Former Norfolk Southern Senior Vice President of Operations Planning and Support John M. Samuels Jr. died August 22, 2025, in Jupiter, Fla., He was 82
Samuels grew up in Yardley, Pa. After graduating from Pennsbury High School in 1961, he attended General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) through its engineering co-op program, alternating between academic studies and hands-on experience at GM’s Trenton plant. He continued his education at Pennsylvania State University, earning an M.S. and Ph.D. in industrial and manufacturing engineering. In 1968, he married Leslie (Lil) Charlene Ruth.
Samuels’ distinguished career in railroad engineering spanned decades. Beginning as a tenured professor of engineering at Penn State, he transitioned in 1978 to Conrail, where he served as Vice President of Operating Assets and played a pivotal role in turning the government-owned freight railroad into a publicly traded, profitable company. In 1998, just prior to Norfolk Southern and CSX’s 58%/42% split acquisition of Conrail—and after considering offers from both railroads—he joined NS, rising to Senior Vice President of Operations Planning and Support. His groundbreaking work in railroad safety, technology, and PTC earned him numerous awards and accolades, including induction into the National Academy of Engineering and an honorary doctorate from Kettering University
In 2006, Samuels and his wife retired to Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., where he continued consulting through his business, Revenue Variable Engineering LLC. Lil died in 2020. Samuels is survived by his son John Michael Samuels III and daughter-in-law Dawn, his companion Davideen Werner, sisters Florence Leipholtz and Winifred Lynn, and numerous nieces, nephews, and great-nieces.
In 2021, the U.S. Congress directed the Secretary of Transportation to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine – Transportation Research Board (TRB) “to conduct a study on the operation of freight trains that are longer than 7,500 feet.” Sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration, the TRB convened a 12-member committee “with experience in freight and passenger railroad operations, state rail transportation, national rail safety oversight, and freight and passenger rail research” that met 16 times to examine impacts of long trains. A December 2024 Rail Group On Air podcast featured Samuels and five other committee members.
