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Yard Names

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Posted by wctransfer on Saturday, July 2, 2005 11:18 AM
Ahhhhhh, good ole Pigs Eye on the CP. BNSF, and UP use it also, but i railfan over there once and a while with my Uncle. Its a really cool place, and extremely busy.Also, the SOO line used to have a Shoreham yard in minneapolis, and i wonder how that got its name?

Alec
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Posted by chad thomas on Saturday, July 2, 2005 9:26 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by locomutt

Are you saying they couldn't come up with Zero or Zip for Z??[%-)][(-D][(-D]


That's funny Walter.[(-D][(-D][(-D]
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Posted by nanaimo73 on Saturday, July 2, 2005 2:00 AM
St.Paul Yard is still the official name. The Pigs Eye name is still the nickname, and more people use it. It sounds better.
Dale
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Posted by Murphy Siding on Friday, July 1, 2005 8:39 PM
nanaimo73 : What is the proper name for Milwaukee's/Soo's/CP's St Paul yard?

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 1, 2005 6:09 PM
Originally posted by Bob-Fryml
[
<<The J.R. DAVIS YARD in Roseville, Calif. is named after the Southern Pacific's last president. GEMCO YARD, just north of Van Nuys, honors what may still be its biggest customer, General Motors. But what about some other Espee affiliated yards like TAYLOR in Los Angeles, J-YARD in East Los Angeles, ENGLEWOOD and STRANG in Houston, and ROPER (ex-D.& R.G.W.) in Salt Lake City? What are their origins?>>

Taylor Yard is named after the Taylor Family. They donated the property to the old SP to build the yard and SP named it after them. The property was to revert back to the Taylor Family if RR operations ever ceased which did but aparently an aggrmnt was made between the SP and the family for the operations that exist there now( alot of non-RR). Taylor wasn't really an affiliated yard, it was the Main yard, consisting of A,B, C yards + the Local yard. ( where locals originated) for the Los Angeles Division. Back then that went from Santa Barbara to the north and Indio to the south.
J-Yard ( which is actually in central LA- not east LA) was originaly called Butte Street yard and was the main operating yard on the Pacific Electric Railway. When I hired out this was the yard I worked out of. All PE extra boards were located there until 1968 or so when they were moved to Taylor yard. During WWII Butte St. was the busiest yard in the LA area seeing about 4000 cars per day.
Gemco still exists... but there is no longer a General Motors plant there. (the other GM plant was located near 92nd and Alameda streets. This yard was called TWEEDY Yard, and if I am not mistaken has been obliterated.
Hope you find this history lesson interesting......


Virlon

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Posted by locomutt on Friday, July 1, 2005 3:54 PM
Are you saying they couldn't come up with Zero or Zip for Z??[%-)][(-D][(-D]

Being Crazy,keeps you from going "INSANE" !! "The light at the end of the tunnel,has been turned off due to budget cuts" NOT AFRAID A Vet., and PROUD OF IT!!

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Posted by mudchicken on Friday, July 1, 2005 2:26 PM
You expect geography or operating department upper-management to make sense?

[(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D]
Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by chad thomas on Friday, July 1, 2005 1:26 PM
I wonder why they didn't go all the way to Z. That would have made more sence.
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Posted by mudchicken on Friday, July 1, 2005 1:16 PM
Not far from Siberia (7 miles)[:D]

Chad.....The SP and later ATSP (A&P) mudchickens had a sense of humor when they started out there.

ATSF did the same thing on the Northern Transcon in Colorado between Syracuse, KS and La Junta, CO.....Able, Beta, .......(most of those stations are now retired and gone)

[^][^][^]
Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by chad thomas on Friday, July 1, 2005 12:51 PM
Yup, we've got a Bagdad too!!!
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Posted by Junctionfan on Friday, July 1, 2005 12:16 PM
Bagdad?
Andrew
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Posted by chad thomas on Friday, July 1, 2005 11:54 AM
Not a yard, but has anybody noticed that the locations on the Santa Fe across the Mojave desert are in alphabetical order?
Amboy
Bagdad
Cadiz
Danby
Essex
Fenner
Goffs
Homer
Ibis
Java
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Posted by ChrisBARailfan on Friday, July 1, 2005 11:40 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by Rustyrex

QUOTE: Originally posted by Bob-Fryml

NEFF YARD in KCMO was named after a Missouri Pacific Railroad president. But what about some other Kansas City yards like ARGENTINE (A.T.S.F.) and ARMOURDALE (C.R.I.& P.)? What are their origins?


I too am curious about the various Kansas City Yards, as well as AVONDALE (NS), KNOCHE (KCS) and MURRAY (BN).
How about a couple St Louis ones as well, LESPERANCE (UP), LUTHER (NS) and BADEN (MKT). Very interesting topic! [:)]


Correct, Argentine and Armourdale are named after neighborhoods in Kansas City Kansas, both Armourdale Argentine was settled by the Shawnee indian tribe in the 1870s and incorporated into Kansas City Kansas in the 1880s.

Norfolk Southerns Avondale yard is named for Avondale, MO as the yards sits between Avondale and North Kansas City, MO. Murray yard was named for the huge Murray Elevator company facility that is adjacent, it is currently an ADM processing facility and elevator. I am not sure, but I believe that Knoche yard is junction south of Kansas City where the KC Southern interchanged with other roads in the early 1900s.
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Posted by rockisland4309 on Friday, July 1, 2005 11:19 AM
Rock Island's Armourdale yard is part of the Armourdale district of Kansas City, KS. The same goes for Santa Fe's Argentine yard is located in Argentine district of Kansas City, KS.
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Posted by Rustyrex on Friday, July 1, 2005 1:24 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by Bob-Fryml

NEFF YARD in KCMO was named after a Missouri Pacific Railroad president. But what about some other Kansas City yards like ARGENTINE (A.T.S.F.) and ARMOURDALE (C.R.I.& P.)? What are their origins?


I too am curious about the various Kansas City Yards, as well as AVONDALE (NS), KNOCHE (KCS) and MURRAY (BN).
How about a couple St Louis ones as well, LESPERANCE (UP), LUTHER (NS) and BADEN (MKT). Very interesting topic! [:)]
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Posted by ericsp on Friday, July 1, 2005 12:10 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by Bob-Fryml

The J.R. DAVIS YARD in Roseville, Calif. is named after the Southern Pacific's last president. GEMCO YARD, just north of Van Nuys, honors what may still be its biggest customer, General Motors. But what about some other Espee affiliated yards like TAYLOR in Los Angeles, J-YARD in East Los Angeles, ENGLEWOOD and STRANG in Houston, and ROPER (ex-D.& R.G.W.) in Salt Lake City? What are their origins?

It seems like I heard how Taylor got its name, however I do not remember. I would guess it is named after a company official or a distinguished employee. There is an "A Yard" on PHL. I also seem to recall hearing about other yards in the LA area that were just a letter followed by yard. I am guessing that they got tired of looking for names for yards in the LA area and just started using the alphabet. Who could forget Bull Ring Yard? If I remember correctly, it was so named because it resembled a bull ring. Isn't J Yard in south LA, near Watts?

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Posted by fuzzybroken on Thursday, June 30, 2005 11:58 PM
CP here in Milwaukee has Lake (named after the town of Lake, now all absorbed by Milwaukee, Cudahy, and St. Francis), Wash 4 (named after Washington Street), Muskego Yard (named after a street that it displaces/used to run through it?), and Grand Avenue Junction (right under Wisconsin Avenue, formerly known as Grand Avenue, also the name of a mall farther east on Wis Ave.).

UP has Mitchell Yard and Butler Yard. Various Mitchells have been instrumental in Milwaukee's history, and I know a Mitchell was once president of the Milwaukee Road, although I'm not sure of C&NW. A Mitchell or two was a banker, so maybe they lent C&NW money? Butler is interesting since no part of it actually exists in Butler itself, but actually across the street in Milwaukee!

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Thursday, June 30, 2005 7:14 PM
Was Selkirk yard named after the Selkirk mountains?Did the Pearlman name change after PennCentral went down?

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, June 30, 2005 6:19 PM
Selkirk yard in NY was originally Selkirk, then Pearlman and THEN back to Selkirk, following various corporate name changes.
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Posted by Bob-Fryml on Thursday, June 30, 2005 5:53 PM
NEFF YARD in KCMO was named after a Missouri Pacific Railroad president. But what about some other Kansas City yards like ARGENTINE (A.T.S.F.) and ARMOURDALE (C.R.I.& P.)? What are their origins?

The J.R. DAVIS YARD in Roseville, Calif. is named after the Southern Pacific's last president. GEMCO YARD, just north of Van Nuys, honors what may still be its biggest customer, General Motors. But what about some other Espee affiliated yards like TAYLOR in Los Angeles, J-YARD in East Los Angeles, ENGLEWOOD and STRANG in Houston, and ROPER (ex-D.& R.G.W.) in Salt Lake City? What are their origins?

Lastly (for now) who was the "Conway" behind CONWAY YARD (PRR) in Pittsburgh?

A crusty, old, yet brilliant General Superintendent told me one time, "Young man, trains standing still lose money while trains moving make money. Seeing a train stopped or freight cars rusting in a track make me very nervous." Given all of the poor velocity issues plaguing the industry today, I should think that no railroad executive would want to lend his moniker to that most conspicuous obstacle to railroad financial performance: the freight yard.
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Posted by SSW9389 on Thursday, June 30, 2005 5:08 PM
Gravity Yard in Pine Bluff, Arkansas is a hump yard. It uses gravity for switching the cars to their classification tracks!
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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, June 30, 2005 3:11 PM
Here are a few yd names from KS: BNSF at Newton is named Sand Creek, the yd at Hutchinson is Way (named after a official), the former RI (now UP) Wichita yd is known as Cline (named after RI land agent who helped the rr purchase the site for the yd when it was buikt in 1911).
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Posted by Junctionfan on Thursday, June 30, 2005 2:49 PM
What about CN's Mac Millan Yard in Brampton/ Toronto vicinity?
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Posted by railfan619 on Thursday, June 30, 2005 2:31 PM
the name here in the milwaukee is called Mitchell yard.
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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Thursday, June 30, 2005 2:28 PM
Proviso on the C&NW got its name because it is located in Proviso Township. Argo on the IHB drew its name from Argo cornstarch, a product of Corn Products, who has a major plant adjacent to the IHB at that point. Calumet Yard, an N&W/NKP facility, is located at the edge of what is known as the Calumet region of Illinois and Indiana.
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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, June 30, 2005 2:28 PM
CSX Selkirk yard was orinaginaly known as Perlman yard....after the railroad CEO of New York Central...Willard Yard was known as East Chicago OH but the town and that railroad were renamed after the B&O railroad exectutive
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Posted by tree68 on Thursday, June 30, 2005 2:07 PM
The yard in Watertown, NY is called Massey - after the street/road that it's on. One of the yards at Fort Drum is sometimes referred to as the coal yard, even though the old coal dumping facility on that yard is long gone. On the other hand, the yard where the coal facility is now is called east, or Gas Alley...

Even some of the waypoints on various lines can be a source of wonderment. "Cona" and "Brad" are pretty obvious abreviations of "Lacona" (a town) and "Bradley" (a street). "Stan" is probably a shortening of "Stanwix," an early name for Rome, NY. It's located about where the old RW&O line headed south for Rome, vs the current line which goes to Syracuse. I still haven't figured out "Roots" or "Kane".

LarryWhistling
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Posted by louisnash on Thursday, June 30, 2005 2:07 PM
Decoursey Yards-Latonia KY
Queensgate Yards-Cincinnati OH

More in the area. These are the ones I like.
Brian (KY)
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Posted by rockisland4309 on Thursday, June 30, 2005 1:23 PM
CSXrules4eva,

North Platte's Bailey was named for Edd H. Bailey. He was U.P.'s president during the 1960's I believe.

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