Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railroad: Map, Roster, History

Last revised: October 13, 2026

The Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway Company was the Norfolk & Western subsidiary that ran the old Atlantic and Danville. Virginia chartered it on October 2, 1962. The Commission’s certificate and order is dated October 29. The Wall Street Journal reported the approval on October 30. The company began operating the railroad at 12:01 a.m. on November 1, 1962. It was a freight line across Southside Virginia: 210.8 miles from Norfolk to Danville, and 17.2 miles from West Norfolk to Suffolk. On December 30, 1983, the company merged into the Norfolk & Western.

The road's small fleet was comprised entirely of Alcos, and there were only six of them on the NF&D list. Two RS36s, 1 and 2, had been built for the Atlantic & Danville in October 1962. Four Nickel Plate RS11s, 201–204, came over in 1966 and 1967. The photograph at West Norfolk is No. 201, dark blue, with NFD on the cab.

Norfolk, Franklin and Danville RS11 No. 201 at the West Norfolk depot in August 1968

Norfolk, Franklin & Danville RS11 No. 201 at West Norfolk, Virginia, in August 1968. Rick Burn photograph. The depot sign reads West Norfolk. Dark blue, with NFD on the cab and yellow handrails. Built as Nickel Plate 558, Alco serial 81459, in 1956, then Norfolk & Western 2558.

On this page: The subsidiary · At a glance · The 1969 map · The public timetable · The Atlantic & Danville in the Guide · Six Alcos · Diesel roster · After December 30, 1983

The subsidiary

The Norfolk & Western already reached Norfolk on its own main line. What it bought in 1962 was the other road into the same port, the Atlantic and Danville, then in bankruptcy, and the industrial business at Danville. The N&W put that property into a new company. The chartered name was the Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway Company. Reporting mark NFD. The Commission’s certificate and order, dated October 29, 1962, is Finance Docket No. 22288. It authorized the purchase of specified Atlantic & Danville assets, and it authorized the Atlantic & Danville to give up its operation over Atlantic Coast Line track between Boone and Pinners Point. The Wall Street Journal reported the approval on October 30. At 12:01 a.m. on November 1, 1962, the Norfolk, Franklin and Danville began running the railroad. The auditor’s report of November 16 already placed the company at 181 South Main Street in Suffolk.

Operating offices on the public timetable sat at 181 South Main Street, Suffolk, Virginia 23434. R. F. Dunlap was president, in Roanoke. W. G. Blades was general manager, in Suffolk. L. C. Capps, Jr., was superintendent, also in Suffolk. The line they ran is the one the Atlantic & Danville had finished in 1890: Norfolk and Portsmouth, Suffolk, Franklin, Courtland, Emporia, Lawrenceville, La Crosse, South Hill, Clarksville, Virgilina, Denniston, Milton in North Carolina, and Danville. Lawrenceville, at mile 98.7 on the later public sheet, remained the midpoint. The story before October 1962, including the three-foot Claremont branch and the Southern lease, is the Atlantic and Danville page.

At a glance

Item	Detail
Chartered name	Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway Company
Headquarters	Suffolk, Virginia. The public timetable gives 181 South Main Street. The president’s office was in Roanoke
Incorporated	October 2, 1962. Commission certificate and order October 29, 1962, Finance Docket No. 22288. Operation began at 12:01 a.m. on November 1, 1962. The Wall Street Journal reported the approval on October 30
States	Virginia, and a few miles in North Carolina past Milton
Reporting mark	NFD
Gauge	4 feet, 8½ inches
Route	210.8 miles, Norfolk to Danville, and 17.2 miles, West Norfolk to Suffolk. Together, 228 miles
Principal lines	Norfolk–Danville. West Norfolk–Suffolk
Diesels	Two Alco RS36s, 1–2, built for the Atlantic & Danville in October 1962. Four Alco RS11s, 201–204, from the Nickel Plate in 1966 and 1967
Predecessor	Atlantic and Danville Railway
End of the company	Merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway Company on December 30, 1983

The 1969 map

Blue NFD letters of the Norfolk, Franklin and Danville

The Norfolk, Franklin and Danville mark. Blue NFD letters, the same mark carried on the cab of No. 201.

A 1969 system map of the Norfolk, Franklin and Danville inside the Norfolk and Western network

A 1969 system map of the Norfolk, Franklin & Danville, printed inside the Norfolk & Western network. Author’s collection. The NF&D is the line from Danville through Denniston, La Crosse, Emporia, Franklin, and Suffolk into Norfolk, with the West Norfolk branch south of the N&W main line.

On that map the NF&D is a single-track Southside road crossed by larger ones. The Seaboard Coast Line met it at Franklin, Emporia, and La Crosse. The Southern met it at Jeffress and again at Danville. The Norfolk & Western met it at Suffolk and at Denniston. At Norfolk the same waterfront held the Norfolk & Western, the Chesapeake & Ohio, the Southern, Penn Central, and the Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line.

The public timetable

Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway public timetable, freight service only, Norfolk to Danville

The Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway’s public timetable, the sheet this page dates to 1969. Freight service only. Norfolk to Danville, 210.8 miles. West Norfolk to Suffolk, 17.2 miles. General offices at 181 South Main Street, Suffolk. R. F. Dunlap, president, Roanoke. W. G. Blades, general manager, Suffolk.

Every station on the sheet is freight only. From Norfolk and Portsmouth the miles run Suffolk 22.0, Holland 34.1, Franklin 42.2, Courtland 50.8, Capron 58.2, Drewryville 64.3, Emporia 78.0, Kingsberry 80.0, Pleasant Shade 85.6, Lawrenceville 98.7, Brodnax 111.7, La Crosse 115.5, South Hill 118.4, Union Level 125.0, Baskerville 128.3, Antlers 131.3, Boydton 135.1, Jeffress 144.7, Clarksville 147.7, Buffalo Junction 152.0, Virgilina 162.4, Denniston 174.0, Milton 195.6, and Danville 210.8. The West Norfolk branch is its own table: West Norfolk, Churchland at 3.0, Boone at 5.6, and Suffolk at 17.2. The two tables together are the 228 miles.

Penn Central is named among the Norfolk connections, so the sheet belongs to the years after February 1, 1968. The connection notes are specific. Franklin, Emporia, and La Crosse are with the Seaboard Coast Line. Jeffress is with the Southern. Denniston is with the Norfolk & Western. Danville is with the Carolina & Northwestern and the Southern. Suffolk is with the Norfolk & Western and the Seaboard Coast Line.

The Atlantic & Danville in the Guide

Atlantic and Danville Railway map and April 1951 timetable from the August 1952 Official Guide

An official system map of the Atlantic and Danville, from page 563 of the August 1952 Official Guide. Author’s collection. The map is Poole Bros., Chicago, plate 7113, dated November 7, 1949. Under the map, the timetable effective April 1951: freight trains 85 and 86, diesel power, Norfolk to Danville.

That page is the predecessor, eleven years before the NF&D name. General offices were at 115 West Tazewell Street, Norfolk. E. L. Keister was president. W. H. Flowers was superintendent at Lawrenceville, and W. E. Manning was chief engineer there. Train 85 left Norfolk at 10:01 p.m. and arrived Danville at 5:45 a.m. Train 86 left Danville at 8:45 p.m. and arrived Norfolk at 5:40 a.m. The Guide’s own line under the officers calls it overnight service between Hampton Roads and Danville. The column is headed freight service only. Danville is mile 205.2 in that table. The West Norfolk branch is tabulated only as far as Boone, at 6.0 miles, and not through to Suffolk.

The same two endpoints, measured on the NF&D sheet above, are 210.8 and 17.2. The earlier mileage and the later mileage are both printed on the documents. The towns, the Lawrenceville shops, the Southern lease that ended on July 1, 1949, and the Alcos the Atlantic & Danville bought for itself are on the Atlantic and Danville page. The map and the April 1951 table are there as well, in separate cuts from the same Guide.

Six Alcos

The NF&D never owned a large fleet, and it never owned anything but Alco road switchers. The two RS36s were ordered by the Atlantic & Danville and built in October 1962, the month the new company was chartered. They are 1,800-horsepower units on Alco specification DL701, with a 251C V-12, and 57 feet 2½ inches between coupler pulling faces. The full production story is the RS36 page. No. 1 is serial 84119. No. 2 is serial 84393. Both are order 21172. A photograph dated August 1, 1963, still shows the pair lettered Atlantic & Danville at Franklin, after the NF&D company existed. The older RS2s and the RS3 were traded back to Alco against these two.

Norfolk, Franklin and Danville RS36 No. 2

Norfolk, Franklin & Danville RS36 No. 2. Warren Calloway photograph. Alco serial 84393, order 21172, October 1962, built as Atlantic & Danville 2. No. 2 was later sold to the Delaware Coast Line and is preserved as SNEX 5012.

The four RS11s came from the Nickel Plate. Nickel Plate 558–562, serials 81459–81463, order 21001, were that railroad’s first RS11s, built in 1956. They are 1,800-horsepower road switchers. The model page is the RS11. After the Nickel Plate merger of October 16, 1964, the Norfolk & Western numbered the series 2558–2562. No. 559 was wrecked at Mt. Cory, Ohio, on September 10, 1963, and the Nickel Plate traded it toward C420 578. The other four, 558, 560, 561, and 562, went to the NF&D in 1966 and 1967 as 201–204.

No. 201 is the engine at West Norfolk in August 1968, already in the blue with NFD on the cab. No. 202, Nickel Plate 560 and Norfolk & Western 2560, was still in Norfolk & Western colors at Danville in August 1970. No. 203, Nickel Plate 561, serial 81462, was retired in November 1980. The NF&D also leased Norfolk & Western units when the six were not enough.

Norfolk, Franklin and Danville caboose No. 112 at Lawrenceville, Virginia, in the 1970s

Norfolk, Franklin & Danville caboose No. 112 at Lawrenceville, Virginia, during the 1970s. Warren Calloway photograph.

Diesel roster

The seven Atlantic & Danville units are on this table because they were traded in against Nos. 1 and 2, and because they were the diesels the property had when the Norfolk & Western bought it. Their own story is on the Atlantic and Danville page. The RS2 is a 1,500-horsepower road switcher with a 244 V-12. The RS3 is the 1,600-horsepower successor. Nos. 1 and 2, and 201 through 204, are the locomotives that wore NF&D numbers.

Number	Model	Builder	Serial	Order	Built	Notes
1	RS36	Alco	84119	21172	October 1962	Built as Atlantic & Danville 1. Still lettered Atlantic & Danville at Franklin on August 1, 1963
2	RS36	Alco	84393	21172	October 1962	Built as Atlantic & Danville 2. The engine in the Warren Calloway photograph. Later Delaware Coast Line. Preserved as SNEX 5012
101–102	RS2	Alco	76989–76990	—	July 1949	New for the Atlantic & Danville. Traded to Alco against the RS36s
103–106	RS2	Alco	77426–77429	—	October 1949	New for the Atlantic & Danville. Traded to Alco against the RS36s
107	RS3	Alco	78902	—	June 1951	New for the Atlantic & Danville. Traded to Alco against the RS36s
201	RS11	Alco	81459	21001	1956	Built as Nickel Plate 558. Norfolk & Western 2558. To the NF&D in 1966–67. The engine at West Norfolk in August 1968
202	RS11	Alco	81461	21001	1956	Built as Nickel Plate 560. Norfolk & Western 2560. Still in Norfolk & Western colors at Danville in August 1970
203	RS11	Alco	81462	21001	March 1956	Built as Nickel Plate 561. Norfolk & Western 2561. Retired November 1980
204	RS11	Alco	81463	21001	1956	Built as Nickel Plate 562. Norfolk & Western 2562. The fourth of the 1956 engines that reached the NF&D. Nickel Plate 559 did not

Nickel Plate 559, serial 81460, is the gap between 201 and 202. It was wrecked before the merger and did not receive an NF&D number.

After December 30, 1983

Norfolk Southern Corporation, the holding company, dates from June 1, 1982. The Norfolk & Western and the Southern remained separate railroads under it. The NF&D company lasted past that day. Virginia’s State Corporation Commission records the NF&D inactive, merged, effective December 30, 1983, into the Norfolk and Western Railway Company. The western end of the line was abandoned in 1983. What remained was Norfolk & Western track. The Norfolk & Western itself stayed a separate company until December 31, 1990, when it became a subsidiary of the Southern and the Southern took the name Norfolk Southern Railway.

On the ground, the Franklin–Lawrenceville segment lasted another thirty years. In 2013 Norfolk Southern asked the Surface Transportation Board for authority to discontinue 53.2 miles, from milepost 37.0 near Franklin to milepost 90.2 near Lawrenceville. The filing said the line needed $5.9 million to be put back to a 10-mile-an-hour freight standard, and that the railroad had handled 414 carloads in the twelve months ending June 30, 2013. The petition was filed November 26, 2013, granted March 12, 2014, and the discontinuance took effect April 12, 2014.

Two pieces of the old railroad are still easy to find. The 17.2-mile West Norfolk–Suffolk line is the Commonwealth Railway, a Genesee & Wyoming property. Farther west, the right of way through Brodnax, La Crosse, and South Hill is the Tobacco Heritage Trail.

Sources

Virginia State Corporation Commission, Clerk’s Information System. Norfolk, Franklin and Danville Railway Company, entity 00946913, incorporated October 2, 1962, status inactive, merged, effective December 30, 1983, survivor entity 00009340. That survivor is the Norfolk and Western Railway Company, whose own merger history lists a subsidiary merger into 00009340 on the same day.
Wall Street Journal, October 30, 1962, “ICC Approves N&W’s Acquisition of Bankrupt Atlantic-Danville Road,” p. 4, as cited by Virginia Places. The newspaper report of the purchase.
Railroad Retirement Board, General Counsel Myles F. Gibbons to the Director of Wage and Service Records, November 21, 1962, file L-62-310. Interstate Commerce Commission certificate and order of October 29, 1962, Finance Docket No. 22288, Norfolk & Western Railway Co., et al.—Control, etc.—Norfolk, Franklin & Danville Railway Co. The order authorized the Norfolk, Franklin and Danville to purchase specified assets of the Atlantic and Danville, and it authorized the Atlantic and Danville to abandon operation over Atlantic Coast Line track from Boone to Pinners Point, Virginia. Auditor H. T. Williams, November 16, 1962: the purchase was consummated, and operation began at 12:01 a.m. on November 1, 1962. The same letter gives the company’s address as 181 South Main Street, Suffolk.
The NF&D public timetable reproduced on this page, headed 1969 on the earlier article. Freight only. Norfolk–Danville 210.8 miles, with the station miles used above. West Norfolk–Suffolk 17.2. Offices at 181 South Main Street, Suffolk, Virginia 23434. R. F. Dunlap, president, Roanoke. W. G. Blades, general manager, Suffolk. L. C. Capps, Jr., superintendent, Suffolk. Penn Central among the Norfolk connections. Connection notes for the Seaboard Coast Line, the Southern, the Norfolk & Western, and the Carolina & Northwestern.
Official Guide of the Railways, August 1952, p. 563, the Atlantic and Danville page reproduced here. Map by Poole Bros., Chicago, plate 7113, dated November 7, 1949. Timetable effective April 1951. Freight trains 85 and 86, diesel power. Norfolk leave 10:01 p.m., Danville arrive 5:45 a.m. Danville leave 8:45 p.m., Norfolk arrive 5:40 a.m. Danville at mile 205.2. West Norfolk–Boone, Boone at 6.0. Offices at 115 West Tazewell Street, Norfolk. E. L. Keister, president. W. H. Flowers, superintendent, Lawrenceville.
Alco production rosters on this site. RS2: Atlantic & Danville 101–102, serials 76989–76990, July 1949, and 103–106, serials 77426–77429, October 1949. RS3: 107, serial 78902, June 1951. RS36: Atlantic & Danville 1 and 2, serials 84119 and 84393, October 1962. Specification DL701, 251C V-12, 1,800 horsepower, 57 feet 2½ inches between coupler pulling faces. Nickel Plate RS11s 558–562, serials 81459–81463, 1956.
The Diesel Shop, RS2, RS3, and RS36 production rosters. The same Atlantic & Danville serials and the same months: 76989–76990 in July 1949, 77426–77429 in October 1949, 78902 in June 1951, and 84119 and 84393 in October 1962.
Railroad Picture Archives. NFD 1 and 2, order 21172, serials 84119 and 84393. Nickel Plate 558, order 21001, serial 81459, to NF&D 201. Nickel Plate 561, serial 81462, March 1956, to Norfolk & Western 2561, then NF&D 203, retired November 1980. Jerry LaBoda scan, August 1, 1963, at Franklin: RS36s 2 and 1 still lettered Atlantic & Danville.
Norfolk & Western Historical Society, The Arrow, Nickel Plate RS11 article. Nos. 558–562, except 559, went to the Norfolk, Franklin & Danville in 1966 and 1967 and became 201–204. No. 559 was wrecked at Mt. Cory, Ohio, on September 10, 1963, and was traded in against C420 578.
Tom Sink, RailPictures, August 1970, Danville. NF&D RS11 202, built as Nickel Plate 560, later Norfolk & Western 2560, still in Norfolk & Western colors.
Angela Cotey, “NS to discontinue service over former Norfolk, Franklin & Danville,” Trains, December 26, 2013. Surface Transportation Board approval of the discontinuance from milepost 37.0 near Franklin to milepost 90.2 near Lawrenceville, 53.2 miles. Rehabilitation put at $5.9 million to restore Federal Railroad Administration Class 1 track. 414 carloads in the twelve months ending June 30, 2013. Tidewater News, April 4, 2014: the exemption petition was filed November 26, 2013, granted March 12, and service ended Saturday, April 12.
William E. Griffin, Jr., as summarized by Virginia Places, for the western-end abandonment in the 1980s and the Tobacco Heritage Trail on the right of way through Brodnax, La Crosse, and South Hill. Joe Tennis, Virginia Rail Trails (Arcadia, 2014), pp. 73–74, is the trail citation used for those same towns. The Commonwealth Railway identification of the West Norfolk–Suffolk line is the current short-line account of that 17.2 miles, a Genesee & Wyoming property.
Bluford Shops company note, via Trovestar. Norfolk & Western bought the assets of the bankrupt Atlantic & Danville in 1962 and created the subsidiary. The western end was abandoned in 1983, and the rest of the company was merged out of existence late that year.

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