Brief History:

Norfolk Southern was created when the Norfolk & Western (formed in 1881) and the Southern Railway (formed in 1894) merged together in 1982.  The new headquarters was established in Norfolk, VA.  Norfolk Southern was also the name of a Railroad that had merged into the Southern Railway in 1974, and is the namesake of the current corporation.  In 1997, Norfolk Southern and CSX filed a joint application with the Surface Transportation Board to purchase Conrail.  The STB approved the transaction in 1998, and NS acquired 58% of Conrail, with CSX acquiring the remaining 42%.  NS began operating trains on its portion of Conrail's territory in June of 1999.

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