Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC)

Norfolk Southern is the east's second railroad, rebuilding its reputation after a major derailment.

The network covers the industrial east and south-east: steel, chemicals, car plants and intermodal traffic from ports. The economics are any railroad's — an insurmountable barrier to entry, durable pricing, high margins.

A derailment carrying chemicals in Ohio changed the conversation about the company: clean-up costs, legal settlements, tighter requirements and a change of leadership followed. Restoring the operating ratio to peer levels became the measure of the new team's success.

Risks are industrial freight volumes, diesel prices, union relations and safety regulation, which tightened across the industry after the accident and now applies to competitors that had nothing to do with it. The company pays a dividend.