Portsmouth, VA: Railyard, Roundhouse and Backshop

Railyard: (Satellite, from the Belt Line Railroad on the west side to Godwin Street.)

Roundhouse: (Satellite, Vulcan Materials Company has reused the land. The backshops were south of here.)

Seaboard Air Line Railroad posted
Back when I first went to work with the Seaboard Coast Line in 1977, I was quickly furloughed in Richmond, but stood for work in Portsmouth, working out of the old SAL Shops Yard. The shops still existed, but weren’t in use. This is a shot of the west side of the main shop building, which served as the principal passenger car repair point for the railroad. SAL operated two passenger trains to Raleigh daily, which while lightly patronized, provided a means of deadheading equipment that needed looking after. As a sidenote, in its last days, the Auto Train Corporation leased the last two bays to the extreme right in this picture to assemble covered hoppers for lease. It was too little too late, and I don’t ever recall a single kit being assembled.

1048/48 Norfolk South Quad @ 24,000