Norfolk Southern Heritage Units

Originally posted on August 31, 2021.

In 2012 to honor its 30th anniversary Norfolk Southern painted 20 new locomotives in paint schemes that commemorated some of its predecessor railroads it had acquired.

NS 8098 Conrail taken by Rocky Jackson Jan 2, 2021 at West Jefferson, Ohio

Engine 8098 rolled out of Altoona on March 15. Only 13 years prior in 1999 Norfolk Southern acquired a portion of Conrail (#Conrail).

I got word that this engine was just to the north of me. I hopped into my car and the chase was on. Saw it in West Carrollton, but wasn't in position to get a picture. Instead I chased it all the way to West Jefferson (near Columbus) to wait on it to get pictures.

Conrail was formed from the ashes of Northeast and Midwest railroad bankruptcies. The government created this entity in 1976 from bankrupt Penn Central (Pennsylvania and New York Central), Lehigh & Hudson River, Erie, Lackawanna, Central of New Jersey, Lehigh Valley, Reading, and Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines. After shedding thousands of route miles and becoming profitable, the government allowed Conrail to become a public company. In a tug of war battle between Norfolk Southern and CSX, Conrail was eventually split between the two.

Last Engine: Lackawanna engine 1074

This engine rolled out of Muncie, Indiana on June 27. This was an EMD SD70ACe unit and was painted at Progress Rail Services' facility in Muncie.

The Rest of the Fleet

The 10 EMD units were SD70ACe engine. They were all delivered in May and June 2012. They were all built and painted at the EMD (Progress Rail's) Muncie, Indiana facility.

Savannah & Atlanta Railway (NS 1065)

New York Central Railroad (NS 1066)

Reading Company (NS 1067)

Erie Railroad (NS 1068)

Virginian Railway (NS 1069)

Wabash Railroad (NS 1070)

Central Railroad of New Jersey (NS 1071)

Illinois Terminal Railroad (NS 1072)

Penn Central (NS 1073)

Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western (NS 1074)

The 10 GE units were ES44AC models. Nine of them were delivered in March 2012 from GE in primer paint and went to the Norfolk and Southern's paint shops located at Altoona or Chattanooga. The 10th engine Monongahela was originally built in September 2010 and was repainted.

Monongahela Railway (NS 8025)

Conrail (NS 8098)

Southern Railway (NS 8099)

Nickel Plate Road (common name of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (NS 8100)

Central of Georgia Railway (NS 8101)

Pennsylvania Railroad (NS 8102)

Norfolk & Western Railway (NS 8103)

Lehigh Valley Railroad (NS 8104)

Interstate Railroad (NS 8105)

Norfolk Southern Railway (NS 8114)

Additional Units: The program was so successful Norfolk Southern that Norfolk Southern expanded the program and created additional heritage units.

Additional Units

Southern Railway (again)

Erie Lackawanna

Norfolk & Portsmouth

Belt Line Railroad