Horse Power: Norfolk Southern at 40

The content of this special issue, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Norfolk Southern Railway, was aptly prepared by Trains’ beloved Editor Jim Wrinn before his death March 30, 2022. Jim and our expert authors bring you this package of stories to look back on NS’ origins and look ahead to how it’s refining its operations. TRAINS’ railroad industry reporter and columnist Bill Stephens explains what makes NS tick. How does it keep operations going? How is it different than other Class I railroads? Where are its busy routes and how does it negotiate challenges? Then, Stephens magnifies one of its busiest, most important corridors between Chicago and New Jersey. As you’ve come to expect from Trains, this issue honors the railroad’s past, while also providing readers with a forward look…

Norfolk Southern train 25A, which departs Calumet Yard in Chicago at 10:30 every night, carded for a 34-hour, 25-minute run to DeButts Yard in Chattanooga, Tenn., carries an intermodal symbol but in reality is nothing of the sort. The 25A is a jack of all trades. It pulls out of Calumet with blocks of merchandise, automotive, and intermodal traffic tied behind its three locomotives. The merchandise block is headed for the hump at Chattanooga. The empty auto racks are bound for the massive Toyota assembly plant at Georgetown, Ky. And the intermodal traffic is destined for terminals in Cincinnati; Louisville, Ky.; and Georgetown. “We needed a train that morphs,” says John Friedmann, the railroad’s recently retired vice president of network planning and optimization. “As it works its way down the…

From the Railroad Maps special issue, 2013 HISTORIANS HAVE ARGUED one key to the success of Norfolk & Western’s 1982 consolidation with Southern Railway was that the railroads shared a similar culture — determined, forward-looking, and committed to success. This served to douse the fires of early rivalries with a single-minded focus on making the unified system work, and work well. It helped that each railroad also had a solid franchise — not always the shortest or fastest route, but track that was productive and well-maintained. In the 1960s, when most railroads were merging to eliminate parallel lines, including the giant Penn Central, N&W by force looked outward, acquiring the Nickel Plate, leasing the Wabash, and tying all three together with a Pennsylvania Railroad line from Columbus, Ohio, to Lake…

With the marriage of two traditionalist Eastern railroads, Norfolk Southern’s motive-power fleet was destined to be a perfect blend since its start in 1982. The two roads, Norfolk & Western and Southern Railway, believed in long-hoodfirst operation, and high short hoods for crew safety, evolved over 40 years. Today, NS fields high-horsepower A.C. locomotives and innovates with an in-house approach to new locomotive designs. Let’s take a look at NS’ impressive 40 years driving change and improvement in its fleet and the industry. Norfolk Southern – the early years Norfolk & Western and Southern Railway were largely different in terms of their motive-power needs. The former burrowed deep into the coal fields of the southeast, lugging train after train of black diamonds to market or port. The latter had a…

Norfolk Southern’s history is rich and diverse. Here are 40 of our favorite places that make the heart race just a little faster. They’re the living legacies of the main predecessor railroads that make up today’s NS. 1. HORSESHOE CURVE Without question, Horseshoe Curve is one of the most iconic U.S. railroad sites. The curve was the most prominent feature of the Pennsylvania Railroad main line when it opened for business on Feb. 15, 1854. The line was a practical engineering solution for a railroad between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, over the Allegheny Mountains. Westbound trains climb a maximum grade of 1.85% from Altoona to Gallitzin, Pa., before descending to Johnstown on a maximum 1.1%. Horseshoe Curve would eventually have four main tracks, which characterized most of the PRR between Philadelphia…

A January Monday dawns gray in Elkhart, Ind., where Norfolk Southern’s Chicago Line — the busiest main line in the East — is hopping. It’s 8:08 a.m., and a westbound merchandise train holds on Track 3 across from the Amtrak station platform, its head end winding through CP 421 and diverging onto Elkhart Yard’s inbound lead. Suddenly dueling horns blare for the South Main Street grade crossing. Right in front of you, as if on cue, westbound and eastbound hotshots stage a perfect meet. On Track 1, a trio of GEs are in charge of premium Chicago-bound train 21E, which originated in Morrisville, Pa., and is hauling FedEx, Swift, and Hub Group containers, as well as Alliance and Prime refrigerated trailers. On Track 2, a pair of GE ponies lead…