When was the massive yard/trackage that formed the wye just north of 30th st sta removed? Looks like by the early 1970s it was not used. Substation #9 is in the middle of the wye. What did this area serve and why was it no longer needed? Only 2 tracks left that go on the Keystone line. Looks like Amtrak parks their mow trucks and equipment there now.
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Large Yard north of 30th Street Station
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The yard served nearby industries and coal trestles; it's no longer needed because those businesses are gone.
Freight doesn’t use the Main Line anymore east of Frazer and use west of Frazer and east of the Port Road is limited to local deliveries and the occasional emergency detour due to a problem on the NS Harrisburg Line.
When was the last time freight consistently used the Main Line east of Frazer? I think the newest photos I have ever seen were in the Conrail electrified freight era.
When was the last time freight consistently used the Main Line east of Frazer? I think the newest photos I have ever seen were in the Conrail electrified freight era.
carajul wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 8:36 pm When was the massive yard/trackage that formed the wye just north of 30th st sta removed? Looks like by the early 1970s it was not used. Substation #9 is in the middle of the wye. What did this area serve and why was it no longer needed? Only 2 tracks left that go on the Keystone line. Looks like Amtrak parks their mow trucks and equipment there now.I believe (if I am understanding you correctly) that this is what remains of the PRR 52nd Street Yard. It was one of their larger yards, and is now occupied by some mixed industrial buildings and a shopping center with a Lowes.
The West Leg of the Pittsburgh Subway is still in place, meaning that ZOO (the interlocking you're referring to) is still a wye. Amtrak turns the P42s from each 42/43 every day.
There was also a smaller yard within the limits of Zoo junction that is also currently not needed and abandoned. It may have been more for Maintenance of Way equipment and local industries, while 52nd St. yard and hump 2 miles West was more for sorting entire freight trains.