©Carl J. Hirtzel
There are other, smaller yards located in the Richmond/Petersburg area and then there are yards in Newport News and Lynchburg.
Richmond's Acca yard is surrounded on three sides by 2 interstate highways, I195 and I64.
©Carl J. Hirtzel
Besides the rail yard there is also the Bryan park engine terminal and car repair shop.
Located west of the rail yard, only separated from the rail yard by a creek.
The CSX maintenance of way repair facility is also located inside the former RF&P Bryan park repair shop.
During the RF&P days, locomotives, passenger and freight cars received major rebuilding and running repairs. Nowadays it provides fuel, sanding and minor repairs to locomotives, as well as freight cars.
©Carl J. Hirtzel
East of the yard there is an transfer facility, Transflo, where tank cars and hopper cars get unloaded on to trucks.
This is a subsidiary of CSX corporation.
Acca yard has a total of proximally 143235 feet of track. This includes mainline and all yard tracks, except Bryan park and Transflo. Acca yard is split in 2 classification yards, the south and north yard which are separated in the middle of the yard by mainlines. On the west side of the yard is the Passenger MainLine located. This mainline was added by CSX after the RF&P take over, to allow Amtrak trains a quick and smooth passage.
There are 3 mainlines in the yard, mostly used for trough trains that require locomotive or crew changes. When a lead locomotive is removed or added, a class 3 brake test need to be performed also. The former RF&P mainline, between Richmond and Washington DC, is controlled with CTC and this requires locomotives to be equipped with the appropriate train control. The mainlines have a total of 19660 feet of track, or a total of 335 cars.
The north yard is the busiest of the 2 yards. With a total of 20 tracks, most classification is done here with 2 switching crews working all shifts. The north yard has a total of 65200 feet of track, or a total of 1162 cars.
The south yard, situated between the PML and other mainlines, has a total of 14 tracks, with 36665 feet of track, or a total of 658 cars.
There are 7 more tracks located on Acca yard, and they have a total of 257 cars. This brings the total to 2637 cars, or proximally 143235 feet of track.
Acca yard seen in birds eye view. Clearly visible are the interstates.
A different view of acca yard. The overpass on the foreground is Westwood ave. The second overpass is I195. The yard office and car inspectors trailer is located between these two overpasses.
Bryan park engine terminal, maintenance of way and car repair shop seen from above.
The yard office and car inspectors trailer is located between these two overpasses.