(The following story by Jonathan Austin appeared on the News-Record and Sentinel website on May 27, 2009.)
MARS HILL, N.C. — A vintage Norfolk Southern passenger train swung through downtown Marshall Wednesday afternoon, carrying railroad executives on an inspection of the rail system.
“That sounds like our inspection train. It travels through our system carrying company officers,” said Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman.
The cars, pulled by vintage diesel locomotive No. 4271, were painted the traditional maroon color of the old Norfolk & Western system, Chapman said. “They are vintage passenger cars from the early 20th century,” he added.
The train included sleeping cars, coaches, a dining car and an observation car with a large glass window at the back. The seating in the observation car face backwards. “They sit in the back of that and watch the track as they go by,” Chapman said.
He said the inspection train “travels throughout our system on a fairly regular basis.” The Norfolk Southern system is 21,000 route miles in 22 states, he said; “Most of the states east of the Mississippi.”