Norfolk and Western Railway

Norfolk and Western Railway
Overview
Headquarters	Roanoke, Virginia
Reporting mark	NW
Locale	Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio; after the 1960s mergers, also Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New York, and Pennsylvania
Founder	William Mahone
Dates of operation	1870–1982
Successor	Norfolk Southern
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Previous gauge	5 ft (1,524 mm) (?)
Length	1956: 2,132 miles (3,431 kilometers);1970: 7,595 miles (12,223 kilometers)

The Norfolk and Western Railway (reporting mark NW),^[1] commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precision Transportation"; it had a variety of nicknames, including "King Coal" and "British Railway of America". In 1986, N&W merged with Southern Railway to form today's Norfolk Southern Railway.

The N&W was famous for manufacturing its own steam locomotives, which were built at the Roanoke Shops, as well as its own hopper cars. After 1960, N&W was the last major Class I railroad using steam locomotives; the last remaining Y class 2-8-8-2s would eventually be retired in 1961.

In December 1959, the N&W merged with the Virginian Railway (reporting mark VGN), a longtime rival in the Pocahontas coal region. By 1970, other mergers with the Nickel Plate Road and Wabash formed a system that operated 7,595 miles (12,223 km) of road on 14,881 miles (23,949 km) of track from North Carolina to New York and from Virginia to Iowa.

In 1980, the N&W merged its business operation with those of the Southern Railway, another profitable carrier, to create the Norfolk Southern Corporation holding company. The N&W and the Southern Railway continued as separate railroads operating under the single holding company.

In 1982, the Southern Railway was renamed Norfolk Southern Railway and the holding company transferred the Norfolk & Western Railway to the control of the newly renamed company.

^ Carroll, Edward F.; Coleman, Peter T.; Jackson, Henry D.; Mink, William T.; Votinelli, Mario J., eds. (1984). The Official Railway Equipment Register. Vol. 99. New York: National Railway Publication Company. p. XIX.

[1] Carroll, Edward F.; Coleman, Peter T.; Jackson, Henry D.; Mink, William T.; Votinelli, Mario J., eds. (1984). The Official Railway Equipment Register. Vol. 99. New York: National Railway Publication Company. p. XIX.

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