Nsc Stock Quote

NSC is the New York Stock Exchange symbol for the Norfolk Southern Corporation, a transportation and real estate mega-company whose largest asset is the Norfolk Southern Railway, one of the only four Class One railroads left in the United States.

Moving freight over 16,000-mile route network of its own and via trackage rights over thousands of miles of tracks owned by other railroads, the Norfolk Southern Railway, operates in 22 states southern, eastern and Midwest states in the U.S. and the Canadian province of Ontario. Major Norfolk Southern revenue streams come from coal, auto parts, chemicals, intermodal (dedicated trainsets of cars especially designed to hold truck trailers) servers for J.B. Hunt Trucking, Schneider Transportation and United Parcel and other customers, and general merchandise.

According to the definitive source on all things railroad-related, Trains Magazine, what is now the Norfolk Southern Railway began life as the "Norfolk & Petersburg chartered in 1850; it and two companions renamed from Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio to Norfolk & Western Railroad in 1881. Pennsylvania Railroad began purchasing interest in 1900, and by 1964 owned one-third. PRR bowed out as the Penn Central merger pre-planning precipitated N&W expansion by merger of NKP, Wabash, et al, in October 1964. N&W and Southern Railway assumed common ownership under Norfolk Southern Corp. in merger of June 1, 1982."

Corporate parent Norfolk Southern Corporation was formed in 1982 to serve as a holding company for the newly merged Southern Railway and Norfolk & Western Railway, which combined under the unified name of Norfolk Southern Railway. The system was expanded still further with the 1998 purchase of 58 percent of the government owned Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail).

Technologically, the railroad is best known for its legendary J Class steam locomotives of the late 1930s and '40s. Some of the most powerful locomotives ever built, the line's in-house build articulated freight engines had higher tractive effort (pulling force) and horsepower ratings than even the most potent of today's latest generation AC-powered diesel engines.

So good were these steamers that Norfolk & Southern steamers used several of them to pull regularly scheduled passenger excursions until just a few years ago. Others are still being operated by private owners and rail preservation groups and a nice representative sample are on static display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation.