Knobmount Yard/C3.0 Knobmount Yard/C3.0




Knobmount Yard, while not part of the West Sub, was where all eastbound trains from Connellsville and Elkins yarded and were classified before continueing east to Hagerstown. It had a hump and scales for classification of coal, and an icing platform for refrigerator cars. It was taken out of service on January 5, 1976. When the remaing West Sub trackage from North Branch to the yard was taken out of service to construct the new airport runway over a portion of the WM tracks at the east portal of Welton Tunnel. After this took place, the yard was downgraded by Chessie and became a bad-order storage yard along with Ridgely Yard as much of the remaining WM track leftover after the huge abandoments that took place in May 1975.


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Early WM photos from 1917 of the Knobmount Yard Masters Office and the Knobmount Yard Signal Tower. The signal tower seems to be a standard design, as others were found at Maryland Jct., George's Creek Jct., and Colmar. (thanks to Mike Yetter ad Warren Hart for photos)

Front and rear photos of the Knobmount Stockpen. (Thanks to Jim Coshun for photos)

A coal train led by F7 No 54 pulls into Knobmount Yard in the early 1970s. The train is off the Connellsville Sub and may have came from the Grey Mines or the Chiefton area.

The WM mainline came around the bend and ran alongside the river where there are currently piles of crossties. The yard started here and opened up into a freight yard and a coal classification yard.

This photo was taken from one of the many wooden light towers overlooking Knobmount Yard on June 13, 1989. Chessie GP30 4225 is doing some switching. Today, all the tracks and towers are gone at this location. (photo by Brian Paulus)

These buildings found in the center of the yard once housed air compressors for the yard tracks. The building on the right still contains two unoperable compressors and the building on the left contains a storage tank. (1998)

This is the icing platform in Knobmount Yard. This platform was once used to load large blocks of ice into refrigator boxcars as seen in one of these photo. Remains of the platform were photographed in 1998, who knows what it looks like today. (Thanks to Jim Coshun for the old photos)

A great photo looking up at the hump tower on 6-30-29. (Thanks to Jim Coshun for photo)

Later in 1998, all that remains is some abandoned buildings and alot coal dust.


The hump tower on 6-30-29. (Thanks to Jim Coshun for photo)

The following photos are a close-up look at and inside the former hump tower which is now a place for local kids to have paint ball wars.

View inside of the former location of the weighing equipment. I suppose the wall was removed to salvage the equipment. Have no photo of downstairs as it is currently filled with water almost up to the top of the doors.

View up stairs at the stair well. Inside the door just atop the stairs was a bathroom. The second photo is a power box on the wall at the back right corner of the building.


Looking out into the former coal classification yard from atop the second floor of the hump tower in June 30, 1929 and then again in 1998.

Another great photo looking west towards Elkins from the hump tower on 6-30-29. (Thanks to Jim Coshun for photo)

I had purchased this slide at a sale. It shows Knobmount Yard and the hump here while in service. This photo was taken from an overhead walkway which is now gone. The photo was taken by an unkown person. Second photo was taken by Ray Wongus, a WM engineer. This photo shows the yard track and hump after the yard was downgraded to freight car/ bad-order car storage. (Ray Wongus Collection of the WMRHS)

Looking west from atop the foot bridge over the yard. (Ray Wongus Collection of the WMRHS)

This is the west end of the yard. From here west the WM winds alongside the river and through farm land on its way to Elkins and the surronding coal feilds. Notice the tracks are still down in the first photo and a signal has been knocked over. (Ray Wongus Collection of the WMRHS)



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