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| Norfolk Southern Corporation | Volume 4, Issue 10, October 2004 |
Norfolk Southern’s Chattanooga Diesel Shop has been recognized for its efforts to help ensure the city’s water quality.
The Kentucky-Tennessee Water Environment Association’s Pretreatment Excellence Award is presented annually to an industry in compliance with Chattanooga’s pretreatment ordinance. “It recognizes an outstanding effort on the part of the company,” said Gene Johnson, the association’s chairman for awards. “This is a real positive for the company with the community,” he said.
Joe Oliver, engineer environmental operations, said water contaminated from washed locomotives and other locomotive maintenance is treated on-site prior to reaching the city’s sanitary wastewater treatment system, where it is further treated and released for public use. “We work very hard to ensure the quality of the water and to protect the environment and people of this community,” he said.
Eligibility for the award is based on “upholding the city’s sanitation code, attitude, working with the city to correct a problem, or just doing a good job,” Johnson said.
Oliver believes the award enhances the company’s environmental status and community-oriented image. “As part of a community, we need to work to ensure environmental quality. Our hope is that communities will see our efforts to maintain a healthy environment and will continue to build a strong relationship with our company,” he said.
Norfolk Southern and the Mississippi Department of Transportation announced the completion of $11.6 million in railroad crossing upgrades made over the past four years.
Crossings along the line running between Meridian and Picayune, Miss., were improved with gates and flashing lights. NS also reduced the number of railroad crossings along the line in an effort to make the route safer and reduce the potential for deadly collisions between trains and vehicles.
“Mississippi has set a higher standard, making a safer place for citizens who travel across railroad crossings,” said Bill Hughes, NS manager safety grade crossing west. “ Mississippi is the first state to complete a railroad project of this magnitude. Anytime you can help save a life, that’s something you want to be involved with, and that’s what this is all about.”
NS funded $4.7 million of the upgrades, while the Mississippi Department of Transportation covered the remaining costs.
Hughes presented a plaque to state transportation officials in appreciation for their support of the project.
MDOT Executive Director Larry L. “Butch” Brown said, “We’re no longer just the highway department. Rail is something that is high on our priority list. This project was not an easy task, but one that needed to be done to save lives. This line is safer now because of Norfolk Southern’s efforts.”
Norfolk Southern employees, retirees and others gathered at the Roanoke Roadway Material Yard on Aug. 20 to celebrate completion of the 10,000th panelized turnout constructed for NS’ track system. The yard has been producing panelized turnouts since February 1979. A turnout is a track switch.
“We held a luncheon to thank many people for their contributions in reaching this milestone,” said Mike Wolfe, manager roadway material yard. “Our budgeting and scheduling group in Atlanta, the material management department, vendors, transportation department, the relay reclamation crew, shipping receiving crew and turnout construction crew all pulled together to reach this achievement.”
The Roanoke Material Yard regularly constructs 36 different styles of turnouts and builds specially designed turnouts for specific track locations. Panelized turnouts reduce track-time delays by replacing the whole turnout at once instead of replacing one component at a time. Also, the latest switch components are adapted for testing and standardizing NS track required by increased tonnage, traffic, rail mergers and cost effectiveness.
The 10,000th turnout is a #10 spring frog turnout going to #53 crossover in East Roanoke Terminal, Roanoke.
“We look forward to assembling the next 10,000 NS turnouts in a safe, quality and productive way,” Wolfe said.
Norfolk Southern is a corporate donor to the U.S. Pavilion, part of the 2005 World’s Fair Exposition. The event will be held in Aichi, Japan, March 25 through Sept. 25, 2005.
Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, honorary chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, is serving as chairman of World EXPO.
“As a strategic partner of Toyota in the global distribution of its products, Norfolk Southern is pleased to support this outstanding event,” said Ike Prillaman, vice chairman and chief marketing officer and board member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Norfolk Southern, the Delaware Department of Transportation and the port of Wilmington announced that the $13.9 million rehabilitation of the Shellpot railroad bridge is largely complete, and the bridge is open for freight trains.
Under the terms of the unique construction agreement, the state agreed to fund the cost of restoring the bridge for train service, and NS agreed to compensate the state over a 20-year period based on its use of the bridge. Work on the bridge project, which crosses the Christina River, began in April 2003.
“The relationship between the state of Delaware and Norfolk Southern, as evidenced by the restoration of the Shellpot Bridge, can serve as a model for public-private partnerships throughout the country,” said Wick Moorman, NS senior vice president corporate planning and services.
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said, “The restoration of the Shellpot Bridge is vitally important to the freight rail service on the Delmarva Peninsula. It is a critical ingredient in the continued growth of business for the port of Wilmington and its regional competitiveness. The return of the rail connection will most definitely stimulate our local economy and will have a long-term economic benefit on the entire state of Delaware.”
With the restoration of rail service to the bridge, the port will have greater flexibility to schedule inbound and outbound train service. The port and Delmarva shippers will have better access to NS, and both passenger and freight rail operations in Wilmington will be improved. Additionally, since freight or yard trains no longer will have to be routed through the Wilmington Amtrak Station, congestion will be eased in support of the state’s efforts to restore and upgrade the station and improve passenger rail service.
The Shellpot Bridge will be the first toll bridge for railroad cars in the country. An electronic scanner will count the number of rail cars that cross the bridge by reading a magnetic placard that is mounted on every railcar. This type of bar scanning technology (similar to a grocery store checkout) is currently used by rail companies to keep tabs on cars along many thousands of miles of track across North America. Shellpot will become the first facility to take advantage of this to charge, and collect a toll.
The Shellpot Bridge is a swing-style railroad drawbridge originally constructed in 1888 on timber piers. The timber framework was replaced by a concrete foundation in 1951. The movable portion of the bridge is 242 feet in length, and the total length of the bridge is 725 feet. Conrail discontinued service over the bridge in December 1994 when the bridge foundation could no longer support heavy freight trains. Since that time, freight trains operating in Wilmington have had to run on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor through the Wilmington Transit Center.
Secretary of Transportation Nathan Hayward III said, “This partnership was a major challenge. But it was the innovative funding formula for this major capital project that has enabled us to get this important reconstruction done. This was a win-win solution for both the state and Norfolk Southern.”
Norfolk Southern employees can access the NS mainframe from a home or work computer using the Employee Resource Center. To get to the familiar “horse” screen, just click the Mainframe link at the top of the ERC home page. For more details about using the mainframe on the Employee Resource Center, see the “Web3270 Mainframe Access” information on the ERC home page. If you need additional assistance, contact Network Support Services at microwave 529-1527 or 800-525-2360.
Reach the Employee Resource Center from nscorp.com. Log in using your mainframe (RACF) ID and password.
The Norfolk Southern Foundation has made a five-year commitment to support Colonial Williamsburg’s African-American programming. The grant, as part of the Campaign for Colonial Williamsburg, is the latest in continuing support by Norfolk Southern since 1983.
The funds will be used to support current programs and new program development that portray the contributions, sacrifices, survival strategies and personal stories of African-Americans living in 18th-century Virginia.
“Norfolk Southern proudly supports Colonial Williamsburg in its commitment to historical and programmatic inclusiveness and authenticity,” said Kathryn B. McQuade, NS senior vice president finance and vice president and executive officer of the Norfolk Southern Foundation. “Education always has been a major focus of our funding programs, and we believe that helping Colonial Williamsburg enhance its African-American programming will provide exciting new educational opportunities.”
“Through this grant and the ongoing, generous support from the Norfolk Southern Foundation, Colonial Williamsburg has been able to help Americans of all backgrounds understand and appreciate better the history of their nation,” said Colin G. Campbell, president and chairman of Colonial Williamsburg. “This grant will significantly enhance the support and expansion of our African-American programming and, at the same time, enhance the continuing relevance of our Historic Area programming and educational outreach initiatives.”
Norfolk Southern support for Colonial Williamsburg began with a grant for the Visitor Center renovation in 1983 and continued with support for the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum expansion in 1992 and “Brothers-in-Arms: The African-American Military Experience” program in 2003.
The most recent NS grant also supports the 2004 “Brothers-in-Arms” program Oct. 8 – 10. For more information about it and other programs at Colonial Williamsburg, go to www.history.org.
Norfolk Southern’s Diversity Council will honor NS veterans and active-duty employees during Veteran’s Month in November. If you’d like to share some of your experiences as a member of the military for possible publication in Newsbreak and on a special section of the NS Web site, send them to Andrea Just, manager corporate communications, at andrea.just@nscorp.com; NS mail to Box 224, Norfolk; or U.S. Mail at Three Commercial Place, Norfolk, Va. 23510.
For Norfolk Southern’s 2005 wall calendar, employees provided a wide range of photos from across the system, creating an imaginative pictorial of a year in the life of our railroad.
The 2005 cover shot by Eddie Brouse, yardmaster, Enola, Pa., shows a late afternoon train in the mountains north of Driftwood, Pa.
Jim Haag, locomotive engineer, Enola, Pa., is a double winner with summer and winter photos. A snowy landscape with an intermodal train at Lees Crossroads, Pa., won the December 2004 slot, and a train hauling a solid load of red combines appears in August.
An auto train races above waterfalls at Falls Mill, W.Va., in the January photo by Chris Dalton, train dispatcher, Bluefield, W.Va.
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(August photo by Jim Haag) |
For February, Toledo locomotive engineer Steve Rathke captured a locomotive switching cars near downtown Chicago.
Casey Thomason, locomotive engineer, Columbus, Ga., is another double winner. For March, he caught an NS train passing an old gristmill outside Childersburg, Ala. His winning photo for May is a dramatic night shot of a train in Alexander City, Ala.
For April, Jennifer Epps, associate designer, Roanoke, captured a train emerging from the woods after a thunderstorm in Brookneal, Va.
The calendar photo for June by Rick Dietz, systems engineer, Atlanta, features an NS train in a lush green forest in the Great Smoky Mountains.
For July, Bob Bahrs, conductor, Secaucus, N.J., another double winner, photographed a train rushing past a flower garden for the July spot. For September, he photographed a double-stack train moving through the farmlands of Pennsylvania near Sheridan.
An NS locomotive illuminates a foggy morning in the October shot by Jim Davis, carman, Shenandoah, Va.
For November, stair steps of waterfalls underscore an NS coal train at Gauley Bridge, W.Va., as captured by Gary Artrip, signal maintainer, Nitro, W.Va.
Mike Crawford, locomotive engineer, Portsmouth, Ohio, depicted December with a coal train pulling a grade after a snowstorm in Keystone, W.Va.
The calendar’s back cover features a train crossing the Susquehanna River Bridge near Perryville, Md., taken by G.T. “Snake” Atkinson, locomotive engineer, Baltimore.
In addition, a photo of the lighted NS train used during the July 4 celebration at Horseshoe Curve — snapped by Jerry Carey, technician, Mechanical, Altoona, — is featured in the opening section of the calendar.
“Our employees showed real expertise in the photos they sent for this year’s contest,” said Rhonda Broom, manager advertising and promotions. “They are looking at more than just the train. They are finding beautiful scenes, and they’re taking photos that illustrate the power of the Thoroughbred.”
Winning photos were selected by an intradepartmental team, based on creativity, technical proficiency, geographic coverage and traffic mix.
Every NS employee will receive one copy of the calendar. Additional copies can be purchased for $10.95 (including tax, postage and handling) using a credit card by calling toll-free 1-800-264-4394 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, or by sending a check or money order to:
Norfolk Southern Calendar
c/o Nyberg, Fletcher and White
2915 Whittington Ave.
Baltimore, Md. 21230