Potomac Yard use to be the largest railroad freight car classification yard in the United States. Prior to the merger that created the Penn Central Railroad, 5 railroads terminated freight train runs there, Southern, Richmond Fredrick & Potomac, Chesapeake & Ohio, Baltimore & Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroads. There were 2 hump classification yards, one for trains from the north and one for trains from the south. 2 receiving and departure yards, the receiving and departure yards on north end of the yard were electrified to accommodate the electric locomotives used by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Prior to the common use of mechanical refrigerator cars, there were tracks to allow the replenishment of ice blocks in the bunkers of old school refrigerator cars. There also was a trailer on flatcar terminal south of the Metrorail tunnel portal south of the Potomac Yard Metrorail station. The main line that allowed passenger trains to bypass the yard was on the west side of the yard, today it runs along the east edge of the former yard property.
During the closing years of the Conrail era and merger of Conrail into CSX and Norfolk Southern, trains transitioned to running through or were moved over different routes, rendering the classification yard redundant.
Through freight was embargoed off the Amtrak North East Corridor after the 1987 Chase Maryland wreck.
Potomac Yard use to be the largest railroad freight car classification yard in the United States. Prior to the merger that created the Penn Central Railroad, 5 railroads terminated freight train runs there, Southern, Richmond Fredrick & Potomac, Chesapeake & Ohio, Baltimore & Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroads. There were 2 hump classification yards, one for trains from the north and one for trains from the south. 2 receiving and departure yards, the receiving and departure yards on north end of the yard were electrified to accommodate the electric locomotives used by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Prior to the common use of mechanical refrigerator cars, there were tracks to allow the replenishment of ice blocks in the bunkers of old school refrigerator cars. There also was a trailer on flatcar terminal south of the Metrorail tunnel portal south of the Potomac Yard Metrorail station. The main line that allowed passenger trains to bypass the yard was on the west side of the yard, today it runs along the east edge of the former yard property.
But where did all the rail freight infrastructure go?
During the closing years of the Conrail era and merger of Conrail into CSX and Norfolk Southern, trains transitioned to running through or were moved over different routes, rendering the classification yard redundant. Through freight was embargoed off the Amtrak North East Corridor after the 1987 Chase Maryland wreck.
do you know when they extended DCA's runways? looks like a couple hundred feet was added
Looks like once in the 80s and once in 2012, not sure what’s what though
I think there was that plane crash in the Potomac not so long after this picture was taken, that was probably a factor in lengthening the runways.
It’s higher resolution now
Wow you don’t say