Eastern Railroad Discussion > CSX Yards

I'm looking for some pictures of any of CSX's train yards. I'm modeling Eastern Kentucky and like to model one of there yards. I live in Hazard, KY and I have aready got plans for Hazard yard. But I like to model a larger yard. Thanks for any help.

Donald

I can hear the comments already.........

(((((((I can hear the comments already.........)))))))

Whats that supposed to mean?????????

Donald

Osbourne Yard in Louisville, KY and Radnor Yard in Nashville, TN are two of CSX's largest yards in that region. I have seen old "original" CSX pamphletts (or were they "Seaboard System"?) that were PUBLIC handouts, showing the entire yard layouts in schematic form, and with great detail of track length, repair areas, locomotive service areas, TOFC ramps, et.al. I don't know if they still exist, but check with any of the regional RR Flea Market (Model RR) shows to see if any of the vendors have any for sale; you might be pleasantly surprised at just how much of that very type of information is still available!

That's a start. You might just visit any of the CSX yards you are interested in--if they aren't too far away from your area--and just ask if they have any such materials. Tell them what you are planning; honesty usually gets responsible railfans a lot further these days. Or contact CSX's office in Jacksonville, FL and ask.

GO ON-LINE! The ACL/SAL/SCL (sp.?) Historical Society is probably the MOST likely place to find that kind of information. If they don't have anything for sale, they'll likely know where you CAN find it. Keep looking until you find it. There are a LOT of resources out there for those who are persistant.

Who knows, you might enjoy the search more than the actual find--the other great artifacts you'll find along the way might be more valuable to you than the yard designs!

Happy hunting.

The largest yard in the Commonwealth of Kentucky is at Russell, near Ashland. Russell was once the largest single railroad yard in the US and by far the largest on the C&O. The largest in the immediate region that remains 100% active is Queensgate Yard in Cincinnati with over 70 miles of track. Queensgate's "little brother" Prime F. Osborn Yard in Louisville is also quite busy. Here is a list of smaller yards in your area (at least the ones I remember):

Ravenna (not much there now)
Decoursey (not much there either, but still imposing)
Corbin (busy place)
Loyal
Shelbianna
Martin
Paintsville
Winchester (real small)
Lexington (both NS & CSX)
Paris
Silver Grove (gone)

I think that covers everything in Eastern Kentucky, although I'm sure I forgot something.

Another excellent source for your inquiry would be the C&O Historical Society. Research inquiries can be made to (540) 862-0067. Their E- mail address is: cohs@cfw.com. Their mailing address is: P.O. Box 79,
Clifton Forge, VA 24422. Their archives are very extensive and you'll find them most helpful. Good Luck!
Ace S.

yes q'gate handles more trains than we do in louisville, but we hump more cars than they do and the yard is a little bigger than queensgate. osborn is more spread out than queensgate. it seems larger because it is compressed into such a small area(queensgate); between the southern and cut. osborn is actually larger in size and capacity.

What is Oz humping then? Q-Gate was humping between 1900 and 2600 cars per 24 hours this past winter and spring. Source: Hump Yardmaster

about the same figure usually 1800 to 2200 a shift. maybe 2600 on the rarist of occasions. i think he might be blowing a little smoke up your hump lead 2. i am sure they are capable of that if everything goes right but i would say they hump about 1800, maybe more with cuts that are run over the hump with the computer by moving enventory from the r yard to the bowl yard. with ronnie boy sitting up there they have to fab the numbers to keep them from having to do push ups and set ups when they don't hump or pull enough cars.