Talk:Norfolk Southern Railway/to do

• Add a photo or two of Norfolk Southern trains, both the current incarnation and the "pre-NS" NS

Updated Norfolk Southern Railway history

The Norfolk Southern Railway was an operating railroad in 1940 when my father was hired in Raleigh, NC. He began by emptying trash cans for free. When most of the able-bodied men were sent to WWII, he was hired finally full time even though he was handicapped. He was turned down by other railroads for employment because of his disability. One of his first tasks was hanging the mail bags on the pole for the train to catch as it went by. He worked his way through the ranks as clerk serving at several stations including Wilson, NC. As his seniority grew, he would bid on clerk jobs in other stations finally bidding on a clerk position in Charlotte, NC where I was born. He stayed with the Norfolk Southern Railway and eventually worked his way to management in the Charlotte Freight office on 36th Street and downtown Charlotte, NC in the Liberty Life Building in the Traffic Department. In 1972 Southern Railway and Norfolk Southern Railway merged and became just Southern Railway. They kept the management people and my father ended up on the night shift as Agent Terminal Control at the passenger terminal on Tryon Street in Charlotte. He kept his seniority in tact. When a daytime position in Charleston, SC became available, he bid on it and because of his seniority, he became Agent Terminal Control in the freight office in Charleston, SC in 1978. It was still Southern Railway at that time. In 1982 Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western merged and became Norfolk Southern again. He retired in 1982 with 42 years of service with the railroad. In order to keep all his benefits in tact, he needed to work 10 years with the new Southern Railway, which he did from 1972 to 1982. This is just to clarify that there was a Norfolk Southern Railroad in 1940. I have many letters on letterhead from his peers with other railroads that no longer exist congratulating my father on his many promotions. At retirement he was #6 on the seniority list. It was an honor to be the daughter of such a dedicated railroad employee. Leonajp77 (talk) 05:51, 13 April 2014 (UTC)