Norfolk Southern’s Bellevue, Ohio yard, the largest classification yard on the NS system, will be renamed “Moorman Yard” in honor of Charles W. “Wick” Moorman, who retired June 1, 2015, as CEO after a 45-year career and has assumed duties as Executive Chairman of the railroad’s board of directors.

NS President and CEO Jim Squires said Moorman is being honored “for his leadership in support of freight railroads and their investors, customers, and employees. Wick’s incredible talent has been to bring the entire Thoroughbred team forward in the same direction—always forward, always with enthusiasm and the right intent, always with the sense that we can do great things. Shareholders, employees, business partners—all are better for it. This is timely and well-deserved recognition for a railroader who thinks big, who thinks long-term, and who does the right things in the right ways.

Moorman joined NS predecessor Southern Railway in 1970 as a co-op student. He started as a track worker and over the years worked his way up to various senior-level management positions. Moorman was named Chairman, President and CEO in 2006. Railway Age’s 2011 Railroader of the year, he “is recognized as a champion of public-private partnerships to create rail infrastructure that benefits America long-term, as an advocate of balanced regulation to best serve the interests of railroads and their customers, and as a leader in reducing the railroad’s environmental footprint,” NS said.

Moorman Yard became the largest class yard on the NS system after the recent completion of $160 million in improvements that doubled its size. Located midway between Chicago and New York, it is one of NS’ 11 primary classification yards. Five NS main lines converge there, “making it a perfect location for distributing some 3,200 carloads of freight moving daily,” NS said. “On a broader scale, Moorman Yard’s centralized position on NS’ Northern Region promotes fluid movement of long-distance freight across the entire rail network.”

Bellevue, Ohio has been a railroading community since the late 19th century, when NS predecessor Nickel Plate Road began operations there. Bellevue Yard was opened in 1966 by NS predecessor Norfolk & Western. Today, 100 to 110 trains pass through daily, while 20 to 30 originate in the area and a like number terminate there. Most of the trains carry automobiles and parts, agricultural products and consumer products.

Moorman, along with Canadian Pacific CEO E. Hunter Harrison, Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman and Association of American Railroads President and CEO Ed Hamberger, will be Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono’s guests for a discussion on the railroad industry’s future at the closing session for the Rail Insights conference in Chicago, June 17-18. Click HERE for details and to register.