Norfolk Southern Railway


Book Description

With a quarter of a century behind it, Norfolk Southern is one of the oldest Class 1 railroads operating in North America. This illustrated history tells how Norfolk Southern came to be what it is today, from the merger of two of American railroadings most legendary roads-- Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western--through its rise to the heights of the worlds leading transportation companies. After a concise history of the roads that became Norfolk Southern, author Richard Borkowski explores the railroads corporate history and operating structure and details the specific operations that go into the lines customer-oriented approach, including its vast intermodal network. Along with each of Norfolk Southerns 11 operating divisions, this book offers a close look at NS motive power, a wealth of color photographs, and a specially commissioned system map.




Norfolk Southern Railway


Book Description

With a quarter of a century behind it, Norfolk Southern is one of the oldest Class 1 railroads operating in North America. This illustrated history tells how Norfolk Southern came to be what it is today, from the merger of two of American railroadings most legendary roads-- Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western--through its rise to the heights of the worlds leading transportation companies. After a concise history of the roads that became Norfolk Southern, author Richard Borkowski explores the railroads corporate history and operating structure and details the specific operations that go into the lines customer-oriented approach, including its vast intermodal network. Along with each of Norfolk Southerns 11 operating divisions, this book offers a close look at NS motive power, a wealth of color photographs, and a specially commissioned system map.




Viewing Norfolk Southern Railway


Book Description

Viewing Norfolk Southern Railway covers the history of this railroad, beginning with the South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company, which in 1830 operated the first regularly scheduled passenger train in the United States. Among the many railroads that became part of Norfolk Southern was the Pennsylvania Railroad, whose completion of the Horseshoe Curve in 1854 was an outstanding engineering achievement that transformed land transportation across Pennsylvania, contributing to the growth of the railroad. By 1882, it became the largest railroad in the world. Norfolk Southern's special painted locomotives, representing many of the railroads that became part of its heritage, are included in this book.




Norfolk and Western Railway Stations and Depots


Book Description

The tracks of the Norfolk and Western Railway snaked through Virginia's Shenandoah Valley and the coalfields of West Virginia. For nearly 100 years, the Norfolk and Western brought freight, passengers, and economic vitality to large cities and rural mining towns. At each stop was the depot or station; some stations were large, architecturally ornate structures that represented the muscular energy and romantic era of this great steam railway with its famed J-class engines. In other places there were small wooden depots that depicted the hard-scrabble life of the mining communities, tucked amid steep mountain valleys that were indelibly shaped by the railway's presence. Today some of those structures remain, while many disappeared when the railway ceased passenger or other service. The Norfolk and Western eventually merged with the Southern Railway, and though the trains of the Norfolk Southern still run along those same lines, they simply pass by where they used to stop many years ago.




Norfolk Southern in Hampton Roads


Book Description

Norfolk Southern Railway's history in southeastern Virginia began in the mid-19th century when a young civil engineer named William Mahone designed an innovative 12-mile-long roadbed through the Great Dismal Swamp that is still in use today. Trees were felled and laid side by side at right angles beneath the swamp's surface, forming a corduroy road, with the roadbed built on top of the logs. The logs sank into the boggy swamp, where they were preserved. Nearly 170 years later, Mahone's corduroy design continues to serve as a major route for Norfolk Southern traffic, supporting millions of tons of freight each year as the railroad provides extensive service throughout Hampton Roads. One of the nation's largest Class 1 railroads, Norfolk Southern was created through the merger of Roanoke-based Norfolk & Western Railway and Washington, DC-based Southern Railway in June 1982.







Norfolk Southern in Hampton Roads


Book Description

Norfolk Southern Railway's history in southeastern Virginia began in the mid-19th century when a young civil engineer named William Mahone designed an innovative 12-mile-long roadbed through the Great Dismal Swamp that is still in use today. Trees were felled and laid side by side at right angles beneath the swamp's surface, forming a corduroy road, with the roadbed built on top of the logs. The logs sank into the boggy swamp, where they were preserved. Nearly 170 years later, Mahone's corduroy design continues to serve as a major route for Norfolk Southern traffic, supporting millions of tons of freight each year as the railroad provides extensive service throughout Hampton Roads. One of the nation's largest Class 1 railroads, Norfolk Southern was created through the merger of Roanoke-based Norfolk & Western Railway and Washington, DC-based Southern Railway in June 1982.




Steam's Camelot


Book Description

When diesel power began to displace steam in earnest during the early 1960s, the publicity departments at Southern and later at Norfolk Southern (after the merger of the former with Norfolk & Western) began offering excursions on passenger trains pulled by classic locomotives like Southern Railway No. 4501, N&W Class J No. 611, and the giant N&W A-Class No. 1218. For three decades, these steam-powered excursions delighted railfans throughout the Southeast. Color photography of these bygone behemoths and others in action transport readers back to the pastoral steam era, just as the excursion trains did for 30 years. A fascinating text details the nostalgia-filled public relations steam operations of 1964 to 1994, and is accompanied by rosters of every excursion documented during the period.







The Men Who Loved Trains


Book Description

An award-winning account of a crisis in railroad history: “This absorbing book takes you on an entertaining ride.” —Chicago Tribune A saga about one of the oldest and most romantic enterprises in the land—America’s railroads—The Men Who Loved Trains introduces the chieftains who have run the railroads, both those who set about grabbing power and big salaries for themselves, and others who truly loved the industry. As a journalist and associate editor of Fortune magazine who covered the demise of Penn Central and the creation of Conrail, Rush Loving often had a front-row seat to the foibles and follies of this group of men. He uncovers intrigue, greed, lust for power, boardroom battles, and takeover wars and turns them into a page-turning story. He recounts how the chairman of CSX Corporation, who later became George W. Bush’s Treasury secretary, managed to make millions for himself while his company drifted in chaos. Yet there were also those who loved trains and railroading—and who played key roles in reshaping transportation in the northeastern United States. This book will delight not only the rail fan, but anyone interested in American business and history. Includes photographs