Career
He became President of the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1981 and was instrumental in the merger of the Southern Railway and the Norfolk & Western in 1982. He was the first chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the new Norfolk Southern, and is credited with locating the headquarters of the Fortune 500 company in Norfolk, Virginia, within sight of the massive coal pier at Lambert"s Point on the Elizabeth River at Hampton Roads. Robert B. Claytor is best remembered by many railfans for reactivating Norfolk and Western"s steam program, which rebuilt steam locomotives J-611 and A-1218 at the Roanoke Shops at Roanoke, Virginia, and operated excursion trips.
He was the son of West. Graham Claytor (1886-1971), who as vice president of Appalachian Power Company supervised construction of the dam and creation of a 4,500 acre (18 km²), 21 mile (34 km) long lake on the New River at Claytor Lake State Park in Virginia, and of Gertrude Harris Boatwright Claytor, a poet.
Robert B. Claytor died of cancer on April 9, 1993, at his home in Norfolk. "The Claytor Brothers: Virginians Building America"s Railroad" is a semi-permanent exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia.
