Eastern Railroad Discussion > NS to close Roanoke office building

I guess it was going to happen sooner or later:

http://www.nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en/news/norfolk-southerntocloseroanokeofficebuildingrelocateemployees.html

At least employees have the option to relocate and are not being laid off.

Apparently employees will relocate to Norfolk or Atlanta. Virgina Div stays in Roanoke as does shops and yard.

This place keeps getting worse and worse with each passing day.... all the time more bad news and more bad news, terrible company to work for

Posted from Android

I wonder where in Atlanta they would put the new staff. Can't imagine that NS would reopen some of the ex-Southern office space on Spring St.

They already closed the hump in Roanoke, so the yard ain't what it used to be either.

Not that doing so was a bad idea, just noting this isn't their first retrenchment there.

toledopatch Wrote:
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> They already closed the hump in Roanoke, so the
> yard ain't what it used to be either.
>
> Not that doing so was a bad idea, just noting this
> isn't their first retrenchment there.

I think in a way this is the last vestige of Roanoke's fortunes being tied in with the railroad. Still around 1300 remaining employees is nothing to be made light of, but other areas will be the driver of Roanoke's economy in the future. Starting with the end of steam on the N&W, Roanoke has been taking a hit with the numbers of people employed at the railroad except for a brief uptick after the M&W-NKP-Wabash merger. In the seventies, technology reduced employment in the office and with clerical functions, then a lot of management was lost after the NS merger. Subsequently technology took its toll on operating employees, the hump closed and now we are at the last chapter with the moving of the last remaining system management functions.

Roanoke will still be a good place to watch trains. Best of luck to Roanoke and its environs for the future, and to the people facing change.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/15 13:04 by ts1457.

The last vestige of N&W headquarters. I guess Southern "won" the merger. I remember reading or hearing something about N&W vs. SR computer systems. Anyone here work with both?

halfmoonharold Wrote:
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> The last vestige of N&W headquarters. I guess
> Southern "won" the merger. I remember reading or
> hearing something about N&W vs. SR computer
> systems. Anyone here work with both?


Well, Norfolk is HQ now. Southern didn't go there, did it?

Doesn't the Shaffer's Crossing shop have the new GE rebuild contract? I understood NS plans to rebuild a large number of older GE locomotives. Similar to what Altoona did with the SD60E, SD40E projects.

toledopatch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> halfmoonharold Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The last vestige of N&W headquarters. I guess
> > Southern "won" the merger. I remember reading
> or
> > hearing something about N&W vs. SR computer
> > systems. Anyone here work with both?
>
>
> Well, Norfolk is HQ now. Southern didn't go there,
> did it?

Southern did go to Norfolk, Va.
The old Norfolk Southern was part of Southern.

When the NS merger took place June 1, 1982
it had to have its headquarters that both
N&W and Southern served.

That is why Norfolk was chosen.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/15 14:26 by Eddie-Durnwald.

Eddie-Durnwald Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> toledopatch Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > halfmoonharold Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > The last vestige of N&W headquarters. I guess
> > > Southern "won" the merger. I remember reading
> > or
> > > hearing something about N&W vs. SR computer
> > > systems. Anyone here work with both?
> >
> >
> > Well, Norfolk is HQ now. Southern didn't go
> there,
> > did it?
>
> Southern did go to Norfolk, Va.
> The old Norfolk Southern was part of Southern.
>
> When the NS merger took place June 1, 1982
> it had to have its headquarters that both
> N&W and Southern served.
>
> That is why Norfolk was chosen.

OK, that makes sense. That part of the Southern has been severed for so long, I forgot about it.

From the perspective of SCL where there was absolutely no doubt about who was in charge after the "merger" (ACL), NS looks like a more even split.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Doesn't the Shaffer's Crossing shop have the new
> GE rebuild contract? I understood NS plans to
> rebuild a large number of older GE locomotives.
> Similar to what Altoona did with the SD60E, SD40E
> projects.

The Dash 8.5 rebuilds, MP15E upgrades, and existing cab upgrades are being done at the Roanoke Locomotive Shop.


Chris Toth
NSDash9.com

NSDash9 Wrote:
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> The Dash 8.5 rebuilds, MP15E upgrades, and
> existing cab upgrades are being done at the
> Roanoke Locomotive Shop.

Thanks. I knew they are looking at a lot of machine shop work in the area.