Conway Yard (also known as Conway Terminal) is a major

rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or ...

located in the boroughs of Conway and

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, northwest of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, along the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

. It was the largest

freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...

yard in the world from 1956 until 1980.Edwin Kraft, "The Yard: Railroading's Hidden Half.
''Trains'' Magazine
Vol. 62, No. 6, June 2002. p. 48. It is currently owned by

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

(NS) and is one of the largest yards in the United States.

History

Conway Yard was built in 1884 by the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway, a subsidiary of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

(PRR). It was expanded in the early 20th century. In 1905, it had a capacity of 8,967 cars and typically processed 2,300 cars per day. The enlargement yard was part of a major PRR expansion that also added the Pennsylvania yards of Altoona Yard,

Enola Yard Enola Yard is a large rail yard located in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, along the western shore of the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Built in 1905 and expanded through the 1930s, Enola was the world's largest freight ...

, and Harrisburg Yard. In 1953, the PRR began a $35 million ($ million today) renovation and expansion of the yard. The new eastbound yard opened in 1956, while the rebuilt westbound facilities opened in stages during 1957 and 1958.Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), Philadelphia, PA (1957)
"Board of Directors Inspection Trip."
Report. Its new capacity was 9,000 cars per day, surpassing Enola Yard as the largest in the United States. Many yards (Dewitt and Clearing Yard, to name just a couple) had larger yards up until 1956. Conway was rebuilt with eastbound and westbound hump

classification yard A classification yard (American and Canadian English (Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard ( British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English (Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ...

s, and a total of 99 classification tracks, according to a 1957 PRR publication.PRR (1957)
"Conway Yard on the Pennsylvania Railroad."
Brochure. A 1958 publication describes a total of 107 classification tracks. The westbound hump yard was outfitted with an automatic control system called VELAC, which was designed and installed by the Union Switch and Signal Company.PRR and Union Switch and Signal Co., Swissvale, PA (1958)
"Conway Yard."
Bulletin 172. It was described as the "world's largest push-button yard." The eastbound hump yard was installed with semi-automatic operation. A terminal for transferring coal from river barges to rail cars was located at the south end of the yard.

Current operation

Conway is the only remaining large operation of the four early-20th century PRR yards. NS processes 90,000 to 100,000 cars per month (as of 2003). The site occupies 568 acres, with of track and a storage capacity of over 11,000 cars. As of 2012, the yard employed 1,400 rail workers, with 60 to 80 trains traveling through it daily.

References

External links

21st century photos of Conway YardPhotos of Conway Yard from the Conrail era (1970s-1990s)
{{Pittsburgh Metro Area Transportation buildings and structures in Beaver County, Pennsylvania Conrail Norfolk Southern Railway Penn Central Transportation Pennsylvania Railroad Rail yards in Pennsylvania 1884 establishments in Pennsylvania

History

Current operation

See also

References

External links