The Norfolk and Western Railway, commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. The Norfolk & Western Railway was a unique operation of modest proportions that achieved recognition beyond contemporary railroads of similar size. The story of the N&W is a story about people-a story of the tens of thousands of people who worked in the shops and aboard the trains, sold the tickets and moved the freight, laid the track and managed corporate affairs.This book celebrates that heritage through the lens of some 200 archival photographs. From images of the muscular Class J steam locomotive to the lone agent of the rural depot, these photographs have been harvested from the N&W's files at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. The archival material provides the reader the rare opportunity to rummage through the N&W's attic. See the engine crews at the turn of the last century, the shop gangs, freight agents, roundhouses, stations, and iron horses of a bygone age. With views of the rugged and, at times, dangerous days of railroading in the late 1800s to the rise of the N&W as a member of America's corporate elite, these pictures convey the railway's storied history.

Through the images and stories of the people who built it, discover the fascinating history of a railway established to fuel the nations' appetite for coal and that grew into so much more. For a century, the Norfolk and Western Railway operated as one of the greatest transportation companies in the southeastern United States. From developing the coal fields of West Virginia to accommodating passengers aboard its famous Powhaten Arrow and Pocahontas lines, the N&W was the last major railroad to abandon the steam engine. The story of the N&W is a story about people-a story of the tens of thousands of people who worked in the shops and aboard the trains, sold the tickets and moved the freight, laid the track and managed corporate affairs. Images of Rail: Norfolk and Western Railway celebrates that heritage through the lens of some 200 archival photographs. From images of the muscular Class J steam locomotive to the lone agent of the rural depot, these photographs have been harvested from the N&W's files at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. The archival material provides the reader the rare opportunity to rummage through the N&W's attic. See the engine crews at the turn of the last century, the shop gangs, freight agents, roundhouses, stations, and iron horses of a bygone age. With views of the rugged and, at times, dangerous days of railroading in the late 1800s to the rise of the N&W as a member of America's corporate elite, these pictures convey the railway's storied history.

The collection includes approximately 360 photographs (and in some cases, photocopies of photographs) of railroad construction in Southwest Virginia. The majority of images date from 1967-1981. There is also a folder of undated images.

Includes 15 postcards of historical scenes of the Norfolk and Western Railway.

The tracks of the Norfolk and Western Railway snaked through Virginias Shenandoah Valley and the coalfields of West Virginia. For nearly 100 years, the Norfolk and Western brought freight, passengers, and economic vitality to large cities and rural mining towns. At each stop was the depot or station; some stations were large, architecturally ornate structures that represented the muscular energy and romantic era of this great steam railway with its famed J-class engines. In other places there were small wooden depots that depicted the hard-scrabble life of the mining communities, tucked amid steep mountain valleys that were indelibly shaped by the railways presence. Today some of those structures remain, while many disappeared when the railway ceased passenger or other service. The Norfolk and Western eventually merged with the Southern Railway, and though the trains of the Norfolk Southern still run along those same lines, they simply pass by where they used to stop many years ago.

This collection consists of a photograph of a large group of people believed to be Roanoke, Virginia employees of Norfolk & Western Railway. An exterior view, the photo shows construction materials in the foreground, with railcars behind the group. The man seated at right foreground with his hat on the ground is believed to be L. H. Blankenship.