Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railroad

What's in a name? Quite a lot, actually. A railroad needs a strong name, a sturdy label for a specific pike. Take the nearby NOW, for instance. Northern Ohio & Western. I'm sure they are good folks over there running that line, but that name tells you nothing about where or how. Generic and grandiose. Sort of like the half-mile gravel pit hauler down in Louisiana, about which my father used to laugh: Their name? The Atlantic & Pacific! But in northwest corner of the Buckeye State the folks at Pioneer have done well for themselves in the short-haul NDW. The Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railroad. Now that's a name. Durable. Dignified. Definite. A gentlemen's shortline. You know exactly where they run, and a bit of how they intend to do it. Of course, in truth, one look at the sagging rails in many places and it is obvious that they still have a lot of rehab to do from the previous owner's stewardship before the old Wabash right of way lives up to its new and noble signage. But it will happen. The sheen on their black GP20 says it all. Sometimes a railroad just needs time to grow into its name. Napoleon. Defiance. Western.