The restoration of 611 was completed in May 2015 and celebrated with a run to
Roanoke, Virginia, where it was originally built. The 611 pulled several excursions in Virginia and was featured in special events at the North Carolina Transportation Museum. In December 2015, Norfolk Southern had concluded their program; however, the 611 continued to run various excursions, hosted by the Virginia Museum of Transportation and the North Carolina Transportation Museum instead of Norfolk Southern across the NS system in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
and
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...
. Norfolk Southern currently limits the steam locomotives up to on their system.
Rolling stock
Reporting marks
Although it has been widely known as simply "Norfolk Southern" since 1982, the corporate structure and reporting marks are more complicated. In 1999, when most of Conrail's former PRR trackage was sold to the Norfolk Southern Railway, the Pennsylvania Railway Lines was created and PRR reporting marks used on the former Conrail motive power and rolling stock.
Television commercials
On September 3, 2007, NS launched a television ad featuring a family of gas cans trekking to meet a NS train, meant to underscore the railroad's role in reducing highway congestion. Shot in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, it features the song "You Don't Need Me" written and performed for NS by
Ravi Krishnaswami Ravi may refer to:
People
* Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director
* Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist
* Ravi (music director) (1926†...
of New York and
Steve Kolander
Steve Kolander (born November 15, 1961) is an American country music artist. He debuted in 1994 with the release of his self-titled album on River North Records. It produced two singles on the Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart pu ...
of Atlanta. On
National Train Day in May 2013, NS premiered a new ad series, using music adapted from "
Conjunction Junction
''Schoolhouse Rock!'' is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films (and later, videos) that aired during the Saturday morning children's programming block on the U.S. television network ABC. The theme ...
" from
ABC's School House Rock
''Schoolhouse Rock!'' is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films (and later, videos) that aired during the Saturday morning children's programming block on the U.S. television network ABC. The theme ...
series, and showing an overhead view of Inman Rail Yard in Atlanta.
Awards and recognition
From 1989 to 2012, NS won the Gold (first-place)
E.H. Harriman Award in Group A (line-haul railroads whose employees worked 15 million employee-hours or more) every single year.
The award, which recognized the railroads with the lowest casualty rates per 200,000 employee-hours, was discontinued in 2012.
In January 2011, NS Chairman and CEO Wick Moorman was named Railroader of the Year by ''
Railway Age'' magazine.
George Vandergriff, along with Wick Moorman, were two of the honorary inductees of the inaugural NS Hall of Fame class.
See also
*
History of railroads in Michigan
*
Southern Railway's Spencer Shops
Southern Railway's Spencer Shops was once a major steam locomotive repair facility between Atlanta and Washington, D.C. in Spencer, North Carolina. (now a museum in Salisbury, North Carolina)
*
List of Norfolk Southern predecessor railroads
*
Thoroughbred Shortline Program
Improvement projects
*
Crescent Corridor - Louisiana to New Jersey
*
Heartland Corridor - Midwest to Norfolk
References
Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
*
Norfolk Southern system map
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