Fw: Norfolk Southern press release

[NW Mailing List]

Interesting news!

Nelson Burks
 
Following is a Norfolk Southern press release.

 

 

                           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                           June 30, 2010

 

Plans call for steam to ride the Norfolk Southern rails again,

through display and excursion program with TVRM

 

NORFOLK, VA., and CHATTANOOGA, TENN. -- Norfolk Southern Corporation 

is in negotiations with the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum with 

regard to the operation of a limited schedule of steam locomotive 

event appearances and passenger excursions beginning later this year.

 

"21st Century Steam" would highlight milestones in rail history and 

provide an opportunity for audiences to learn about today's safe and 

service-oriented freight railroads.  The program would feature three 

venerable coal-powered steam locomotives:

 

       -- Southern Railway 4501:  Built in 1911 by Baldwin Locomotive 

Works, 4501 served Southern Railway in freight service in Tennessee, 

Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana, before being sold to a short line 

railroad.  No. 4501 was retired from revenue service in 1963 and 

enjoyed a second career in the excursion program operated by Southern 

Railway and Norfolk Southern from 1966 until 1994.  This Ms (Mikado 

superheated) Class locomotive has 63-inch driving wheels. 

       -- Southern Railway 630:  Built in 1904 at the Richmond, Va., 

works of American Locomotive Company, this Consolidation-type 

locomotive has traveled throughout the Southeast, often in the 

company of 4501 and sister locomotive 722.  An extensive six-year 

rehabilitation to Federal Railroad Administration standards is being 

completed at TVRM's Soule Shops complex in Chattanooga.  

       -- Tennessee Valley Railroad 610:  Built in 1952 by Baldwin-

Lima-Hamilton for the U.S. Army, 610 has been the mainstay of TVRM 

steam operations since 1990.  It also appeared on several Norfolk 

Southern steam excursions from 1990 to 1993.  No. 610, also a 

Consolidation type, was one of the last steam locomotives built in 

the U.S. 

 

"This is the right time for steam to ride the Norfolk Southern 

rails," said CEO Wick Moorman.  "We have a fascinating history, and 

we have a compelling message about how today's railroads support 

jobs, competition, and the economy.  It is a forward-looking message 

that resonates with people everywhere."  

 

"21st Century Steam can help introduce historic and modern railroading 

to a broad new audience of supporters," said TVRM President Tim 

Andrews.  "We are pleased to be developing this relationship with 

Norfolk Southern for the purpose of preserving and interpreting the 

steam age, and of bringing today's railroad closer to people young 

and old, in communities large and small." 

 

The launch of 21st Century Steam would coincide with key dates. 2011 

will be 4501's 100th birthday and TVRM's 50th.  The year 2012 will mark 

Norfolk Southern's 30th anniversary.  

 

21st Century Steam's initial appearances and runs tentatively could 

take place in the Chattanooga area this fall, with locomotives 610 

and 630.  No. 4501 could join the program sometime in 2011, after 

rehabilitation.  Exhibit dates, ticketing, and other details will be 

announced later. 

 

"The sights and sounds of a steam train are powerful enough to catch 

the public's attention in this busy and complex age," said Jim Wrinn, 

author of Steam's Camelot: Southern and NS Excursions in Color, and 

editor of Trains Magazine.  "A steam train is a living piece of 

American history that teaches volumes about this exciting industry 

that has much to offer our country today.  Once the door is open with 

the steam locomotive, you've got an opportunity to teach a new 

generation how railroading is the right transportation solution to so 

many challenges facing us."

 

Later this year, Norfolk Southern and TVRM plan to launch a web site 

in support of the program. Correspondence can be addressed to 

21stcenturysteam at nscorp.com.

 

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum was founded in 1961 in Chattanooga 

to create an interpretive operating museum of historic equipment and 

artifacts in an authentic setting.  Today it operates an extensive 

schedule of historic and scenic trains in Southeast Tennessee and 

Northwest Georgia, supported by its East Chattanooga locomotive and 

car shop complex.  TVRM is the largest operating historical excursion 

railroad in the Southeast.  

 

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation's 

premier transportation companies.  Its Norfolk Southern Railway 

subsidiary operates approximately 21,000 route miles in 22 states and 

the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the 

eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other 

rail carriers.  Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive 

intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and 

industrial products.

       

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