Contact
2222 W. Club Blvd.
Durham, NC 27705
railroad@nc.rr.com

Save the NS 701 from the Scrapper's torch!

Save a piece of North Carolina history! As railroaders in this state, we all know another Norfolk Southern existed long ago, and now is almost completely gobbled up in the flurry of mergers and abandonments of the last thirty years. Still, an original piece of the old NS remains in locomotive NS 701, currently in storage, but now threatened with the scrapper’s torch! We at the NS Historical Society and the North Carolina Railway Museum feel a tangible piece of history like this should be preserved, and believe you feel the same way. We have therefore established the NS 701 Preservation and Restoration Fund. If you are interested in seeing a real part of our railroad heritage preserved for the enjoyment and education of your future generations, please send a donation of any size to:
NS 701 Preservation and Restoration Fund
c/o North Carolina Railway Museum, Inc.
Post Office Box 40
New Hill, NC 27562
All donations are tax deductible. Please help us in this worthwhile cause, and keep our common history alive.

These 70-tonners once ran the rails at Bonsal, NC during construction of the relocation of the NS rail line during the building of Jordan Lake, so it would be fitting that we bring one of them back to the New Hope Valley Railway! They were the first NS purchase of locomotive power other than Baldwin since 0-6-0 number 14 back in 1900. Delivered to the NS from GE in June 1948, they were the only 70-tonners used to pull the mail and express trains (#1 & #2) between Raleigh and Norfolk, VA. The last run of the mail train was December 12th, 1951 and after that, these engines were used in local and branch line service and as switchers at the smaller yards. After #702 was sold in 1964, the other two (701 & 703) spent most of their time around New Bern and on the Bayboro Branch. After the 1974 merger with Southern Railway, they were repainted again into the Southern black colors and remained on the SR roster until 1978. The Norfolk & Southern was the only Class 1 railroad to have its' Headquarters located in Raleigh, NC.