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.svg) The Norfolk Southern system before its 1974 acquisition | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Norfolk, VA (moved toRaleigh, NC on September 29, 1961) |
| Reporting mark | NS |
| Locale | Virginia andNorth Carolina |
| Dates of operation | 1881–1974 |
| Successor | Southern Railway (nowNorfolk Southern Railway) |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
TheNorfolk Southern Railway (reporting markNS) was the final name of arailroad that ran fromNorfolk, Virginia, southwest and west toCharlotte, North Carolina. It was acquired by theSouthern Railway in 1974, which merged with theNorfolk and Western Railway in 1982 to form the currentNorfolk Southern Railway.
In May 1920, the predecessor Norfolk Southern Railroad leased theDurham and South Carolina Railroad, which became its Durham branch. This would be the largest the NSRR would become: a route of 942 miles (1,516 km). At the end of 1970, the successor Norfolk Southern Railway operated 624 miles (1,004 km) of road with 801 miles (1,289 km) of track; that year it reported 710 million ton-miles of revenue freight.
The Elizabeth City and Norfolk Railroad was established January 20, 1870, and in 1881 the line opened, running south fromBerkley, Virginia, across theEastern Branch of the Elizabeth River from Norfolk, viaElizabeth City toEdenton, North Carolina. On February 1, 1883, the name was changed to the Norfolk Southern Railroad ("NSRR"), reflecting the company's ambitions to build further. It enteredreceivership for the first time in 1889, and was purchased April 29 and reorganized May 1891 as the Norfolk and Southern Railroad. By that time, it had acquiredtrackage rights over theNorfolk and Western Railroad over the Elizabeth River into Norfolk. With the reorganization also came the acquisition of theAlbemarle and Pantego Railroad in North Carolina from theJohn L. Roper Lumber Company, extending the line fromMackeys on the other side of theAlbemarle Sound from Edenton south toBelhaven on thePungo River, a branch of thePamlico River.
On November 1, 1899, the N&S bought theNorfolk, Virginia Beach and Southern Railroad, running east from Norfolk toVirginia Beach on theAtlantic Ocean. An extension parallel to the oceanfront took the line north from Virginia Beach toCape Henry in 1902, but two years later the N&S bought the competingChesapeake Transit Company which had a line from Norfolk to Cape Henry via the Lynnhaven Inlet area and hence to Virginia Beach, and abandoned its duplicative trackage between Cape Henry and Virginia Beach. The importance of passenger rail service to the Oceanfront area to Virginia Beach's resort growth in the late 19th and early 20th century was eclipsed only in 1922 by the construction of the pavedVirginia Beach Boulevard roadway between the Oceanfront area and Norfolk.
Also in 1902, the N&S acquired theRoanoke Railroad and Lumber Company'sWashington and Plymouth Railroad, running fromPlymouth, North Carolina, south toWashington, built a line from Mackeys to Plymouth, and began acar ferry operation across the Albemarle Sound between Edenton and Mackeys (replaced by a 5 mile bridge in 1910). The W&P had been built by the lumber company in 1889 to3 ft (914 mm)narrow gauge, became acommon carrier in 1901, and wasconverted to4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge by the N&S in 1904.
The Raleigh and Eastern North Carolina Railroad was organized in 1903 and renamed the Raleigh and Pamlico Sound Railroad in 1905. In 1906, it built a line from the end of the N&S atWashington south toBridgeton, as well as a completely separated line fromRaleigh east toZebulon.
On November 24, 1906, the Norfolk and Southern Railway was formed as a consolidation of the Norfolk and Southern Railroad with the Raleigh and Pamlico Sound Railroad and several other companies:
The company again entered receivership in 1908, and in a 1910 reorganization returned to the 1883 name: Norfolk Southern Railroad. That same year it built a long branch fromChocowinity (also known as Marsden) on the main line south of Washington west to the isolated section to Raleigh at Zebulon (that became the main line to Charlotte via Raleigh, while the old line to New Bern became a branch). Several shorter branches also opened that year - fromBayboro south toOriental, fromPinetown on the main line east toBishops Cross on the line toBelhaven, and from Mackeys east toColumbia (as well as atrestle across the Albemarle Sound between Mackeys and Edenton).
The Egypt Railroad was chartered June 14, 1890, and opened October 15, 1891, running a short distance fromColon on theSeaboard Air Line Railroad main line west toCumnock. It was leased to the Raleigh and Western Railway, another short line continuing west from Cumnock toHarpers Crossroads, on September 6, 1893. The company entered receivership in 1907 and operations west of Cumnock were suspended in 1908. The Egypt Railroad was reorganized April 1, 1910, as the Sanford and Troy Railroad.
The Durham and Charlotte Railroad was chartered March 2, 1893, and planned to connect the two cities named with the railroad. On July 15, 1896, it bought the Glendon and Gulf Railroad, running fromGulf (west of Cumnock) southwest toGlendon. After reaching Elise (Robbins) in 1899, the Durham and Charlotte Railroad was building towardsStar. The company endured several years of litigation over the right-of-way with a Wright Tramway, which was built in 1896. The tramway was removed in 1901 and the Durham and Charlotte Railroad was then built to Star by 1902. Some time after 1900 it bought the former Raleigh and Western Railwayright-of-way and rebuilt the line from Cumnock to Gulf, and built an extension from Star southwest toTroy.
In November 1911, the NSRR formed the Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Railway (RC&S) as a consolidation of several smaller companies; the RC&S was merged into the NSR in fall 1912. The RC&S was made up of the Sanford and Troy Railroad, Durham and Charlotte Railroad, and the following lines:
At the time, only the Raleigh and Southport Railway connected to the other NSRR lines. In 1914 the NSRR built a line fromVarina on the former R&S southwest to Colon and from Mount Gilead west to Charlotte, giving it a continuous line, using the former S&T, D&C and branch of the A&A from Colon to Mount Gilead.
On May 27, 1920, the NSRR leased theDurham and South Carolina Railroad, giving it access toDurham. The D&SC ran from Durham south toBonsal on theSeaboard Air Line Railroad, and had been extended toDuncan on the NSRR around the time the Norfolk Southern Railroad leased it.
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Another receivership came in 1932, and in 1935 it defaulted on its lease of theAtlantic and North Carolina Railroad, which was reincorporated November 16 of that year. Many branch lines were abandoned or sold during that period, such as the local lines inSuffolk, Virginia, which were sold to theVirginian Railway in 1940. On January 21, 1942, the company was reorganized for the last time as the Norfolk Southern Railway. In 1954, the railroad retired its last steam locomotive from revenue service.
On January 1, 1974, theSouthern Railway bought the Norfolk Southern Railroad and merged it into theCarolina and Northwestern Railway, but kept the Norfolk Southern Railway name. In 1982 the Carolina and Northwestern name was brought back to free up the Norfolk Southern name for the planned merger of the Southern Railway with theNorfolk and Western Railway. The newNorfolk Southern Railway was formed in 1982. While the name had once represented simply the Virginia and North Carolina–based railroad which ran south from Norfolk to Charlotte, it was now a combination of the names of the two mergedClass I railroads.
Norfolk Southern still owns the main line from Gulf (near Cumnock) northeast to Raleigh. The part from Gulf west to Charlotte (as well as the branch to Aberdeen) is now theAberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway, the part from Edenton north to Norfolk is now theChesapeake and Albemarle Railroad, and the Belhaven-Pinetown branch as well as the Plymouth-Raleigh segment is now operated by theCarolina Coastal Railway. The line between Plymouth and Edenton has been removed,[1] with the famous Albemarle Sound Trestle having been demolished in the late 1980s.
The company had passenger service on several of its lines in 1932. Notable was the twice a day in each direction service fromNorfolk Terminal Station toUnion Depot in Raleigh. For a time, the night trains to and from Raleigh bore the name,Midnight Express.[2] At Raleigh passengers could change to a timed connection train toCharlotte. This line served the major towns of northeastern North Carolina, including Elizabeth City, Washington, Greenville and Wilson.[3] Additionally, the railroad operated trains to a number of North Carolina coastal destinations, includingColumbia,Belhaven andBeaufort.[4] In 1902, the Chesapeake Transit Company opened an electric interurban line from Norfolk to Virginia Beach and then north four miles to Cape Henry. In 1904, this line merged with the Norfolk Southern[5] and was referred to as the NS Electric Division. Eventually the trolley was dropped and a gas electric "doodlebug" took over.[6] On May 15, 1940 the NS moved itsmain line train service from Norfolk Terminal station to Berkley Station at 701 Main Street, on the south side of Norfolk.[7]
By 1943, the NS was listing replacement bus service on its lines with the exception of the main line Norfolk to Raleigh and the Virginia Beach Electric Division, the latter now called the 'Virginia Beach Division.'[8] Beach passenger service using the gas electric "doodlebug" lasted until 1947 when the company ended service east of Norfolk. All passenger trains ended service on January 31, 1948.[9] Mail and express runs continued for several more years.[10]
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Presidents of Norfolk Southern:
As a part of the current Norfolk Southern Railway's 30th anniversary in 2012, the company painted 20 new locomotives in predecessor schemes. NS #8114, aGE ES44AC locomotive, was painted in the original Norfolk Southern paint scheme.
