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 "Precision Transportation"; it had a variety of nicknames, including "King Coal" and "British Railway of America". In 1986, N&W merged with Southern Railway to form today’s
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 ...
.
The N&W was famous for manufacturing its own
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s, which were built at the
Roanoke Shops
250px, Norfolk Southern Roanoke Shops in 2004.
The Roanoke Shops (also called the East End Shops) is a Norfolk Southern workshop and maintenance facility in Roanoke, Virginia. Between 1884 and 1953, the shops produced 447 steam locomotives, all f ...
, as well as its own
hopper cars. After 1960, N&W was the last major Class I railroad using steam locomotives; the last remaining Y class 2-8-8-2s would eventually be retired between 1964 and 1965.
In December 1959, the N&W merged with the
Virginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads.
History
...
(reporting mark VGN), a longtime rival in the Pocahontas coal region. By 1970, other mergers with the
Nickel Plate Road
The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of New York (state), Ne ...
and
Wabash formed a system that operated of road on of track from North Carolina to New York and from Virginia to Iowa.
In 1980, the N&W merged its business operation with those of the
Southern Railway, another profitable carrier, to create the
Norfolk Southern Corporation 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 ...
. The N&W and the Southern Railway continued as separate railroads operating under the single holding company.
In 1982, the Southern Railway was renamed Norfolk Southern Railway and the holding company transferred the Norfolk & Western Railway to the control of the newly renamed company.
History
Predecessors
City Point, Southside and Virginia and Tennessee railroads
The N&W's earliest predecessor was the
City Point Railroad (CPRR), a
short-line railroad
:''Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the American version of the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.''
A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that opera ...
formed in 1838 to extend from
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 ...
(now part of the independent city of
Hopewell, Virginia), a port on the tidal
James River
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
, to
Petersburg, Virginia, on the
fall line
A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is typically prominent where rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the coa ...
of the shallower
Appomattox River
The Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in central and eastern Virginia in the United ...
. In 1854, CPRR became part of the
South Side Railroad, which connected Petersburg with
Lynchburg, where it
interchanged through traffic with the
Virginia and Tennessee Railroad (V&T) and the
James River and Kanawha Canal.
Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad
William Mahone (1826–95), an 1847 engineering graduate of the
Virginia Military Institute
la, Consilio et Animis (on seal)
, mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal)
, established =
, type = Public senior military college
, accreditation = SACS
, endowment = $696.8 mill ...
(VMI), was employed by
Francis Mallory
Francis Mallory (December 12, 1807 – March 26, 1860) was an American naval officer, physician, and railroad executive, who as a Whig politician served two terms in the United States House of Representatives representing Virginia's 1st co ...
to build the
Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad (N&P) and eventually became its president in the pre-Civil War era. Construction of N&P began in 1853. Mahone's innovative
corduroy roadbed through the
Great Dismal Swamp near
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 ...
, employed a log foundation laid at right angles beneath the surface of the swamp. It is still in use 150 years later and it withstands immense tonnages of coal traffic.
Mahone married
Otelia Butler, from
Smithfield in
Isle of Wight County, Virginia
Isle of Wight County is a county located in the Hampton Roads region of the U.S. state of Virginia. It was named after the Isle of Wight, England, south of the Solent, from where many of its early colonists had come. As of the 2020 census, th ...
, a daughter of
Robert Butler (1784–1853), a Virginia state treasurer. Popular legend has it that Otelia and William Mahone traveled along the newly completed N&P naming stations along the
tangent
In geometry, the tangent line (or simply tangent) to a plane curve at a given point is the straight line that "just touches" the curve at that point. Leibniz defined it as the line through a pair of infinitely close points on the curve. More ...
between
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
and
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 ...
from ''Ivanhoe'', a book she was reading by
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
. From Scott's historical Scottish novels, Otelia chose the place names of
Windsor,
Waverly and
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
. She tapped the Scottish Clan "McIvor" for the name of
Ivor, a small
Southampton County
Southampton County is a county located on the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. North Carolina is to the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,996. Its county seat is Courtland.
History
In the early 17th centur ...
town. When they could not agree on a name for a station just west of the
Sussex County line in
Prince George, it is said that the young couple invented a new word in honor of their "dispute", which is how the tiny community of
Disputanta was named. The N&P was completed in 1858.
Civil War
Of small stature, dynamic "Little Billy" Mahone became a major general in the
Confederate Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
during 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 states th ...
. He was widely regarded as the hero of the
Battle of the Crater
The Battle of the Crater was a battle of the American Civil War, part of the siege of Petersburg. It took place on Saturday, July 30, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the Union Arm ...
during the
Siege of Petersburg in 1864–65. Otelia Mahone served as a
nurse
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...
in the Confederate capital of
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
.
The N&P was severed by the war. The portion east of the
Blackwater River at
Zuni, Virginia
Zuni () is an unincorporated community in Isle of Wight County in the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia in the United States.
Zuni is home to a general store, a gas station, a small engine repair shop and two churches and is served by ...
, was held by the Union for most of the war. The eastern portion of the City Point Railroad played a crucial role for Union General
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
during the Siege of Petersburg, and was operated by the
United States Military Railroad. The South Side Railroad was also heavily damaged.
Early years
Beginning as the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad
William and Otelia Mahone were illustrious characters in post-bellum Virginia. Mahone got quickly to work restoring "his" N&P, and resumed his dream of linking the three trunk lines across the southern tier of Virginia to reach points to the west. He became president of all three, and drove the 1870 merger of N&P,
South Side Railroad and the
Virginia and Tennessee Railroad to form the
Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O). The AM&O extended from Norfolk to
Bristol, Virginia
Bristol is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State S ...
. The Mahones moved to the headquarters city of
Lynchburg, the midpoint of the AM&O. The acronym AM&O was said to stand for "All Mine and Otelia's."
The AM&O operated profitably in the early 1870s but like many railroads encountered financial problems during the
Panic of 1873. A fourth road of the AM&O family was planned to extend west through the
Cumberland Gap to Kentucky, but was never built. Mahone retained control of AM&O for several more years before his relationship with English and Scottish bondholders deteriorated in 1876 and receivers were appointed to oversee his work. After several years of operating under receiverships, Mahone's role as a railroad builder ended in 1881 when northern financial interests took control.
At the foreclosure auction, the AM&O was purchased by
E.W. Clark & Co., a private banking firm in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
with ties to the large
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 ...
. The PRR was seeking a southern connection for its
Shenandoah Valley Railroad (SVRR), which was then under construction up the valley from the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
.
Name change to Norfolk and Western
In 1881, the AM&O was reorganized and renamed Norfolk and Western, a name perhaps taken from an 1850s charter application filed by citizens of
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 ...
. George Frederick Tyler became president.
Frederick J. Kimball
Frederick James Kimball (March 6, 1844 – July 27, 1903) was a civil engineer. He was an early president of the Norfolk and Western Railway and helped develop the Pocahontas coalfields in Virginia and West Virginia.
Kimball was born in Ph ...
, a civil engineer and partner in
E.W. Clark & Co., became First Vice President. Henry Fink, whom Mahone had hired in 1855, became Second Vice President and General Superintendent.
Kimball and his board of directors selected Big Lick, a small Virginia village on the
Roanoke River, to be the junction of SVRR and the N&W. Big Lick was later renamed
Roanoke, Virginia. Over time, Roanoke began to grow and in the 1950s, reached a population of over 90,000.
At its founding, the N&W primarily transported agricultural products. Kimball, who had a strong interest in
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
, led the railroad's efforts to open the Pocahontas
coalfields in western
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and southern
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
. In mid-1881, the N&W acquired the franchises to four other lines: the
New River Railroad
The New River Railroad was founded as the New River Mining and Railroad Company on May 24, 1874, at the Montgomery White Sulphur Springs, in Virginia. Construction of the railroad began on September 16 at the New River Depot on the Atlantic, Miss ...
, Mining and Manufacturing Company, the Bluestone Railroad, and the East River Railroad. Consolidated into the New River Railroad Company, with Kimball as president, these railroads became the basis for N&W's New River Division, which was soon built from
New Kanawha (near East Radford) up the west bank of the
New River through
Pulaski County and into
Giles County to the mouth of the East River near
Glen Lyn, Virginia
Glen Lyn is a town in Giles County, Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the East and New rivers. The population was 115 at the 2010 census, down from 151 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Blacksburg– Christiansburg Metropoli ...
. From there, the new line ran up the East River, crossing the Virginia-West Virginia border several times to reach the coalfields to the west near the
Great Flat Top Mountain
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
. Coal transported to Norfolk soon became NW's primary commodity, and led to great wealth and profitability.
Kimball served as N&W president from 1883 to 1895. Under his leadership, the N&W continued expansion westward with its lines through the wilderness of
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
with the Ohio Extension, eventually extending north across the
Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
to
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
by the Scioto Valley Railroad. Acquisition of other lines, including the
Cincinnati, Portsmouth and Virginia Railroad (CP&V) (which it had long supported and leased) extended the N&W system west along the Ohio River to
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, south from Lynchburg to
Durham, North Carolina
Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
, and south from Roanoke to
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...
. By the time Kimball died in 1903, the railroad had attained the basic structure it would use for more than 60 years.
In 1890 the N&W bought out the
Shenandoah Valley Railroad. This gave the railroad a reach north of the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
and the Virginia-Maryland border, and a line with territory reaching as far north as
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 Pe ...
. This would become referred to as the ''Shenandoah Valley Division.''
Coal
In 1885, several small mining companies representing about of
bituminous coal
Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It ...
reserves grouped together to form the coalfields' largest landowner, the Philadelphia-based Flat-Top Coal Land Association.The N&W bought the association and reorganized it as the Pocahontas Coal and Coke Company (PCCC). The PCCC was later renamed the Pocahontas Land Corporation (PLC) and is now a subsidiary of NS.
As the availability and fame of high-quality Pocahontas
bituminous coal
Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It ...
increased, economic forces took over. Coal operators and their employees settled dozens of towns in southern
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, and in the next few years, as coal demand swelled, some of them amassed fortunes. The countryside was soon sprinkled with tipples, coke ovens, houses for workers, company stores and churches. In the four decades before the
Crash of 1929 and subsequent
Depression, these coal towns flourished. One example was the small community of
Bramwell, West Virginia
Bramwell is a town in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States, along the Bluestone River. The population was 277 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV- VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,578.
History
In the 18 ...
, which in its heyday boasted the highest per capita concentration of millionaires in the country.
In 1886, the N&W tracks were extended directly to
coal pier A coal pier is a transloading facility designed for the transfer of coal between rail and ship.
The typical facility for loading ships consists of a holding area and a system of conveyors for transferring the coal to dockside and loading it into t ...
s at
Lambert's Point
Lamberts Point is a point of land on the east shore of the Elizabeth River near the downtown area of the independent city of Norfolk in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, United States. It includes a large coal exporting facilit ...
, which was located in
Norfolk County just north of the City of Norfolk on the
Elizabeth River, where one of the busiest
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
export facilities in the world was built to reach
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
shipping. A residential section was also developed to house the families of the workers. Many early residents of Lambert's Point were involved in the coal industry.
Roanoke Shops
The company was famous for building its own
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s, a practice rare outside Britain (where most railways either built their own locomotives or had outside contractors build locomotives to their designs). The locomotives were built at the
Roanoke Shops
250px, Norfolk Southern Roanoke Shops in 2004.
The Roanoke Shops (also called the East End Shops) is a Norfolk Southern workshop and maintenance facility in Roanoke, Virginia. Between 1884 and 1953, the shops produced 447 steam locomotives, all f ...
at Roanoke. The Shops employed thousands of craftsmen, who refined their products over the years. The A, J, and Y6 locomotives, designed, built and maintained by NW personnel, brought the company industry-wide fame for its excellence in steam power. The N&W's commitment to steam power was due in part to its investment in the manufacturing capacity and
human resources
Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include m ...
to build and operate steam locomotives, and partially due to the major commodity it hauled, coal. During the 1950s, N&W rebuilt its W Class 2-8-0 Consolidations into Shop Co W6 0-8-0Ts. In 1960, the N&W became the last major railroad in the United States to abandon steam locomotives for
diesel-electric motive power.
Today, the Roanoke Shops continued to build and repair rolling stock until 2020 when NS closed them.
Later years
Roanoke & Southern
The Roanoke & Southern Railway Company was organized in 1887, succeeding separate companies called Roanoke & Southern in North Carolina and Virginia. Norfolk and Western leased the Roanoke & Southern (called the Norfolk, Roanoke & Southern Rail Road by 1896) starting in 1892 but it became part of Norfolk and Western in 1911.
World Wars, Great Depression, and efficiencies
The N&W operated profitably through
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and paid regular dividends throughout the Depression. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the N&W was jointly operated with VGN under the
USRA's wartime takeover of the Pocahontas Roads. The operating efficiencies were significant, and after the war, when the railroads were returned to their respective owners and competitive status, the N&W never lost sight of the VGN and its low-gradient routing through Virginia. N&W meanwhile during World War 2 used their J's, K1's, A Class, and S1 Switchers to handle the troop trains from Ohio to Norfolk, a point of embarkation. Other three were New York, San Francisco, and San Diego. However, the US
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...
(ICC) turned down attempts at combining the roads until 1959, when a proposed N&W-VGN merger was finally approved.
The N&W also operated safely in this time, being the recipient of the Gold
E. H. Harriman Award
The E.H. Harriman Award was an annual award presented to American railroad companies in recognition for outstanding safety achievements.
History
The award was founded in 1913 by Mary Averell Harriman, wife of the late Edward H. Harriman. Afte ...
for 1938. In a promotional booklet published in 1939, the N&W wrote "For the second time in 12 years, the American Museum of Safety has awarded the Harriman Memorial Gold Medal to the Norfolk & Western Railway for the outstanding safety record during 1938 among class I railroads of the United States." It is further noted that the railway carried one million passengers more than without incident in the period from 1924 to 1938.
At the end of 1925, the N&W operated of route on track; at the end of 1956 NW operated of route on of track.
Acquiring the Virginian Railway
VGN was conceived and built by
William Nelson Page
William Nelson Page (January 6, 1854 – March 7, 1932) was an American civil engineer and industrialist. He was active in the Virginias following the U.S. Civil War. Page was widely known as a metallurgical expert by other industry leaders a ...
and
Henry Huttleston Rogers
Henry Huttleston Rogers (January 29, 1840 – May 19, 1909) was an American industrialist and financier. He made his fortune in the oil refining business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil. He also played a major role in numerous corporations a ...
. Page had helped engineer and build the
Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) through the mountains of
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
and Rogers had already become a millionaire and a principal of
Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...
before their partnership was formed early in the 20th century.
Initially, their project was an -long
short line railroad. After failing to establish favorable rates to interchange coal traffic with the big railroads (who shut them out through collusion), the project expanded. Rogers was apparently a
silent partner in the early stages, and the bigger railroads did not take Page seriously. However, the partners planned and then built a "Mountains to Sea" railroad from the coal fields of southern West Virginia to port near
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
at
Sewell's Point
Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to th ...
in the harbor of
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
. They accomplished this right under the noses of the pre-existing and much bigger C&O and N&W railroads and their leaders by forming two small intrastate railroads,
Deepwater Railway, in West Virginia, and
Tidewater Railway The Tidewater Railway was formed in 1904 as an intrastate railroad in Virginia, in the United States, by William N. Page, a civil engineer and entrepreneur, and his silent partner, millionaire industrialist Henry Huttleston Rogers of Standard Oil f ...
in Virginia. Once right-of-way and land acquisitions had been secured, the two small railroads were merged in 1907 to form the Virginian Railway.
Engineered by Page and financed almost entirely from Rogers' personal resources, VGN lines were laid on the principle that picking the best route and buying the best equipment would save operating expenses.
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
spoke at VGN's dedication in Norfolk, Virginia, only 6 weeks before Rogers died in May 1909 after his only inspection trip on the newly completed railroad. That June,
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
made a whistle-stop speaking tour on VGN, traveling in Rogers' private car,
Dixie
Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...
, and later revealing that Rogers had been instrumental in funding many small country schools and institutions of higher education in the South for the betterment of Black communities.
VGN operated over more modern alignments than the C&O, and the N&W, and its track was built to the highest standards. It provided major competition for coal traffic to C&O and the N&W. The VGN followed Rogers' philosophy throughout its profitable history, earning the nickname "Richest Little Railroad in the World." It operated some of the largest and most powerful steam, electric, and diesel locomotives.
The VGN
electrified of its route between 1922 and 1926 at a cost of $15 million, and had its own power plant at
Narrows, Virginia
Narrows, named for the narrowing of the New River (Kanawha River), New River that flows through the town, is a town in Giles County, Virginia, Giles County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,029 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 ce ...
. It shared electrical resources with N&W from 1925 to 1950, when the N&W discontinued its
own, shorter, electrified section through the Elkhorn Tunnel and
Great Flat Top Mountain
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
region. The VGN track was de-electrified in 1962, after the N&W-VGN merger.
Merger era: 1960–1982
In 1955, the N&W operated in North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio. In 1959, the
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...
(ICC) approved VGN's merger into the N&W.
In 1964, the former
Wabash;
Nickel Plate
The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of New York, Pennsylva ...
;
Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway
The Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was a railroad in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wheeling, West Virginia, areas. Originally built as the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, a Pittsburgh extension of George J. Gould's Wabash Railroad, ...
; and
Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad
The Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad was a Class I railroad which operated in the state of Ohio. The company was founded in 1907 and opened its mainline between Mogadore and Akron, Ohio in 1912. Later reclassified as a short-line railroad, th ...
were brought into the system in one of the most complex mergers of the era. This consolidation, plus the 1976 addition of a more direct route to
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, made N&W an important Midwestern railroad that provided direct single-line service between the Atlantic Ocean and the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
and
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
.
In the late 1960s, the N&W acquired Dereco, 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 ...
that owned the
Delaware & Hudson
The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operates D& ...
(D&H) and
Erie Lackawanna (EL) railroads. Dereco's troubled railroads were not merged into the N&W: EL eventually joined
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
and D&H was sold to
Guilford Transportation Industries; it is now part of Canadian Pacific.
In 1970, the N&W operated in North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa.
On September 1, 1981, the N&W acquired
Illinois Terminal Railroad. The N&W was also a major investor in
Piedmont Airlines. Sometime in the 1980s the song "Cargo Movin' People" was written and recorded, however it never was officially released to the public. It eventually made its way onto a DVD program titled Rails to Roanoke by Mark I Video in 1987.
By 1996, N&W ran in most of the Midwest and Eastern states. Many N&W lines by 1998 were abandoned and some of them were never used again. However, the Norfolk to Bluefield line still exists but traffic has slowed because of its 12-mile 1.2% grade.
=Autoracks
=
In the 1950s,
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN i ...
(CN) introduced a group of innovative bi-level
autorack railcars. These autoracks had end doors and were very large by the standards of the time; at long, each autorack could carry 8 completed automobiles. These autoracks were a big success and helped lead to the development of today's fully enclosed autoracks. Tri-level autoracks were developed in the 1970s.
During the 1960s, autoracks took over rail transportation of newly completed automobiles in North America. They carried more cars in the same space and were easier to load and unload than the
boxcar
A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...
s formerly used. Ever-larger auto carriers and specialized terminals were developed by NW and other railroads.
The railroads were able to provide lower costs and greater protection from in-transit damage, such as that which may occur due to vandalism or weather and traffic conditions on unenclosed truck trailers. Using the autoracks, the railroads became the primary long-distance transporter of completed automobiles, one of few commodities where the industry has been able to overcome trucking in competition.
Becoming part of the Norfolk Southern Corporation
In 1980, the profitable N&W teamed up with the
Southern Railway, another profitable company, to form the
Norfolk Southern Corporation and it paved the way for today's
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 ...
(formerly the Southern Railway) and compete more effectively with
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
, itself a combination of smaller railroads in the eastern half of the United States.
Today, former N&W trackage remains a vital portion of the Norfolk Southern Railway, a
Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
company. The headquarters of the Norfolk Southern Railway and the parent Norfolk Southern Corporation are near the coal piers at
Lambert's Point
Lamberts Point is a point of land on the east shore of the Elizabeth River near the downtown area of the independent city of Norfolk in the South Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia, United States. It includes a large coal exporting facilit ...
.
Passenger operations
While the ''
Powhatan Arrow
The ''Powhatan Arrow'' was one of the named passenger trains of the Norfolk and Western. Its route ran from Norfolk, Virginia, to Cincinnati, Ohio.
Train 25 left Norfolk at 7:00 am,N&W October 27, 1957 Timetable, p. 14 and made the 565 mile ru ...
'' (all-
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
, Norfolk–Cincinnati/Columbus) was the N&W's flagship passenger train, sporting a regal maroon livery with gold trim and hauled by a J Class 4-8-4 Northern Type steam locomotive, the railroad also operated a number of other passenger trains. These include:
* ''
The Cavalier'' (coaches and
Pullmans,
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
–
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
/Columbus).
* ''
The Pocahontas'' (coaches and Pullmans, Norfolk–Cincinnati/Columbus).
The N&W also participated in five inter-line passenger trains:
* Trains 1 and 2 (
Roanoke–
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland,
United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...
) which continued in a pool arrangement with 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 ...
from Hagerstown to Harrisburg to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
via North Philadelphia. This allowed for a trip from western Virginia to New York, bypassing Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. In contrast with other N&W trains from south of Roanoke which traveled east from Roanoke, this overnight train continued north from Roanoke along the
Shenandoah Valley Route, via Waynesboro, VA. Sleeping car passengers would be able to take the trip continuously, without a change of coach in Harrisburg.
* ''Cannon Ball'' (New York – Norfolk in conjunction with Pennsylvania Railroad,
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad
The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad compan ...
, and the
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...
).
* ''
Birmingham Special
The ''Birmingham Special'' was a passenger train operated by the Southern Railway, Norfolk and Western Railway, and Pennsylvania Railroad in the southeastern United States. The train began service in 1909 and continued, with alterations, after A ...
'' (New York –
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 ...
in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Railroad and
Southern Railway).
* ''
The Pelican'' (New York –
in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Railroad and Southern Railway).
* ''
The Tennessean
''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...
'' (New York –
Memphis in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Railroad and Southern Railway).
The last three were unusual in that the Southern Railway operated the trains, either side of the N&W stretch between Lynchburg and Bristol.
The Norfolk-bound trains arrived at
Norfolk Terminal Station
Norfolk Terminal Station was a railroad union station located in Norfolk, Virginia, which served passenger trains and provided offices for the Norfolk and Western Railway, the original Norfolk Southern Railway (1942–1982), Norfolk Southern Rail ...
, which also served as the N&W company offices.
Steam locomotive types on the Norfolk and Western
*
Class A:
2-6-6-4
In the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotive wheel arrangement, a 2-6-6-4 is a locomotive with a two-wheel leading truck, two sets of six driving wheels, and a four-wheel trailing truck. All 2-6-6-4s are articulated locomotive ...
simple articulated Top Speed: 70 mph
* Class Y1 though
Y6b:
2-8-8-2
A 2-8-8-2, in the Whyte notation for describing steam locomotive wheel arrangements, is an articulated locomotive with a two-wheel leading truck, two sets of eight driving wheels, and a two-wheel trailing truck. The equivalent UIC classification ...
Mallet
A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. The term is descriptive of the overall size and proport ...
Top Speed: 60 mph
*
Class J:
4-8-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type w ...
Top Speed: 110 mph
* Classes
K1 and
K2:
4-8-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This type of steam locomotive is commonly known as t ...
''Mountain'' Top Speed: 80 mph
*
Classes M, M1, and M2:
4-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, usually in a leading truck or bogie, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no traili ...
''Mastodon'' Top Speed: 55 mph
*
Class S1
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...
:
0-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no trailing wheels. Locomotives of this type are also referre ...
switchers Top Speed: 50 mph
*
Class Z1:
2-6-6-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a is a locomotive with one pair of unpowered leading wheels, followed by two sets of three pairs of powered driving wheels and one pair of trailing wheels. ...
Top Speed: 60 mph
*
Class E1:
4-6-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomotiv ...
Top Speed: 65 mph
*
Class E2:
4-6-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomotiv ...
Top Speed: 70 mph
*
Class W:
2-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...
Top Speed: 45 mph
Surviving steam locomotives
The N&W had run
excursion trains since its first days of passenger traffic, and deliberately powered them with steam engines after 1960, when most other trains had been switched to diesels. The excursion trains were powered by several of the N&W's famous steam locomotives, including
J class #611 and
A class #1218. The practice continued after the 1982 merger, under the first president of the merged Norfolk Southern,
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 ...
, but was finally halted in 1994.
Today, #1218 is on static display at the
Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia; locomotive #611 has been restored to working order for the VMT by 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 ...
;
N&W class Y6a #2156 has been brought to Roanoke from the
National Museum of Transportation in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
; and
Class M #475 continues to operate at the
Strasburg Railroad
The Strasburg Rail Road is a heritage railroad and the oldest continuously operating standard-gauge railroad in the western hemisphere, as well as the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chartered in 1832, the Strasburg Rai ...
in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, where 611 will participate in Fall 2019 for the "Reunion of Steam" event.
N&W
Class M #433 survives at the trailhead of the Virginia Creeper in
Abingdon, Virginia. The Virginia Creeper runs on the old Right of Way of the Norfolk and Western Abingdon
branch line.
N&W
Class E #578 survives at the
Ohio Railway museum in
Worthington, Ohio
Worthington is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, and is a northern suburb of Columbus. The population in the 2020 Census was 14,786. The city was founded in 1803 by the Scioto Company led by James Kilbourne, who was later elected to ...
.
Four other engines survive known as the Lost Engines of Roanoke; a group of engines that survived in a Roanoke Scrapyard from the late 1950s until all were retrieved in 2009. These four engines included a Class W2 2-8-0 #917, Class M2 #1118 and #1134, and Class M2c #1151. #917 is displayed without a tender in Bellville, Ohio as a display for a restaurant. M2 #1118 is owned by the Roanoke Chapter Historical Society without a tender. M2 #1134 is displayed in Portsmouth VA at the Railroad Museum of Virginia with a tender. M2c #1151 is owned by the Virginia Museum of Transportation, and currently sits unrestored with a tender from an A class engine.
N&W Class Y3a #2050 is also preserved at the
Illinois Railway Museum
The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, northwest of downtown Chicago.
Overview
Histo ...
in
Union, Illinois.
Leaders of the Norfolk and Western
Thousands of men and women worked for the AM&O and NW after the Civil War. Among the leaders were:
*
William Mahone
*
George F. Tyler
*
Henry Fink
Henry Fink was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Biography
Fink was born on September 7, 1840 in Rhenish Bavaria. In 1852, he moved with his parents to Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. During the American Civil War, Fink served with the 26th ...
*
Frederick J. Kimball
Frederick James Kimball (March 6, 1844 – July 27, 1903) was a civil engineer. He was an early president of the Norfolk and Western Railway and helped develop the Pocahontas coalfields in Virginia and West Virginia.
Kimball was born in Ph ...
*
Lucius E. Johnson
Lucius E. Johnson (April 13, 1846 – February 9, 1921) was a president of the Norfolk and Western Railway from September 30, 1903, until the mid teens, when he was named chairman of the board, a position he held until his retirement on Janua ...
*
Nicholas D. Maher
*
William J. Jenks
*
Arthur C. Needles
Arthur Chase Needles (January 10, 1867, in Baltimore, Maryland – October 26, 1936, in Roanoke, Virginia) was the president of the Norfolk and Western Railroad. He was president of the railroad that had 20,000 employees across the nation, and guid ...
*
Robert Hall Smith Robert Hall Smith (March 10, 1888 – June 18, 1960), a native of Baltimore, Maryland, served as President of the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) from 1946 to 1958. He was first employed on the N&W during the summer of 1910 as an axeman and chainm ...
*
Stuart T. Saunders
Stuart Thomas Saunders, Sr. (July 16, 1909 – February 7, 1987) was an American railroad executive best known for his tenure with Penn Central.
Biography
Saunders was born in McDowell, West Virginia, and reared near Bedford, Virginia. He graduat ...
*
Herman H. Pevler
*
John P. Fishwick
John Palmer Fishwick (September 29, 1916 – August 9, 2010) was an American railroad executive and chief executive of Norfolk and Western Railway.
Born in Roanoke, Virginia, John was a graduate of Jefferson High School in downtown. He was o ...
*
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 ...
*
Richard F. Dunlap
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...
Heritage unit
As a part of Norfolk Southern's 30th anniversary, the company painted 20 new locomotives into predecessor schemes. NS #8103, a
GE ES44AC
The Evolution Series is a line of diesel locomotives built by GE Transportation Systems (now owned by Wabtec), initially designed to meet the U.S. EPA's Tier 2 locomotive emissions standards that took effect in 2005. The first pre-production u ...
, was painted into the Norfolk and Western's blue scheme. NS also has SD40 #1580, of N&W heritage, stored at
Altoona Works
Altoona Works (also known as Altoona Terminal) is a large railroad industrial complex in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was built between 1850 and 1925 by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), to supply the railroad with locomotives, railroad cars and relat ...
, awaiting restoration to its original N&W colors. However, as of 2021, there is still no information on where #1580 will go when it will be donated.
See also
*
Norfolk and Western Railway Company Historic District
*
Norfolk and Western Railway Freight Station
*
List of Norfolk and Western Railway locomotives
This is a list of locomotives that have worked for the Norfolk and Western Railway.
Steam locomotives
Electric locomotives
Diesel locomotives Diesel locomotives acquired prior to 1964 mergers (all retired during mid 70s to mid 80s)
Diesel lo ...
*
Norfolk and Western 611
Norfolk and Western 611, also known as the "Spirit of Roanoke" and the "Queen of Steam", is a Norfolk and Western (N&W) class J 4-8-4 "Northern" streamlined steam locomotive built in May 1950 by the N&W's East End Shops in Roanoke, Virginia. It w ...
- Class J 4-8-4
*
Norfolk & Western 475 – Class M 4-8-0
*
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 ...
– Class A 2-6-6-4
*
Norfolk & Western 2156
Norfolk & Western 2156 is a four-cylinder compound articulated class "Y6a" "Mallet" type steam locomotive with a 2-8-8-2 (Whyte notation) wheel arrangement. The Norfolk & Western Railway built it in 1942 at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia ...
– Class Y6a 2-8-8-2
*
Dinwiddie County Pullman Car
''Dinwiddie County'' Pullman Car is a historic Pullman car located near Midlothian, Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was built in 1926 as the ''Mt. Angeles'' by the Pullman Company; one of thirty cars on Lot 4998, all to Plan 3521A.Madden, item ...
References
Notes
N&W System Map 1965
Further reading
*Blake, Nelson Morehouse, Phd. (1935) ''William Mahone of Virginia; Soldier and Political Insurgent'', Garrett and Massie Publishers; Richmond, VA
*Dixon, Thomas W, Jr., (1994) ''Appalachian Coal Mines & Railroads''. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc.
*Dow, Andrew (1999) ''Norfolk and Western Coal Cars: From 1881 to 1998''. Motorbooks Intl.
*Ferrell, Mallory Hope, (2007) ''Norfolk & Western: Steam's Last Stand''. Hundman Publishing
*
*Huddleston, Eugene L, Ph.D. (2002) ''Appalachian Conquest'', Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc.
*Lambie, Joseph T., (1954) ''From Mine to Market: The History of Coal Transportation on the Norfolk and Western Railway'' New York: New York University Press
*Lewis, Lloyd D., (1992) ''The Virginian Era''. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc.
*Lewis, Lloyd D., (1994) ''Norfolk & Western and Virginian Railways in Color by H. Reid''. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc.
*King, Ed, (1997) ''Norfolk & Western in the Appalachians: From the Blue Ridge to the Big Sandy''. Kalmbach Publishing Company
*Middleton, William D., (1974) (1st ed.). ''When The Steam Railroads Electrified'' Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Co.
*Prince, Richard E., (1980) ''Norfolk & Western Railway, Pocahontas Coal Carrier'', R.E. Prince; Millard, NE
*Reid, H. (1961)., ''The Virginian Railway'' (1st ed.). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Co.
*Reisweber, Kurt, (1995) ''Virginian Rails 1953–1993'' (1st ed.) Old Line Graphics.
*Striplin, E. F. Pat., (1981) ''The Norfolk & Western: a history'' Roanoke, Va. : Norfolk and Western Railway Co.
*Traser, Donald R., (1998) ''Virginia Railway Depots''. Old Dominion Chapter, National Railway Historical Society.
*Wiley, Aubrey and Wallace, Conley (1985). ''The Virginian Railway Handbook''. Lynchburg, Virginia: W-W Publications.
*Wardeb, William E., (1996) ''Norfolk & Western Railway's Magnificent Mallets: The Y Class 2-8-8-2s ''. Motorbooks International
*Cuthriell, N.L. (1956) ''Coal On The Move Via The Virginian Railway'', reprinted with permission of Norfolk Southern Corporation in 1995 by Norfolk & Western Historical Society, Inc.
*Warden, William and Miller, Kenneth L., (2000) ''Norfolk & Western Passenger Service: 1946-1971''. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc.
External links
Norfolk & Western Historical SocietyNorfolk and Western 1966 timetable
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norfolk Western Railway
Predecessors of the Norfolk Southern Railway
Former Class I railroads in the United States
Defunct Illinois railroads
Defunct Indiana railroads
Defunct Iowa railroads
Defunct Kentucky railroads
Defunct Maryland railroads
Defunct Michigan railroads
Defunct Missouri railroads
Defunct New York (state) railroads
Defunct North Carolina railroads
Defunct Ohio railroads
Defunct Pennsylvania railroads
Defunct Virginia railroads
Defunct West Virginia railroads
Railroads in the Chicago metropolitan area
Railway companies established in 1896
Railway companies disestablished in 1998
Defunct Ontario railways
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American companies established in 1896
American companies disestablished in 1998