NS

[NW Mailing List]

Hello all -

I have recently joined the Society and am writing to offer my two cents on
the society offering a page on Norfolk Southern in future editions of the
*Arrow. *

I would like to clarify that my favorite subject in the world is the
Norfolk and Western Railway. But I am also cognizant of the fact that life
did not end in 1982, and that history - and the stories that come with it -
has continued to be written. When we limit ourselves to a time frame that
we are rapidly losing in living memory, we limit the content available for
publication and we risk losing the history made after that point. I firmly
believe we are looking at what could be somewhat of a "dark age" for
railroad history if the publications of record (in this case, the *Arrow*) do
not begin recording stories and making them publicly (through subscription)
available.

It has been 42 years since the NS merger, and railroading has changed
dramatically since. Currently, there is no official repository for stories
and information of note for Norfolk Southern. I know that many who hired
out at the end of the N&W era are still with us and have 42 years of
post-merger railroading to celebrate and share. I cannot tell you how many
times I have heard about a location, a branch line, or a specific service
that existed under the N&W be ignored in online repositories because they
feel the story is not worth telling after 1982, figuring enough people
reading were alive at the time to make connections. One page of 34 is a
small price to pay to ensure the story of the Norfolk and Western after
1982 is told.

I am in my twenties, and the inclusion of an NS page would attract me to
contribute. Everything I know about the Norfolk and Western is from books,
old copies of the *Arrow*, and second- or third-hand stories from old
railroaders. Now those are fourth-hand stories, and the historical
accuracy, I'm sure, has declined with each retelling. I do not feel I can
accurately and meaningfully contribute to discussions of the historic N&W
era because I was decades away from being born and a LOT of the important
information has already been accurately dedicated to space in a publication
somewhere. However, with Norfolk Southern, I believe I can contribute
because there is so much that hasn't yet been told. Limiting it to the N&W
region would be an incredible way to connect the issue's contents to a
modern context, providing young fans an accessible and relatable way to
learn about the Norfolk and Western.

I spent two summers archiving for the Nevada Northern Railway in Ely, and I
spent one of those summers collecting oral histories from people who were
associated with the railroad. Many of them were with people who started
working with the railroad in the mid-1980s as the process to convert the
railroad from working industry to a museum was underway because almost all
of the original employees had passed on or were otherwise unreachable. The
stories were just as remarkable - they were railroaders, too. History
continued to be made despite the change of organization and leadership and
it is just as worthy of space on a page. We should not let this happen to
the early NS era - uninteresting as it may seem to some.

Young folks want to be included in saving history, too!

Just my two cents.

Jonah Collins
Roanoke, VA

On Mon, Oct 28, 2024 at 10:19 PM NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List <
nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:

> Harry, Yes there is and they stick to that railroad!
>
> Roger Huber
> Deer Creek Locomotive Works
>
>
> On Monday, October 28, 2024 at 11:00:38 AM CDT, NW Mailing List via
> NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
>
>
> But Roger, there's already a Norfolk & Southern Hysterical Society.  *H.W.
> Bundy*
>
> On Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 11:53:11 AM EDT, NW Mailing List via
> NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
>
>
> Lots of good responses from this controversial issue.
>
> As many stated: For the Society to continue the inclusion of NS material
> is necessary BUT it won't be the Norfolk & Western Ry HS. Then it will
> become the Norfolk Southern HS. That will no longer include my membership
> after all these years. I have zero interest in the NS and modern
> railroading so I will save my $60 membership dues and just re-read my old
> Arrows.
>
> My 2¢!
>
> Roger Huber
> Deer Creek Locomotive Works
>
>
> On Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 09:20:27 AM CDT, NW Mailing List <
> nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
>
>
> Jim,
>
>
>
> While painful to some of us who have memories of N&W, I support your
> position.  The Society will not thrive without a connection to the present
> and a connection to those who have no personal recollection of N&W.  I hope
> the major emphasis will be the N&W and I believe your email said it would.
>
>
>
>        Ray Smoot
>
>
>
> *From:* NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org> *On Behalf Of *NW
> Mailing List
> *Sent:* Sunday, October 27, 2024 6:14 AM
> *To:* NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> *Subject:* NS
>
>
>
> I am sorry I forgot to sign my submission.  I am Jim Cochran, member of
> the BoD and chairman of the society's model committee.  I served on
> the board 40 years ago and even back then we were discussing NS inclusion
> to broaden the audience to which our efforts might appeal.  For all intents
> and purposes the N&W ended in 1982 with the formation of NS.  The number of
> folks with "first -hand" knowledge of N&W is getting smaller every year and
> many people out there have only ever seen "da hoss" in daily operations.
> Further, I personally believe that many people like to model what they see
> out there in use.
>
> As those of you who pay attention to the status of the society may know,
> our membership has been in decline for a number of years such that today we
> are a mere shadow of what we were in our heyday.  This means our revenues
> from both membership dues and sales are correspondingly reduced making it
> harder and harder to produce the Arrow or fund any other projects.
>
> Embracing NS has always been considered as a way to get additional and
> perhaps some younger members into the society.
>
> It is not our intent to diminish our devotion to the N&W in any way and
> that will always be the primary focus of our society.  However we will be
> giving limited space in the Arrow to NS topics related to N&W in hopes of
> appealing fo people interested in more current aspects of the road.
>
> This is a thumbnail of the reasoning behind our decision.  Please send
> your specific question and I or other BoD members will answer them as best
> we can and thank you for your continued support without which we cannot
> provide you with the Arrow, the archives, the database, and all the other
> things that you may take for granted.
>
> Jim Cochran
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