ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - On Friday, shareholders at Norfolk Southern overwhelmingly voted in support of an $85 billion merger with Union Pacific .

With changes likely coming to the railroad company, WDBJ7 spoke with a local railroad historian about what Norfolk Southern and its predecessor have meant to Roanoke over the years.

“Norfolk and Western was headquartered here; that’s why Roanoke was significant to the railroad, and the railroad was very significant to Roanoke. It provided lots of employment, the shops here were very important, they built steam locomotives, they did heavy repairs, built equipment, and such,” said Ken Miller, Secretary and Chief Historian of the Norfolk and Western Historical Society.

The Norfolk and Western Historical Society preserves documents, pictures, dra

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