# Talk:Northup Avenue Yard

When and why did the name of the avenue (or the yard) change? Mackensen (talk) 11:44, 21 July 2022 (UTC)

@Mackensen: It's unclear. The source I have from 1899 uses the "Northrup Avenue Yard" name [2]. But another source from 1904 [3] uses "Northup Avenue" and the variation in name continues throughout the history of the yard. The unclear name goes back just about as far back as documentation of the yard's existence does. Curiously enough, the road exists today under the name Northrup Avenue, though it now terminates 500 feet west of the yard. Amtrak simply refers to the yard as the Providence Maintenance of Way Base, but frustratingly I cannot find any real documentation of this. Trainsandotherthings (talk) 23:53, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
I looked around a bit and couldn't find much, except (curiously) a source discussing variations of the Northup/Northrup name in Seattle. It's "Northup" on this 1899 map. Mackensen (talk) 00:02, 22 July 2022 (UTC)
It's apparently spelled both ways on the same page in 1918: [4]. Mackensen (talk) 00:06, 22 July 2022 (UTC)
Good grief. Edward J. Ozog's website [5] on the yard has this to say:
"NORTHUP or NORTHRUP
The street that gave its name to the yard can sometimes be found spelled with a second "r".  The street name probably originated with the family name Northrup but over time the simpler form prevailed.  Older street maps use the second "r" but new maps use Northup.  Newspaper accounts of the building of the hump yard mainly use Northup but sometimes Northrup can be found.  New Haven railroad usage was also ambivalent.  I have used the short form which I think is most common."
Based on what I've seen in sources researching and writing this article so far, I've found I concur with Ozog on the naming. The alternative name is common enough I left a note of it in the first sentence of the lead. Trainsandotherthings (talk) 00:37, 22 July 2022 (UTC)