— Bob Sewell, Marysville, Wash.
A The Virginia (NS 1) and the Carolina (NS 2) have been paired since they were built in 1928. Pullman originally constructed them for Southern Railway. The Virginia, a dining-observation car, is the perfect traveling complement to the five-bedroom sleeper Carolina. Southern first numbered the Virginia SOU 16 and the Carolina SOU 17. In 1979, car 16 became SOU 1, and car 17 was renumbered SOU 1A. Six years after the creation of Norfolk Southern in 1982, the cars were given their current names and were renumbered NS 1 and NS 2. Historically, the Virginia/Carolina set has been reserved for the railroad’s president or chairman of the board.
Today, Norfolk Southern Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Charles W. “Wick” Moorman enjoys hosting guests on the cars. Over the years, many of the cars’ fixtures have been carefully preserved, and attention to detail is apparent throughout. In the Virginia, metal walls have been painstakingly painted to look like wood.
— Norfolk Southern Railway
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