Pullmans Move Toward a Chicago Home With a Norfolk Southern Switch

Friends of the Pullman National Historical Park held a “Setting the Spikes” ceremony on Monday, November 9, 2026. Norfolk Southern joined state and local officials, leaders of the Federal Railroad Administration, and the project partners. The company Story Yard page, dated November 11, says the gathering marked fulfillment of a $250,000 commitment for the first phase of reconnecting the Pullman site to the national rail network. That account says the commitment covers rail infrastructure and a rail feasibility study, and that the ceremony opened fundraising for the work still ahead.

Trains, in a November 10 report by Bob Johnston, said Norfolk Southern recently reinstalled a switch on an industrial lead two blocks east of the former plant, and that the railroad is contributing $250,000 to the venture. The company page says the Track Department installed a new switch off the Pullman Branch Line on October 19. CBS Chicago, updated November 9 at 6:25 p.m. Central, said the same $250,000 sum includes equipment and cash to establish the connection.

A Norfolk Southern publicity photo featuring efforts to reconnect the Pullman site to the national rail network. NS photo.

A ceremony in a parking lot Trains said invited guests put on protective gear and brought sledgehammers down on a track slab Norfolk Southern had set in a parking lot, nowhere near where the permanent track will be built. The magazine called that spike driving the start of what will likely be at least a decade of fundraising, aimed at linking the factory site to the national network and restoring railcars more than 100 years old.

Joe Szabo, former Federal Railroad Administration administrator and president emeritus of the Friends, was the emcee. Trains reported that he told the group that simply being allowed to install a switch off a Class I railroad is the type of thing that does not happen, and that it is a really big deal. The magazine placed brackets around the Class I phrase, so those words are the magazine account of the remark.

Szabo told Trains the connection is to end at a glass-enclosed display building with up to five tracks, on a grassy area in front of the still-damaged Rear Erecting Shop. “There was no building back then,” he said, “but this is where George Pullman used to show off just-completed railcars.” The Trains account says later plans call for rebuilding the transfer table that once moved cars between buildings, and that those tracks can still be seen under the vegetation. The next track, in that account, would run from the new switch along the north side of 111th Street, now a grassy parkway.

Three cars, and a separate shop in Silvis Szabo told Trains the first cars expected back are the Glen Ayr, a wooden Rock Island parlor car, and the business car Advance. The Glen Ayr is a 1928 sleeper owned by the Friends, and Trains said it was among the first all-room sleepers built while Pullman was moving away from open sections. The parlor is a wooden car of 1899. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the National Park Service are coordinating a tentative plan, Trains reported, to return that car to the North Wing where it was built, rather than to the display building.

Advance is a 1911 open-platform business car. Trains said Pullman president Robert Todd Lincoln used it after he took up the company leadership following the 1894 strike, which that account describes as a strike that helped set off the U.S. labor movement. The state of Illinois owns the car. Szabo said it is stored at the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America shops in Silvis, Illinois, in the former Rock Island shops. The steam test of Union Pacific 2-10-2 No. 5511 at those shops is a separate project. Szabo said the Friends are helping the state with grant applications, and that consultant David Duncan is giving guidance. He put the possible cost of restoring each car as high as $4 million.

The Norfolk Southern page describes the next fundraising items as the remaining 1,000 feet of rail spur, restoration of historic Pullman railcars for permanent display, and a protective glass enclosure. Partners named there are the Friends, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the National Park Service. The company also points readers to friendsofpullman.com. The named cars, the $4 million figure, the parking-lot slab, and the Rear Erecting Shop are the Trains account.

What the railroad said Willie Mills, the Chicago senior road manager, represented Norfolk Southern at the ceremony. Trains said he grew up just west of Pullman, studied electrical engineering at Chicago State University, began as a clerk, became a conductor, and spent 20 years as a locomotive engineer. Trains quoted him at the event: “The tracks and spikes we see today represent a vision becoming a reality.” He added, “A railroad spike may be small, but what it helps secure can last for generations.”

The company page quotes a different remark. “Chicago is where my railroad career began, so it’s especially meaningful to be part of an effort that will help reconnect Pullman to the national rail network and bring these historic railcars home,” Mills said. “It’s an opportunity to preserve an important part of railroad history for generations to come.”

“We are grateful to Norfolk Southern for this extraordinary investment in Pullman National Historical Park,” said Peggy Parfenoff, executive director of the Friends. “This $250,000 contribution is a major step toward bringing these historic railcars back to Pullman. These cars carry the stories of the people who manufactured them, worked aboard them and traveled across the country in them. Bringing them home will allow future generations to experience that history firsthand.”

“Railroads have played a vital role in shaping Chicago and connecting communities across America, and few places tell that story better than Pullman,” said Herbert Smith, regional vice president for state relations at Norfolk Southern. “We’re proud to reconnect Pullman to the national rail network to help bring these historic railcars back to the place where they were built. This investment reflects our commitment to preserving railroad history and ensuring that future generations understand the innovation, craftsmanship and people who helped build America’s rail network.”

The company page also places the site in a longer history: the Pullman Strike of 1894, and the organizing work of A. Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. It says bringing cars back would give visitors a closer look at the people who built and staffed them.

Related reading on American-Rails.com Sources Bob Johnston, “Switch installation celebrated at Pullman historic park,” Trains, November 10, 2026, trains.com/trn/railroads/heritage-rail/preservation/switch-installation-celebrated-at-pullman-historic-park/. Norfolk Southern recently reinstalled a switch on an industrial lead two blocks east of the former plant. Next would be track along the north side of 111th Street to a display building. The railroad is contributing $250,000. The November 9 “Setting the Spikes” event used a track slab in a parking lot, nowhere near the permanent track. The account calls it the likely start of at least a decade of fundraising. Szabo, former FRA administrator and president emeritus, was emcee. The printed sentence is: Simply allowing a switch to be installed off of a [Class I railroad] — these are the type of things that just don’t happen; it’s a really big deal. The brackets are in the magazine text. Glass-enclosed building, up to five tracks, still-damaged Rear Erecting Shop. Transfer table still visible under vegetation. Glen Ayr, 1928 sleeper owned by the Friends, among the first all-room sleepers. Wooden 1899 Rock Island parlor, tentative return to the North Wing, coordinated by the Illinois DNR and the National Park Service. Advance, 1911 open-platform business car, used by Robert Todd Lincoln after the 1894 strike, owned by Illinois, stored at the Silvis shops. David Duncan. Restoration may run as high as $4 million per car. Mills biography and the two spike sentences are quoted above. friendsofpullman.com.

Norfolk Southern, “Spike setting ceremony at Pullman National Historical Park celebrates Chicago’s railroad legacy,” Story Yard, November 11, 2026, norfolksouthern.com/en/newsroom/story-yard/spike-setting-ceremony-at-pullman-national-historical-park-celebrates-chicagos-railroad-legacy. November 9 ceremony with state and local officials, FRA leaders, and project partners. The $250,000 commitment is the first phase, including rail infrastructure and a rail feasibility study, and it launched fundraising for the remaining work. Partners: Friends of Pullman National Historical Park, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, National Park Service. Track Department installed a new switch off the Pullman Branch Line on October 19. Mills quote beginning “Chicago is where my railroad career began” is quoted above. Remaining work: 1,000 feet of rail spur, restoring historic Pullman railcars, protective glass enclosure. Pullman Strike of 1894, A. Philip Randolph, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Peggy Parfenoff and Herbert Smith are quoted above. Support path: friendsofpullman.com.

CBS Chicago, “Spike-setting ceremony held at Pullman National Historical Park,” updated November 9, 2026, 6:25 p.m. CST, cbsnews.com/chicago/news/spike-setting-ceremony-pullman-national-historical-park/. Ceremonial spike-setting on Monday. One day the connection will join Pullman to the national rail network so trains can bring Pullman railcars there for restoration and display. Norfolk Southern contributed $250,000, including equipment and cash.

Pullmans Move Toward a Chicago Home With a Norfolk Southern Switch

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