Original Norfolk Southern Railway: Map, Rosters, History

Last revised: October 14, 2026

The original Norfolk Southern Railway ran from Norfolk, Virginia, through the eastern counties of North Carolina and on to Charlotte. It began as the Elizabeth City & Norfolk Railroad, chartered on January 20, 1870, and it opened in 1881. The company that reached Charlotte was reorganized for the last time on January 21, 1942, as the Norfolk Southern Railway. Reporting mark NS. On January 1, 1974, the Southern Railway bought it and merged it into the Carolina & Northwestern, which kept the Norfolk Southern name. The Norfolk Southern Railway operating today received that name on December 31, 1990, when the Southern took it. The Norfolk & Western was the other railroad in that combination.

For its last twenty years the railroad was known for Baldwin road switchers. Seventeen AS-416s, out of twenty-five built, carried Norfolk Southern numbers, and several of them were still at work when the Southern took over. Steam ended in Raleigh in January 1954.

A pair of original Norfolk Southern AS-416s in red and orange near the turntable at Raleigh on April 2, 1968

A pair of AS-416s in the railroad’s livery near the turntable at Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 2, 1968. Warren Calloway photograph.

On this page: At a glance · Elizabeth City & Norfolk · Albemarle Sound · Charlotte · The Railway of 1942 · Steam · Diesels · The name after 1974

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	Original Norfolk Southern Railway. Reporting mark NS
Headquarters	Norfolk, Virginia, until September 29, 1961, then Raleigh, North Carolina
States	Virginia and North Carolina
Chartered	Elizabeth City & Norfolk Railroad, January 20, 1870
Opened	Elizabeth City, 45 miles, June 1, 1881. Edenton, December 6, 1881
Later names	Norfolk Southern Railroad, February 1, 1883. Norfolk & Southern Railroad, June 1, 1891. Norfolk Southern Railroad, May 4, 1910. Norfolk Southern Railway, January 21, 1942
Gauge	4 feet, 8½ inches
Greatest extent	942 miles, at the Durham & South Carolina lease of May 1920
Norfolk–Charlotte	383.3 miles
At the 1974 merger	Just over 600 miles still in service
Principal lines	Norfolk–Elizabeth City–Raleigh–Charlotte. The Albemarle Sound crossing to Mackeys, Belhaven, and Plymouth. Virginia Beach and Cape Henry. Branches to New Bern, Oriental, Columbia, Fayetteville, Aberdeen, Asheboro, and Durham
Steam	Last revenue steam, January 12, 1954: 2-8-0 No. 538 at Glenwood Yard, Raleigh. The steam roster was cleared on January 29, 1954
Diesels	59 locomotives, all-time. Baldwin switchers and AS-416s, three GE 70-tonners, 17 GP18s, and seven GP38s. Diesel roster
Successor	Southern Railway, January 1, 1974, through the Carolina & Northwestern, which kept the Norfolk Southern name until 1981

Elizabeth City & Norfolk

The North Carolina Railroad Commission’s first annual report, dated December 31, 1891, gives the corporate opening in one paragraph. The company was organized on January 20, 1870, as the Elizabeth City & Norfolk Railroad. The road opened to Elizabeth City, 45 miles, on June 1, 1881, and to Edenton on December 6, 1881. A legislative enactment of February 1, 1883, changed the name to the Norfolk Southern Railroad. The eastern terminal was Berkley, now part of Norfolk, on the far side of the Eastern Branch from the city. William E. Philips was president of the Elizabeth City & Norfolk in 1881 and 1882, and president of the Norfolk Southern Railroad from 1883.

The original Norfolk Southern Railway logo. Author’s work. Red ground, an orange ring lettered Norfolk Southern over Railway Company, a white ribbon, and a red NS monogram on an orange square.

The same 1891 report places the first receivership on November 22, 1889, when the United States Court for the Eastern District of Virginia named Watson B. Dickerman receiver. The company was reorganized on June 1, 1891, as the Norfolk & Southern Railroad and was consolidated with the Albemarle & Pantego Railroad. Dickerman, the receiver, became president of the new company. The Albemarle & Pantego ran from Mackey’s Ferry through Pantego to Belhaven and operated the ferry across Albemarle Sound to Edenton.

Albemarle Sound

In January 1900 the Norfolk & Southern absorbed the Norfolk, Virginia Beach & Southern, the line from downtown Norfolk to the oceanfront at Virginia Beach and the Princess Anne Hotel. In 1904 it took the Chesapeake Transit Company, which had opened a second line from Norfolk to Virginia Beach by way of Cape Henry in 1902. A railbus schedule dated September 29, 1946, still showed service between Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

In March 1904 the company bought the Washington & Plymouth Railroad, between those two North Carolina towns, and extended it from Plymouth to Mackey’s Ferry. Robert C. Reisweber’s history for the Norfolk & Southern Railway Historical Society describes the result as a main line of 135 miles that still required a nine-mile ferry from Edenton to Mackey’s Ferry. On November 23, 1906, the railroad merged with four others. Connections built between those lines produced a system from Norfolk to Raleigh, with branches to New Bern, Beaufort, Morehead City, Kinston, Goldsboro, Columbia, Oriental, and Belhaven, and with the Virginia Beach and Suffolk lines still on the map.

The ferry was the bottleneck. The company built a five-mile timber trestle across Albemarle Sound. The first train crossed it on January 1, 1910. While the trestle was under construction the railroad went into receivership again, in 1908. It emerged on May 4, 1910, as a new Norfolk Southern Railroad.

Charlotte

In 1911 the Norfolk Southern bought the charter of the Raleigh, Charlotte & Southern, a company formed to build from Raleigh to Charlotte, and it bought four existing railroads that already reached Fayetteville, Aberdeen, Asheboro, Ellerbe, Carthage, and Jackson Springs. Those lines became branches. The society’s chronology dates the through route to 1914, when the railroad built from Varina to Colon and from Mount Gilead to Charlotte. The Norfolk–Charlotte line in that form was 383.3 miles, the distance given for the railroad’s 24-hour less-than-carload service between those cities in 1960.

On May 27, 1920, the Norfolk Southern leased the Durham & South Carolina Railroad and gained a branch into Durham. Reisweber puts the operated mileage at that moment at 942 miles, the greatest extent the railroad reached. In later years it gave up the branches to Suffolk, Columbia, Oriental, Asheboro, Ellerbe, Carthage, and Jackson Springs, and it gave up the leased trackage to Beaufort, Morehead City, Kinston, and Goldsboro. The Durham & Southern met the Norfolk Southern at Fuquay-Varina.

Rand McNally map of November 1965 titled Norfolk Southern Railway and Connections, with the railroad drawn as a heavy line from Norfolk to Charlotte

Norfolk Southern Railway and Connections. Rand McNally & Co., November 1965. Author’s collection. The heavy line is the Norfolk Southern, from the Norfolk area through eastern North Carolina to Charlotte, with the surrounding railroads shown as connections.

On September 29, 1961, the company moved its headquarters from Norfolk to Raleigh. At the merger of January 1, 1974, Reisweber’s figure for track still in service is just over 600 miles.

The Railway of 1942

The Depression put the railroad back in receivership. George R. Loyall and L. H. Windholz were the receivers in 1932 and 1933. M. H. Hawkins and Windholz followed, and they were still the receivers when the company was reorganized on January 21, 1942, as the Norfolk Southern Railway. L. A. Beck was the first president of that Railway company. J. T. Kingsley was president from 1947 to 1953. Patrick B. McGinnis was chairman during Kingsley’s years. McGinnis later held the presidencies of the Central of Georgia, the New York, New Haven & Hartford, and the Boston & Maine.

Steam

The society’s chronology records the last locomotive of each early wheel arrangement and the engines that closed the steam era. The last 4-4-0, No. 52, was retired in 1937. The last 2-6-0, No. 116, was retired in 1941. In 1940 Baldwin delivered the last new steam locomotives, five 2-8-4s, Nos. 600–604. In 1950 those five were sold to the Domestic & Foreign Commerce Corporation of Washington, D.C., and they later went to the Nacionales de México. In 1948 the railroad sold 2-8-0 No. 203 to the Atlantic & Western. The society identifies that engine as the surviving Norfolk Southern steam locomotive, displayed at Sanford, North Carolina, as Atlantic & Western No. 12.

At the end of 1948 the same chronology counts 31 steam locomotives and 18 diesels. In 1951 the diesels were ahead, 23 to 21. The last steam locomotive in revenue service was 2-8-0 No. 538, on the morning yard job at Glenwood Yard in Raleigh, on January 12, 1954. On January 29, 1954, after AS-416s 1611, 1612, and 1613 had been received, the railroad retired the remaining steam locomotives. The diesel roster that day totaled 31. On February 5, 1954, diesel 1611 left Carolina Yard at Norfolk with six of those retired engines: 4-6-0 No. 133, Baldwin, 1913; and 2-8-0s No. 205, Baldwin, 1910; No. 215, Baldwin, 1916; No. 538, Baldwin, 1926; No. 542, Baldwin, 1926; and No. 544, Baldwin, 1927.

Diesels

The diesel fleet began with Baldwin switchers in 1947. Three DS-4-4-660s, Nos. 661–663, and two DS-4-4-1000s, Nos. 1001–1002, were the yard locomotives. Ten DRS-6-4-1500s, Nos. 1501–1510, were the first road switchers, completed from October 1947 through March 1948. Three General Electric 70-tonners, Nos. 701–703, arrived in June 1948. Those eighteen locomotives are the diesel count at the end of 1948.

The locomotive the railroad kept buying was the AS-416. Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton built 25 of them. Seventeen, Nos. 1601–1617, were Norfolk Southern engines, delivered from May 1951 through December 1955. They are 1,600-horsepower A1A-A1A road switchers, 58 feet between coupler pulling faces. The five engines of 1951 brought the diesel count to 23, the year diesels first outnumbered steam. Nos. 1611–1613, completed in January 1954, were the three that closed the steam roster. Nos. 1606 through 1617 were still the railroad’s road power in the photographs of the late 1960s and early 1970s. No. 1616 is the survivor, at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer.

A pair of original Norfolk Southern AS-416s at Glenwood Yard in Raleigh in January 1968

A pair of AS-416s at Glenwood Yard, Raleigh, North Carolina, in January 1968. Warren Calloway photograph.

Original Norfolk Southern AS-416 No. 1607 and another AS-416 at Glenwood Yard, Raleigh, in January 1968

AS-416 No. 1607 and another AS-416 at Glenwood Yard, Raleigh, in January 1968. Warren Calloway photograph. No. 1607 is construction number 75721, completed September 30, 1952.

Original Norfolk Southern AS-416 No. 1606 at the Raleigh terminal in the 1960s

AS-416 No. 1606 at the railroad’s terminal in Raleigh, North Carolina, in the 1960s. Warren Calloway photograph. Construction number 75699, completed September 27, 1952.

Original Norfolk Southern AS-416 No. 1617 with a short freight near Senter, North Carolina, in September 1971

AS-416 No. 1617 with a short freight near Senter, North Carolina, in September 1971. Warren Calloway photograph.

Original Norfolk Southern AS-416 No. 1609 and GP18 No. 9 at the roundhouse in Norfolk on November 24, 1968

The engine terminal at Norfolk, Virginia. AS-416 No. 1609 and GP18 No. 9 at the roundhouse on November 24, 1968. Roger Puta photograph.

Electro-Motive’s first Norfolk Southern locomotives were seventeen GP18s, Nos. 1–17, order 5655, completed in September and October 1963. They left the factory with low short hoods. The last new power was seven GP38s, Nos. 2001–2007, built from June 1966 through July 1967, also with low short hoods. After the 1974 merger the Southern rebuilt both groups with high short hoods and assigned them to run long hood forward. The GP18s became Southern 180–196. The GP38s became Southern 2880–2886.

Original Norfolk Southern GP18 No. 5 at a rural grade crossing near Pinehurst in September 1969

GP18 No. 5 at a grade crossing near Pinehurst, North Carolina, in September 1969. Warren Calloway photograph. Low short hood, as delivered. Serial 27776, order 5655.

Original Norfolk Southern GP18 No. 4 on a wooden trestle near Plymouth on July 2, 1972

GP18 No. 4 on a wooden trestle near Plymouth, North Carolina, on July 2, 1972. Warren Calloway photograph. Serial 27775, order 5655.

Serials, order numbers, completion dates, and the later numbers are on the diesel roster. No. 702, the middle 70-tonner, was sold to the Montpelier & Barre in June 1967 and became that railroad’s No. 30. Nos. 701 and 703 went to the Southern with the merger.

The name after 1974

On January 1, 1974, the Southern bought the Norfolk Southern and merged it into the Carolina & Northwestern. That subsidiary kept the Norfolk Southern name. In 1981 the Carolina & Northwestern name was restored, which left “Norfolk Southern” free for the combination then being planned. Norfolk Southern Corporation, the holding company, dates from June 1, 1982. The Norfolk & Western and the Southern remained separate railroads under it. On December 31, 1990, the Norfolk & Western became a subsidiary of the Southern, and the Southern took the name Norfolk Southern Railway.

The eastern end of the old railroad is still a short line. The Chesapeake & Albemarle, a Genesee & Wyoming railroad, operates 78 miles between Chesapeake, Virginia, and Edenton, the 1881 route. Genesee & Wyoming’s own page, as of June 2024, splits that mileage as 19 miles in Virginia and 59 in North Carolina. The company began service in 1990 under the Thoroughbred Shortline Program.

Norfolk Southern ES44AC No. 8114 painted in the original Norfolk Southern red and orange, summer 2012

Norfolk Southern ES44AC No. 8114 in the original Norfolk Southern colors, in the summer of 2012. Warren Calloway photograph. The unit is part of the heritage fleet painted in 2012.

Sources

First Annual Report of the North Carolina Railroad Commission, December 31, 1891, as transcribed by Carolana. The Norfolk & Southern was organized January 20, 1870, as the Elizabeth City & Norfolk. Opened to Elizabeth City, 45 miles, June 1, 1881, and to Edenton, December 6, 1881. Name changed by legislative enactment February 1, 1883. Watson B. Dickerman was appointed receiver on November 22, 1889, by the United States Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The Norfolk & Southern Railroad was reorganized June 1, 1891, and consolidated with the Albemarle & Pantego.
Robert C. Reisweber, “Brief History of the First Norfolk Southern Railroad,” Norfolk & Southern Railway Historical Society, February 23, 2005. Albemarle & Pantego and the Mackey’s Ferry line. Norfolk, Virginia Beach & Southern in January 1900, and the Princess Anne Hotel. Chesapeake Transit in 1904, a line opened via Cape Henry in 1902. Washington & Plymouth purchased in March 1904 and extended to Mackey’s Ferry; a 135-mile main line with a nine-mile ferry. Merger of November 23, 1906, and the branch towns named above. Five-mile timber trestle; first train January 1, 1910. New Norfolk Southern Railroad, May 4, 1910. Raleigh, Charlotte & Southern charter in 1911, and the four branch railroads. Durham & South Carolina lease in May 1920, when operated mileage reached 942, the greatest extent. Branches and the leased trackage given up, as named above. Just over 600 miles still in service at the merger of January 1, 1974.
Norfolk & Southern Railway Historical Society, history chronology and company officers. May 27, 1920, for the Durham & South Carolina lease. Through line to Charlotte dated 1914, Varina to Colon and Mount Gilead to Charlotte. Headquarters moved from Norfolk to Raleigh on September 29, 1961. Officer succession used above, including William E. Philips, Watson B. Dickerman, the receivers of 1932–1942, L. A. Beck, J. T. Kingsley, Patrick B. McGinnis as chairman, and J. R. Prichard as president from 1954 to 1956. Steam entries: No. 52 retired in 1937; No. 116 retired in 1941; Baldwin 2-8-4s 600–604 in 1940; No. 203 sold to the Atlantic & Western in 1948 and displayed as No. 12 at Sanford; sale of the 600s in 1950 to Domestic & Foreign Commerce, later Nacionales de México; 31 steam and 18 diesels at the end of 1948; 23 diesels and 21 steam in 1951; last revenue steam, 2-8-0 No. 538, Glenwood Yard, January 12, 1954; steam roster retired January 29, 1954, after 1611–1613, with 31 diesels; February 5, 1954, dead line behind 1611, the six engines and builder years named above. Railbus schedule No. 138, September 29, 1946, Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
Norfolk & Southern Railway Historical Society, magazine index. Trains, February 1960: 24-hour less-than-carload service between Norfolk and Charlotte, 383.3 miles.
Norfolk & Southern Railway Historical Society, diesel roster posted from John F. Sullivan, “Norfolk Southern Railway,” Railfan & Railroad, August 1996. Southern numbers 180–196 for the GP18s, with high short hoods and long-hood-forward operation. Retirement of 661–663, 1001–1002, 1501–1510, and 1601–1605 in the mid-1960s. Nos. 1606–1617 retired with the Southern merger, and 1616 preserved. No. 702 to Montpelier & Barre 30 in June 1967. Nos. 701 and 703 retired by the Southern in 1978. The society’s equipment list: 701, builder number 30013, became Southern 70, then Naporano Iron & Metal in May 1978 and LRS 110 in June 1979; 703, builder number 30015, remained Southern 703, then Naporano and Lake Ontario Steel in May 1978, and later the South Simcoe Railway. The same equipment list records 1616 as sold to Peabody Coal after 1974 and preserved at Spencer.
Trains, “Norfolk Southern merger family tree,” June 2, 2006. Southern Railway bought the railroad on January 1, 1974, and merged it into the Carolina & Northwestern, which assumed the Norfolk Southern name. The Carolina & Northwestern name was reinstated in 1981. Norfolk Southern Corporation dates from June 1, 1982. The Norfolk & Western remained a separate subsidiary until December 31, 1990, when the Southern took the name Norfolk Southern Railway.
Builder production rosters on this site. DS-4-4-660, DS-4-4-1000, DRS-6-4-1500, and AS-416 construction numbers and completion dates. GP18s 1–16 and 17, serials and order 5655. GP38s 2001–2007, serials and orders 7895, 7925, and 7937. The GP18 compilation records the Norfolk Southern units as low-hood locomotives.
The Diesel Shop, original Norfolk Southern motive power, revised June 15, 2019, data from R. Craig. The same road numbers, construction numbers, and Southern renumbers 180–196 and 2880–2886, with high short hoods. GP38s 2001–2007 left the factory with low short hoods. Sources named there: Gary and Stephen Dolzall, Baldwin Diesel Locomotives; Diesel Era, on the GP18; Extra 2200 South, March 1968.
Railroad Picture Archives. Southern 2880, serial 31782, order 7895, built June 1966 as Norfolk Southern 2001. Precision National 1616, photographed May 21, 1974, formerly Norfolk Southern 1616, later Peabody Coal 1616.
Genesee & Wyoming, Chesapeake & Albemarle page, figures as of June 2024. 78 miles, 19 in Virginia and 59 in North Carolina. Interchange with CSX at Portsmouth and with Norfolk Southern at Chesapeake. Acquired by Genesee & Wyoming in 2012. The Chesapeake & Albemarle page on this site dates the short line’s start to 1990 and the Thoroughbred Shortline Program, on the old main line between Chesapeake and Edenton.
Norfolk Southern heritage roster on this site. ES44AC 8114 is the locomotive painted for the original Norfolk Southern Railway.

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