Railroads adjacent or running through college/university campuses

[OldArmy94]

Just for fun, would you like to list a college or university campus that you know of that has a railroad either adjacent or that runs through the campus? I can think of a few off the top of my head: Texas A&M University (College Station, TX) -- the UP runs through the middle of campus. A few years back the University constructed a very nice pedestrian underpass because of the numerous problems associated with students making unsafe crossings, including crawling under stopped trains. The Aggie baseball field is also adjacent to the tracks; in fact, the railroad is an integral part of the gameday experience with the announcers putting up train graphics and batters attempting to bat homers to the tracks. Northwest Arkansas Community College (Bentonville, AR) Blinn College (Brenham, TX) What others are out there?

[Norm48327]

 Michigan State University; through the campus.

[mudchicken]

University of Illinois (Champaign)

Notre Dame/ South Bend

Miami (of Ohio, wish that over-rated FL school would pick another name)/Oxford OH

Ohio State/Columbus

University of Iowa/ Iowa City

Nebraska (Mooks is an expert there, especially with what has disappeared)/Lincoln

USC (railroad now gone)

[steve14]

UW Madison

[Mookie]

mudchicken

Nebraska (Mooks is an expert there, especially with what has disappeared)/Lincoln

We have BNSF main line running just on north edge of UNL.  UNL is looking to expand in a few years, so the railroad will run through it. 

For now, we have a very close relationship and if we get a new arena, we will be in the same house.

[RRCharlie]

BNSF has a line that splits the Campus of Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado.

Ex Baltimore & Ohio, now CSX, and route of the Capitol Limited runs through a tunnel underneath the University of Pittsburgh. Does that count?

[samfp1943]

How about the University of Memphis ( Formerly Memphis State Univ.)

The Norfolk Southern line through East Memphis, and paralleling Southern Ave through the area. 

http://map.memphis.edu/

Have not been in the area in several years. Student pedestrian traffic between the main Campus area, and the large parking lots along Southern Ave. have always been an area of potential tresspassing across the line.   Not sure if a fence was ever put up to control the pedestrian traffic to just a few points across the ROW was ever installed.

    For the longest time it was a situation that resembled the Pamplona (Spain) running of the bulls as the students crossed, almost challenging the trains. It had to be a 'hairy' situation for crews.   Speed used to be between 30-40 mph (westbound trains were slightly slower), as they were approaching the east yard limits of Forrest Yard.

[stebbycentral]

As previously mentioned the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City (CRANDIC) runs straight throught the middle of the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City.  The railline is on an elevated curve, and pedestrian and automotive traffic pass underneath it.  One particular feature is the Iowa Street underpass, which is one of those notorious "truck-eating underpasses".  Some idiot getting his truck jammed in there was practically a rite of Spring (and Fall, and Winter, for that matter.)

http://www.uiowa.edu/~maps/i/imu1.htm

[Anonymous]

MIT has the Grand Junction / "Rat Run" running through its campus. Of course, as FRA exempt track it only hosts non-revenue MBTA and Amtrak moves, I believe a single CSX local to one customer (which may or may not still be around) plus it serves as a parking spot of the circus train when it comes to town every year.

[route_rock]

  Charlie already said my fav in Ft Collins. Sandburg in Galesburg Illinois.Augastana in Rock Island. Western Illinois in Moline( its not quite built yet)

   I am sure there is more that I know but cant think of right off hand.

[tree68]

The Adirondack Scenic runs through the campus of North Country Community College in Saranac Lake, NY.  The locomotive used there is generally equipped with a whistle and a horn, and the whistle is used for trail crossings and the crossings on the campus.

[Ulrich]

Champlain College, Lennoxville, Quebec. One of the best places to observe big MLW power in the 70s and 80s...and the very last days of steam on the CPR in 1960 (although that's before my time).  

[RudyRockvilleMD]

Just off the top of my head the the Takoma Park, MD campus of Montgomery College is next to the CSX and the East Leg of Metro's Red Line in Takoma Park, MD, sort of a twofer. Columbia University's football stadium, Baker Field, is across the Harlem River from Metro North's Hudson Line (ex New York Central) tracks. The New York Central/Metro North Hudson Line tracks were a good outlet for railfans who attended Columbia's home football games, and got bored with seeing Columbia being pummled by the visiting team. 

[schlimm]

UP by Iowa State in Ames

UP by Northern Illinois University in Dekalb

[edblysard]

University of Houston, Downtown Campus.

The old SP Grand Central Station was directly west of the Meat Packers Warehouse, which is now the downtown Uof H campus.

The old SP coach yard and the Amshack are there now.

The track, used by both UP freight and Amtrak, runs directly under the south end of the building.

The building is also the north terminal of Metro's transit rail service.

[cbq9911a]

The CTA Red line runs along the western edge of the Loyola University Chicago Lake Shore Campus.  These tracks were used by the North Shore Line (trackage rights) 1919 - 1963; they were Milwaukee Road tracks 1910 - 1952.

[caldreamer]

CSX runs through Gettysburg College.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Limiting this to ones I have direct experience with, and in no particular order, and not necessarily all of them that I know about -

Villanova University, west of Philly - former PRR main line, now Amtrak + SEPTA along the northern side, only expansion beyond it has put the tracks in the middle; plus, the former Phila. & Western line - now SEPTA's Norristown Division - runs along the south side;

A little further west, Immaculata College - formerly women-only - is split by the same line;

Univ. of Pennsylvania is hard by several ex-PRR lines coming out of 30th Street Station - now mostly Amtrak, some SEPTA, plus the 'High Line' which I believe is CSX's;

Temple Univ. in N. Philly is split by the ex-Reading, now SEPTA's 9th Street Branch, which despite the name is really the main stem of the former Reading-side lines out of the Market East station and Center City Commuter Tunnel;

Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania - opposite Northumberland, famous in PRR days - has a former PRR branch line running through it.  (I wanted to rent a private car to park there for my daughter's graduation . . . ).

- Paul North.

[ungern]

 

igoldberg

CSX runs through Gettysburg College.

And North of there is my alma mater Messiah College in Grantham, PA with  Norfolk Southern running right next to it.  I always enjoyed hearing those trains..

Ungern

[blue streak 1]

Athens Ga. --- Cof Ga Athens - Madison line ( now ABR) goes through eastern part of University of Georgia --  Ga RR had track rights. Line just east of football stadium (Sanford stadium) Charter trains into early 60s of ACL (Ga RR a partial subsidiary) and C of Ga would park at the east end and people who couldn't get tickets would watch from trains and listen to radio broadcasts by Larry Munson. Really big portable radios back then but some AC in cars. If late game they had hard time watching game looking into the sun. Don't know how much of campus is east of those tracks now but a lot west of tracks. If commuter rail ever run Athens - ATL this track planned to have a passenger station for reverse student commuters.

[erikem]

 San Diego State has the "Trolley" line going under the campus.

[BamaCSX83]

The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL has tracks running adjacent to the south side of campus.  Not sure whose tracks, but I do know that they are active from my tenure at the university earning my degree.

[ValleyX]

 

Little Goshen College, in Goshen, Indiana.  The NS Marion Branch runs right through the middle of it.  For years, they've talked of getting a pedestrian bridge over the track or even a tunnel underneath of it but nothing has been done. 

Down in Southeast Ohio, the B&O used to run through the campus of Ohio University but that's all gone, now.

[daveklepper]

The United States Military Academy at West Point.  CSX, formerly Conrail, formerly Penn Centerl, formerly New York Central, formerly the West Shore railroad, runs through a tunnel under the campus.  There was, of course, passenger service at one time, now just freight.

[CShaveRR]

There's a railroad next to the campus of Grand Valley State University's campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Used to be CSX; I believe it's probably owned or leased by Marquette Rail now. And Amtrak trains may go past it when they're being "put away" for the night.

Grand Valley was my alma mater. Back when I went, though, they didn't have this campus. I'd nominate the original campus, in Allendale, Michigan, as being one of the farthest away from a track (I could hear that lonesome whistle callin'....).

[CNW 6000]

UW Oshkosh used to have the Milwaukee Road along the west edge of campus (near the river) mainly to serve an industry or two as well as deliver an occasional LCL of goods to the facilities maintenance sheds.  It's now the WIOUWASH trail.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

Bryn Mawr College is right by the same Amtrak-SEPTA main line as Villanova.

Swarthmore College is split by the SEPTA - former PRR - Media-West Chester Line - which used to see AMTK ballast trains at night to and from the quarry at Glen Mills.

- Paul.

[wanswheel]

Photo by Dick Leonhardt.  Notre Dame & Western brought coal to the Notre Dame power plant. They get their coal by truck nowadays but I think the tracks are still there, just in case.

http://www.monon.monon.org/rr/ndwrr.html

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/DC/081150p.pdf

[kolechovski]

The local one has a Buffalo & Pittsburgh line next to it.  It was a different abandoned railroad, inactive for 2 decades.  When they reactivated it, aftre all the construction was finished, they eliminated a pedestrian bridge/crossing and put up a fence to prevent people from getting around.  It sucks that it ruins any camera-taking opportunities.

[schmaltz]

Oregon State  in Corvallis, OR