The Washington herald., 1908-08-30
FINE FREIGHT YARDS
Modern Railroad Facilities
Opposite Washington.
WORKS BY GRAVITY SYSTEM
Potomac Yards n Clearing House for
Southern Traffic-CarS Handled
Like Cards, Pat Into New Packs.
Dealt Into Trains, and Are Hur-
ried on Their Way.

on The Virginia side Of the Potomac
extending along The river from The south
ern approach 70 the railroad bridge into
Washington, almost 10 Alexandra, is 10
Gated one OF the most extensive FreieHt
yards in the country. and one which
compares tavorabIy with al others. sur
passing them in some respects. Il IS the
newest OF its kind and therefore erbod-
les modern Improvements IN railroad con
struction 10 the fullest extent.
The Improvement is known as the Po-
tonac yards. and with its establishment
there passed almost the last OF the old
Alexandra farm, once one OF the most
extensive plantations i1 Virginia. reach
Ing as it did from point opposite Nv
Lords Island. now AGalostan. 10 Indian
Cabin Creek Hunting Creek. beyond
Alexandra John Alexander purchased
this estate OF 500 acres OF land from
Capt. Robert Howsen IN Is77 for $50
pounds Of tobacco and some money. Capt
HoWsen having received IL by grant from
Gov Berkeley in 1853 Al that tine II
vas IN Prince William County. later
Fairfax. and this plantation became &
part Of the District Of Columbia by The
cession of'two and one-half square miles
TO the government by Virginia for the
National Capital. OF this vast estate
scarce twenty-five acres remafn-a little
peninsula cut OF from the mainland By
hands OF steel
Yards Three Miles Long.
The Potomac yards proper. where tire
Sravity system and the working planr~is
located, is three miles in length by about
fifteen hundred or two thousand feet in
width. and is approached at each end .by
double tracks extending two miles. max
ing the entire yard seven miles In length;
and within that distance there are sixty
miles Of trackage-
The adaptation OF the gravity system 70
handling freight cars and trans is OF re-
cent date. this yard. which was opened
for operation IN April. 1906. having been
one OF the hrst established.
BY this system a train composed Of
freight cars for entirely separate destfna-
tons is backed into the yard to a high
elevation on the main line track and at
about the center OF the yard a car COR /
possibly several cars IS shunred down
an incline. the grade OF which is az first
per cent
Inns eld4e : CldlEeQ as the car
passes over the weighing scales to H per
cent, and again increased TO 3 per cent Z
where the sidetracks radiate from the
main line track Ike the veins in an oak
leaf from the main artery down its cen
ter. but this grade gradually decreases I
until a perfect level is reached at the far
End OF the yard. All the cars IN a full I
train destined for one place are thus sent I
to one siding. those for another place TO 4
another siding. every train coming into
the yard being segregated IN this way
until finally there Is a full train Of cars.
al Of which have the same destination.
and then II Is taken out as a through 4
rain for that point
Operated by Gravity.
The yard is. IN fact. composed OF two
gravity systems, IN one Of which trains
Ire made Up for the North and IN the
'ther for the South; and there have
oassed over these yards in three months
May, June. and JULY Of this year a to-
al OF 1889 freight cars alone. Forty
rains pull out Of the yard in each dfrec-
ion every day. and during each da,v Of
he past two weeks $50 carloads Of per-
shable freight have passed through the
ard going northTarG. watermelons- To-
natoes. potatoes. and cantal0upes being 1
forwarded in absolutely countless num-
,ers. Il
Tropical and seni-tropical fruits are
epresented. and there are seasons OF the
ear when the great freight transfer