city planning student with questions about railyards?

Hello all,

I am a graduate student at Virginia Tech University getting my Master’s degree in City Planning. I am currently doing research for a paper that has to do with Railyards.

I want to look at Railyard closures and their impact on the urban landscape. So I want to find out about any railyards that are close to cities and that have closed or that have plans for closure in the future. I would also like to know about any type of development that has occurred on former railyards around the nation.

I know what the major RR companies are and I plan to call them and ask for this info, but if anyone knows of any webpage that has this info listed I would appreciate the URL because it would save me a lot of time.

The idea behind the paper is that such a large amount of open land that railyards are composed of does not open up frequently in urban areas, especially large cities like NY and D.C. So when such a large swath of land does open up the potential for impact upon the urban locale is great. Whether it’s a stadium, housing, a mall, or whatever, the developments that are going up on these closed railyards are significant and I would like to better understand the planning process that surrounds their development.

Any info would be of great help.

Thanks,
Aurash

Hey I don't know much about this, but near boston Guilford Rail has sold or leased a large portion of a former railyard. One tidbit of information there is still a very active rail area right next to this development. It will feature an extention of light rail line through the development. I believe the project is still being designed.

http://www.northpointcambridge.com/index.html

http://architecturalboston.com/Forum/vi ... northpoint

-Mike

crash575 wrote:Hey I don't know much about this, but near boston Guilford Rail has sold or leased a large portion of a former railyard. One tidbit of information there is still a very active rail area right next to this development. It will feature an extention of light rail line through the development. I believe the project is still being designed.

http://www.northpointcambridge.com/index.html

http://architecturalboston.com/Forum/vi ... northpoint

-Mike

I believe you are right about a lot being under design, but it is under construction. The first two residential buildings are under construction -- and naturally one of them sits right next to the MBTA's Boston Engine Terminal (commuter rail shops). I can only imagine what the new condo owners are gonna say about that!!

The Green Line light rail station will also be moved from its current location into the North Point Complex. The dvelopers are funding the new station in order to enhance the development.

Another couple of projects to consider (sorry, I don't have links, but these are good case studies to look at) are the Prudential Center in Boston, which was built on former New Haven and Boston & Albany yard properties and Potomac Yard in Alexandria, VA (I'm sure you thought of that already). Prudential Center in Boston was revolutionary for its time, as it sparked the greater revitalization of the city, and was pioneering in the redevelopment of urban railyards. Potomac Yard may be the largest single rail property in an urban area to be redeveloped.

Look up Potomac Yard located in Alexandria, VA. That use to be a huge railroad yard and is now being developed

You probably should look at cities which had major yards for railroads which merged and then combined their facilities. One example would be cleveland where the former Pennsylvania's Kinsman St. Yard was closed after the Penn Central merger. Another Cleveland example is the ex-New York Central Orange Ave. Yard and Freight House in which the support yard is now used by the RTA and the Freight House area has been redeveloped.

You should also look at cities where the railroads replaced several separate yards with newer hump-type classification yards. On the New York Central, Buffalo and Indianapolis are good examples. Columbus is a good example for Penn Central / Conrail.

Hope this helps. Contact me off-forum if you want to discuss this further.