Nostalgia & History > A Proper-Looking Local

CSX Local D786 at Point of Rocks, Maryland.  Coming off the Old Main Line onto the Metropolitan Subdivision on it's return to Brunswick Yard.

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with most of the traffic taking the Met sub route i never understood why the normal route moves are for the old mainline and the reverse routing is for the Met Sub ...

This has been discussed here before.  The switches at Point of Rocks are oriented so that the eastward diverging route is to the Metropolitan (Met) Subdivision.  This was done so that loaded coal trains, most of which go to Baltimore, have a non-diverging route to the Old Main Line (OML) Subdivision, allowing them a faster speed through the plant. The eastward grade on the OML from Point of Rocks to Adamstown, about 8 miles, is rather steep (I don't know the %).  Into the early 1950s, when there were steam engines, the Adamstown cutoff came off the Met about two miles east of Point of Rocks to by-pass this grade.  Diesels eliminated the need for the Adamstown cutoff.  But, if you stand at Point of Rocks and observe any heavy e/b train taking the OML, you will notice a significant reduction in speed not long after the head end passes the station.

Now that there are fewer coal trains, AC traction motors on almost all the coal train power, many coal trains crawling to Doubs (about half way to Adamstown) and waiting there for helpers, and many coal trains taking the Met and Capital (should be Capitol) subdivisions to Baltimore, is this still the most efficient orientation?

Gerry
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with most of the traffic taking the Met sub route i never understood why the normal route moves are for the old mainline and the reverse routing is for the Met Sub ...

Nice video to watch. This really is a perfect looking local----can't beat the caboose era.
Brian Stevens