Evening star., 1953-07-08

even rank among the 0fSC 10 IN
the Nation. Florence. S. c.. and
Newport News, Va, rank far
above it in trackage and area.
But what Potomac Yards lacks
in space, it makes up for in busi-
ness. With its average of l57
trains daily. it is surpassed only
by the vast Enola Yards at Har-
risburg. Pa, and the giant Pro-
viso Yards at Chicago.
Beehive Of Steel.
Potomac Yards is beehive of
almost constant movement. From
the time a train pulls in on one
of its receiving tracks, the freight
cars remain in some state of slow
motion until they are ready to
move on out at the other end of
the yards.
With the exception of Potomac
Yards and a relatively narrow
section of tracks running through
the Northeast section of the city
from Union Station, there is lit
tie here to remind residents and
visitors that the Capital is a
railroad town. Because of an act
of Congress in 1901, the usual
hodge-podge of tracks. grimy
buildings and other equipment
associated with railroad centers
is more or less obscured here.
In 1852, the first section of the
Orange, Va, and Alexandria
Railroad was opened, giving
WaShingtonians some hope of
eventual rail connections with
the South. The line ran to Man
assas where it connected with
the Manassas Gap tracks. It then
followed a roundabout course
to Gordonsville, Va, 80 miles
from Alexandria. and tied in with
the Virginia Central which had
its eastern terminus at the
RF&P tracks between Richmond
and Fredericksburg. Thus Alex
andria became for many years
the only northern terminal from
the South. Until we'll after the
Civil War, freight and passengers
from the North were forced to
use boats or horse-drawn We
hicles to make connections be-
tween the Capital and Alexan-
dria.
Between 1885 and 1901, the
railroads, Congress and the
Washington Board Of Trade were
constantly involved in a wrangle
over tracks and stations in the
city. At one point, the roads
were determined to lay tracks
down Pennsylvania avenue and
only congressional action pre-
vented it. The situation began to
ease after the Pennsylvania Rail
road moved in 1866. but the
probleme of grade crossings and
unsightly stations continued to
plague the city until the Goth
century.
Crossings Eliminated.
In 1901, Congress approved an
act to eliminate most grade
crossings, to require new tracks
and terminals for the railroads
operating here and to clean up
the Mall which had become a
railroad yard with many tracks
running up and down its length.
Another act in 1903 provided for
the erection of Union Station,
consolidating all lines here into
Q common terminal.
The Washington Terminal Co.
was incorporated December 7.
1901, and the entire capital
stock is owned by the B. g. o.
and Pennsylvania lines. The
other lines operating tracks and
equipment into Washington
the Southern, Chesapeake &
Ohio and R. F. & P.-were
granted rights to use all facili-
ties of the terminal. The other
big lines coming into Washing
ton are the Atlantic Coast Line
and the Seaboard, but both are
drawn by r. F. & P. equipment
ever its line from Richmond. !
The terminal is a complete |
railroad, lying totally within
city limits. It has So miles of |
track, owns % locomotives and
employs about $500 persons. OF |
the $1,392,15 paid by the rail-
roads in taxes to the District. the
terminal accounts for more than |
100000 of it.
Sufficient for Future.
When built in 1907, Union Sta
ton was considered one of the !
finest pieces Of railroad archi-
lecture in the world. AS tribute |
to its designers, it still is ade-
quate for all traffic and accord
ing to Sidney Kerl, terminal
manager, there's no reason to be-
lieve that it won't accommodate
any future load.
A vital part of modern rail-