 |
| 3D Satellite |
 |
| Kenny Nobles' Photography posted Rice Yard in Waycross, Georgia, is CSX Transportation’s largest yard in Georgia, occupying more than 700 acres. This image shows how it all comes together. J.B. Rail Photog shared |
The Georgia Photography Fanatic posted three photos with the comment:
This is looking out over the LARGEST rail yard in the entire Southeast! This is in Waycross, Georgia at CSX's Rice Yard. It named for former Atlantic Coast Line Chairman Thomas Rice in 1978, and only the CSX rail yard in Chicago is larger.
The rail yard started on 36-acres that was purchased in 1887, but over the years it grew and now it covers about 850 acres of Ware County (4.5 miles long by 2,000 ft wide!). In the early 1900s, the first buildings were built for the rail yard and are still in service today as the main office, locomotive shop, reclamation shop, and paint shop. Rice Yard can receive, classify, repair, refuel, inspect and service around 50 to 70 trains a day. The repair shops here are some of CSX's largest railroad repair facilities in the country, which also include painting and cosmetic repair of the cars and locomotives.
Between 1,700 and 2,900 cars roll through this yard daily to be inspected and classified before they are sent out to the next destination.
Captured by Jay Blanton using a DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone.
[There are some comments about Waycross being a cancer hotspot and and traffic, including first responders, being blocked.]
Andy Sarge
Yep and only about half the trains that go thru Waycross actually get worked in the yard, the rest just change crews there or run thru to Jacksonville and points south, up to Savannah or over to Brunswick. Most large railroad yards actually several smaller yards put together. Your pictures show all but one of the 4 that make up Waycross. The centerpiece is the "hump" or classification yard, where trains of cars are broken up and rebuilt to make other trains. The one in Waycross is an older yard but it has been completely updated. Even 10 years ago there were a bunch more in the southeast but the shift to intermodal and unit trains of things like grain and automobiles means there will like be even fewer hump yards in the future, The main CSX yard in Atlanta was torn out last year.
Chad Morre shared
Ken Willis
Might be now, but Russell Ky. Was the largest for several years.
Bryant Mills
[The yard is on the subdivisions of] Thomasville, Jesup, Brunswick and Fitzgerald Subs.
Mike Arther
I wish I had a nickel for every stake and hub I drove while surveying during the construction of this yard. I was here from October 1, 1974 to February 11,1981. Where I started my career. 64 class tracks, 10 South Forwarding Tracks and 14 tracks in the North Forwarding Yard and I think 10 tracks in the Receiving Yard leading to the dual hump. Two, at the time, state of the art yard offices and Wabco Computer System. I handled material into the yard and would order 200 gondola loads of Crusher Run Base. Just off to the Southwest of the yard was the borrow pit where we place some 7 feet of fill in the Class Yard and it was comprised of 60 sq acres and averaged 25 feet deep with ground water after we were done. Some 2.6 million yards of material were excavated. The borrow pit lake can be seen in the top photo and the bottom right. In addition to the above, it has a state of the art diesel shop on the South side of the Receiving Yard. Just about anything needed from periodic maintenance to heavy repairs are done there.
 |
| 1 |
 |
| 2 |
 |
| 3 |
Logan Detwiler: Willard was huge at the time of the B&O days.
Aidan Nasser Cumberland and Huntington are fairly large yards as well.
Ken Kieley Jr.: Selkirk has 70 bowl tracks, along with 10 of each tracks in North and South departure, 11 inbound tracks for the hump, and another 7 tracks for the Top End plus 10 tracks for the Local Yard with 2 Fast Freight Tracks for run through. From CP SK to CP FB is approximately 4 miles long.
Bob Walker: Waycross, Selkirk, and Queensgate.
Robert Love: Russell yard was largest privately owned rail yard in the 50s in the world.
Andrew Holt: I believe Sellkirk is the biggest.
[There were quite a few other reponses.]
Chad Morre posted two photos with the comment: "Csx Rice yard Waycross Ga. This is the original engine house/back shop, now used to store coach cars. Built in 1900 and added on to in 1917."
Logan Detwiler posted four photos with the comment: "CSX locomotive storage yard in Waycross, GA. Hopefully these locomotives see another day of revenue freight service. Credit to my friend Bishop for these pics. From December last year [2022]."
 |
| 1 |
 |
| 2 |
I haven't seen very many errors on the topo maps. But here is one. The route should have been labelled Atlantic Coast Line instead of Seaboard Coast Line.
 |
| 1967 Waycross East & West Quadrangles @ 1:24,000 |
 |
| Robby Beck posted Waycros hump Tom Kadesch: fmr Atlantic Coast Line |
Chad Morre posted two photos with the comment: "Csx Rice yard Waycross Ga. This is the original engine house/back shop, now used to store coach cars. Built in 1900 and added on to in 1917."
 |
| 1, cropped |
 |
| 2, cropped |
Logan Detwiler posted four photos with the comment: "CSX locomotive storage yard in Waycross, GA. Hopefully these locomotives see another day of revenue freight service. Credit to my friend Bishop for these pics. From December last year [2022]."
Eric Dixon: At Waycross we call that the Boneyard... That's where Peter is robbed to pay Paul.
 |
| 1 |
 |
| 2 |
 |
| 3 |
 |
| 4 Shawn Coffey: The Flared EMD SD70MACs I heard pretty soon are getting Rebuilt. I Don't know when But word has it there gonna get Rebuilt. John Gori: Shawn Coffey pretty sure that Huntington has confirmed to rebuild 25 flared MACs this year. Michael Irvin: Shawn Coffey , They are so slow . They could outsource them to Progress Rail at Patterson Georgia or Norfolk Southern Juanita shops . |
 |
| Gary Skora posted, cropped What csx yard is this viewed at 37000 ft? [The consensus of the comments was Rice Yard.] |
Andrew Stephenson posted the comment:
CSX hump counts for week of 1/28/24- 2/3/24(in order from the busiest)•Rice Yard Waycross, GA1/28 - 2,8851/29 - 2,7741/30 - 3,0851/31 - 2,3862/1 - 3,0942/2 - 2,3852/3 - 2,75119,360 total / 2,766 a day average•Radnor Yard Nashville, TN1/28 - 2,1431/29 - 1,7691/30 - 1,6631/31 - 1,8682/1 - 2,1952/2 - 1,8932/3 - 2,05513,586 total / 1,941 a day average•Queensgate Yard Cincinnati, OH1/28 - 1,8691/29 - 1,7701/30 - 1,9481/31 - 1,6402/1 - 1,8562/2 - 1,9082/3 - 1,94112,932 total / 1,847 a day average•Selkirk Yard Selkirk, NY1/28 - 1,8311/29 - 1,9131/30 - 1,7631/31 - 1,5262/1 - 1,8292/2 - 1,9062/3 - 2,06012,828 total / 1,833 a day average•Avon Yard Avon, IN1/28 - 1,6171/29 - 1,5961/30 - 1,6631/31 - 1,6432/1 - 1,6292/2 - 1,6172/3 - 1,56811,333 total / 1,619 a day average
Jeff Allgood: With Waycross humping this many cars you would think more trains would run in and out of the place. Plus down through Folkston.
Andrew Stephenson replied to Jeff:
the following are the trains that originate, terminate, and work Rice Yard:•road trainsM211 Birmingham, AL - Waycross, GA dailyM400 Waycross, GA - Rocky Mount, NC dailyM401 Rocky Mount, NC - Waycross, GA dailyM409 Selkirk, NY - Waycross, GA dailyM410 Waycross, GA - Selkirk, NY dailyM441 Waycross, GA - Tampa, FL dailyM442 Tampa, FL - Waycross, GA dailyM452 Miami, FL - Waycross, GA dailyM453 Waycross, GA - Miami, FL dailyM457 Waycross, GA - Taft, FL dailyM491 Hamlet, NC - Waycross, GA dailyM492 Waycross, GA - Hamlet, NC dailyM514 Waycross, GA - Nashville, TN dailyM515 Nashville, TN - Waycross, GA dailyM541 Cincinnati, OH - Waycross, GA dailyM542 Waycross, GA - Cincinnati, OH dailyM601 Waycross, GA - New Orleans, LA dailyM602 New Orleans, LA - Waycross, GA dailyM603 Waycross, GA - Winston, FL dailyM604 Winston, FL - Waycross, GA dailyM605 Waycross, GA - New Orleans, LA dailyM606 New Orleans, LA - Waycross, GA dailyM645 Birmingham, AL - Waycross, GA dailyM646 Waycross, GA - Birmingham, AL dailyM647 Bedford Park, IL (BRC Clearing) - Waycross, GA dailyM648 Waycross, GA - Bedford Park, IL (BRC Clearing) dailyM649 Montgomery, AL - Waycross, GA dailyM650 Waycross, GA - Montgomery, AL dailyM690 Waycross, GA - Augusta, GA dailyM691 Augusta, GA - Waycross, GA dailyM692 Waycross, GA - Russell, KY dailyM693 Russell, KY - Waycross, GA daily•localsL725 Waycross, GA - Walthourville, GA turn Mo-FrL727 East Savannah, GA - Waycross, GA turn dailyL738 Fitzgerald, GA - Waycross, GA turn dailyL744 Brunswick, GA - Waycross, GA turn Mo-FrL795 Waycross, GA - Jacksonville Moncrief, FL turn dailyL796 Waycross, GA - Jacksonville Busch, FL turn dailyThat’s 22 departures as well as 22 arrivals a day… and that’s only counting the trains in and out of Rice Yard itself. There are a lot more trains through Waycross that just swap crews and / or run-through (like intermodals, autoracks, and unit trains).
No comments:
Post a Comment