▚ Two proud roads
Norfolk Southern was formed in 1982 by merging the Norfolk & Western and the Southern Railway — two of the best-run, most profitable railroads in America. The "Thoroughbred" horsehead herald honored both traditions.
▚ Coal and the Southern crescent
N&W had been the great coal road of the Pocahontas region, running the last mainline steam in America into 1960; the Southern served the fast-growing southeast. Together they built a powerhouse eastern system.
▚ Conrail split and today
In 1999 NS split Conrail with CSX, gaining the former Pennsylvania Railroad routes across the northeast. It remains one of the two big eastern Class I railroads.
▚ On this layout
Norfolk Southern appears in both scales — SD40-2s (including a Maersk-liveried unit), C44-9Ws, a GP60 in Operation Lifesaver colors, GP38-2s, a GP50, an SD70, and an SD60E. The Thoroughbred runs here.