Page 19 - April 2022 Track N Times

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Since the 1820s, hundreds of railroad companies were built, merged, reorganized and consolidated into what eventu-
ally became Norfolk Southern, itself created from the consolidation of Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western
Railway in 1982. In 1999, NS acquired 58% of Conrail assets, while CSX got the remaining 42%. Norfolk Southern
and CSX Transportation have a duopoly over all east-west freight rail traffic east of the Mississippi River.

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As part of its 30 anniversary celebration of modern Norfolk Southern in 2012, NS painted 20 new locomotives in
the color schemes of predecessor railroads. The commemorative units quickly became known as NS’ Heritage Loco-
motives.

On December 12, 2018, Norfolk Southern an-
nounced they would be moving their headquar-
ters from Norfolk, Virginia to Atlanta, Georgia.
The ground breaking took place on March 26,
2019. The state-of-the-art headquarters in Mid-
town Atlanta opened November 10, 2021. It is
in “Tech Square” a hub of innovation, technology,
and talent, with Georgia Tech a continual source
of talent for NS’s management trainee program.

When Norfolk & Western merged with Sothern
Railway in 1982 to form Norfolk Southern, the
headquarters was located in Norfolk, Virginia,
while the company’s operations and technology
leadership was located in Atlanta.
NS plays a critical role driving the U.S. economy,
The Heritage Locomotives are used in freight service providing freight transportation for industrial,
across Norfolk Southern’s network. agriculture, energy, consumer products, e-
commerce, and more. The company employs
19,000 employees across its footprint, of which 3,000 will call the new headquarters home. The building enhances the
company’s presence in Georgia, which dates to the mid-1840’s.
Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies, moving the goods and mate-
rials that drive the U.S. economy. NS connects customers to markets and communities to economic opportunity,
with safe, reliable, and cost-effective shipping solutions. The company operates approximately 19,500 miles in 22
states and the District of Columbia, every major container port in the eastern United States, and a majority of the
U.S. population and manufacturing base.

The NS corporate symbol is the Thoroughbred. Representing speed and reliability. NS’s locomotives are often called
“catfish” by railfans, as the stripes are said to look like catfish whiskers. The current “horsehead” paint scheme of NS

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