Conrail E8A's 4021 and 4020, CSXT Office Car "Washington" (Added at Bedford Park, IL), Conrail 8, Conrail 11, Conrail 4, Conrail 3, Conrail 5, Conrail 12, and Theatre Car 9. -John P. Krattinger

In addition to the $5 million Pulaski District improvements, the study proposes a $3.6 million connecting track to link NS's Richmond District with CSXT's ex-SAL Bellwood Sub for access to Main St. Station. Another $1.5 million would fund terminal trackage in Richmond, Lynchburg and Bristol as well as minimal station improvements along the routes.

The service is expected to cost about $24 million per year, with half of that coming from fare revenues. With projected steady ridership increases, this deficit would decline to zero by the twelfth year of operation. The study also tentatively recommends the lease of Diesel Multiple Units, similar to the Adtranz Flexliner, in order to facilitate the splitting and joining operation in Lynchburg. The study considers "tilt" technology to be crucial due to the many curves on the routes.

Subject to funding approval by the General Assembly, the trains could be running by 2001 at the earliest. --Paul A. Wilson

The 1997 winners are Akzo Nobel Chemicals; Amoco Petroleum Products; BASF Corp.; BOC Gases; BP Chemicals Inc.; E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.; Enterprise Products Co.; Exxon Chemical Americas; Falconbridge Ltd.-Falconbridge Division; Falconbridge Ltd.-Kidd Creek Metallurgical Division; Huron Tech Corp.; Koch Industries Inc.; Koppers Industries Inc.; Occidental Chemical Corp.; PCS Nitrogen Inc.; PPG Industries Inc.; Rohm & Haas Co.; Shell Canada Ltd.; Shell Chemicals; Sun Co. Inc.; and Young Refining Corp.

In addition to the corporate awards, Norfolk Southern recognized six plants it serves where there were no shipper-caused incidents in 1997. They are Eastman Chemical Co.'s plant at Kingsport, Tenn.; LaRoche Industries Inc.'s plant at Vertagreen, Ala.; Olin Corp.'s plants at McIntosh, Ala., and Nixon Ga.; and PCS Phosphates' plants at Aurora, N.C., and White Springs, Fla.

"We appreciate our customers' commitment to safe handling of goods, particularly hazardous materials," said David R. Goode, NS chairman, president and chief executive officer.

"Our goal is safe transport of every shipment on our rail system," Goode continued, "and working in partnership with safety-minded shippers is critical to our successfully meeting that goal.

"We congratulate each of this year's Thoroughbred winners and look forward to continuing together safe handling of hazardous materials."

Norfolk Southern handled about 270,000 carloads of hazardous chemicals in 1997.

Norfolk Southern, with headquarters in Norfolk, Va., operates approximately 14,400 miles of railroad in 20 states, primarily in the Southeast and Midwest. -Norfolk Southern

Michael P. Ryan assumes the newly created position of regional sales director-Northeast, reporting to John W. Forrester, assistant vice president-sales. He will be responsible for working closely with about 3,000 rail customers currently served by Conrail in the Northeast to retain their business, while aggressively pursuing opportunities for growth with new customers. His geographic territory will include Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Quebec, Canada. He will be based in Cranbury, N.J.

W. Jay Lander has been named assistant vice president-chemicals marketing; Leonard M. Kellermann assumes the post of director of sales-chemicals east; and John W. Schlosser has been named director of sales-chemicals west. Lander, Kellermann and Schlosser will report to Christopher P. Jenkins, vice president-chemicals.

Lander will be responsible for developing chemical market strategies and business opportunities for CSXT. He will be based in Jacksonville. Kellermann and Schlosser will split their chemical sales responsibilities geographically. Also based in Jacksonville, Kellermann will handle those states that line the East Coast, while Schlosser will handle the balance of CSXT's accounts. He will remain in Houston, Texas.

CSXT handles more chemicals than any other railroad east of the Mississippi River. In 1997, CSXT's chemicals traffic, excluding phosphates and fertilizer, accounted for 15 percent of CSXT's revenues. The company's total revenues last year were $4.989 billion, with chemical shipments accounting for $747 million, an increase of 4 percent over 1996.

Kellermann has held numerous sales and marketing positions in chemicals, minerals and agricultural products since joining a CSXT predecessor in 1981. He earned a bachelor's degree at Duke University and is a native of Cleveland.

Lander, a native of Philadelphia, earned his bachelor's degree in business at West Virginia University in Morgantown. He worked for a CSXT subsidiary company, Fruit Growers Express, prior to joining the railroad in 1979. He brings to his new position experience in planning and operations in addition to his years in automotive sales and chemicals marketing.

A native of Peekskill, N.Y., Ryan is a 17-year rail veteran. He has served in various sales and marketing positions with both CSXT and, previously, with Canadian National Railway. He earned a bachelor's degree at the State University of New York in Oneonta.

Schlosser has worked in the transportation industry for 14 years. Prior to joining CSX, he served in various sales capacities with Consolidated Freightways/Emery Worldwide. He joined CSX Intermodal Inc., a business unit of CSX Corporation, in 1990, where he held positions as senior national account executive and regional manager. He joined CSXT in 1994 as director of sales-Southwest. A native of Akron, Ohio, Schlosser earned a bachelor's degree at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. -CSX Transportation