In a message dated 3/7/03 10:08:07 PM, cjwyatt@... writes:
<<I think the answer is pretty simple. I believe some of the coal was burned
for power and heat right there in the DC area. Also cars destined to PRR at
Baltimore have a lot more direct route via Lynchburg-SOU-Pot Yd-PRR than via
Hagerstown-PRR.
Jack Wyatt >>

There still is a rail-served power plant on the bank of the Potomac
River, SE of the site of the former Pot Yard. I don't know how long it has
been there. There is a short branch that connected it to the yard on its SE
side. I assume the road that owned the branch was RF&P, but I don't know for
sure.

Regarding all this discussion of how frequently N&W, (and other eastern
road hopper cars) went off-line, I'm surprised Jeff English has not chimed in
with some facts. He has data on how often such cars appeared on the Rutland
in the 1940s and early 1960s. He provided me with interesting data on B&O
hopper cars many years ago that were moving to points on the Rutland,
elsewhere in New England, and other points, including some being handed off
for Canadian destinations.

Chris Barkan