The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-09-05

Work has just begun on the Atlantic
Coast Lines new freight yard at South
Rocky Mount and the yard is to be
completed by January first. With
the exception OF the freight yard of
the Illinois Central at a small town in
Louisiana, the Coast Lines new yard
will be the largest east of the Miss1ss-
ippi and south of Washington.
TIE plans for the yard. have all
been completed and the firm of Phillips
and Airport, of Richmond, nave been
awarded the contract for doing the
work. AS far as the arrangement of
the yard is concerned and the dispatch
with which cars can be assorted,
there is no road in the country that
u boast of a better freight yard.
There will be none of the switch
ing back and forth as is necessary on
most of the old time yards, put trains
will enter the yard, the engine be cut
loose IL d shifting engine take the
string Of cars and by the time the
cars reach the other end of the yard
they will have been assorted on the
right track and made into trains
ready to proceed on their way. From
h time the cars enter the yard until
they leave they move forward and
never backward.
The Coast Lines yard will be located
onthe southern side of South Rocky
Mount and will begin at the Coast
Line shops and extend south for three
miles. The yards will consist of
six clusters Of tracks, two at the north
ern end, two in the middle and two at
the southern end. The clusters at the
end will be known as the forward and
receiving tracks and the tracks in
the middle will be for the classification
of cars.
TO explain more fully. The yard
lies north, and south and say for
instance that a train is bound north.
Upon reaching South Rocky Mount
it goes into the left side OF the re-
ceiving track and is later carried to
the classification yard where the
{ cars are assorted. The cars of this
and other trains are made INTO trains
at the north enc and leave the yard
by what are known as the forwarding
tracks. The same conditions apply
TO 5o~utI>bound freight.
sn the classification yard will be a
large transfer shed which will be
used where freight has to be trans
fered. Many cars come in daily with
freight billed to various places n
if there is enough freight in the
cars thus loaded to make full cars for
certain points the freight is transfer
ed.
There will also be an icing platform
to be used in icing refrigerator cars.
What are known as th~oroughfare
tracks will ~traverse the entire length
of the yard and will be used in carry
ing the engines back and forth.
The use of these tracks will not inter
fere with the classification of cars or
making up trains.
At each end of the yard will be
several tracks to be used for cars in
bad order inc also caboose cars.
The yard proper will have 30 miles
of trackage and will hold about s.
600 cars. The largest number of
tracks will be that portion used for the
classification of cars, where there will
be 20 parallel tracks. On entering
from the south there will be ( north
bound receiving tracks and 3 south
bound forwarding tracks. At the
north end will be 8 south bound re-
.ceiving tracks and 4 north bound for
warding tracks. In the center of the
yard will be Is classification tracks.
2 iceing tracks and 2 transfer tracks.
A short distance from The north en-
trance of the yard will oe Il cluster of
tracks to be used for general storage
purposes.
The new yard at South Rocky Mount
will more than double the capacity of
the old yard and even under condi-
tons that are out of the ordinary there
should be no trouble in handling the
freight at this point with dispatch.
The yard is so arranged that it can
be enlarged at any time without max
ing any change in the general plan.
Practically all of the heavy traffic of
the Atlantic Coast Line from the east
comes through South Rocky Mount
and the same is true of northbound
freight. This being the case. it was
very important that the road should
have adequate yards at this point to
handle the enormous volume of
freight with dispatch.
The above refers only to the freight
yard proper and not to the many
tracks near the shops at South Rocky
Mount.
The plans for the South Rocky
Mount yard were prepared by Mr..
e. B. Peasants, chief engineer of the
Atlantic Coast Line, after Il careful
study of the situation and conditions.