Just for fun, would you like to list a college or university campus that you know of that has a railroad either adjacent or that runs through the campus? I can think of a few off the top of my head: Texas A&M University (College Station, TX) – the UP runs through the middle of campus. A few years back the University constructed a very nice pedestrian underpass because of the numerous problems associated with students making unsafe crossings, including crawling under stopped trains. The Aggie baseball field is also adjacent to the tracks; in fact, the railroad is an integral part of the gameday experience with the announcers putting up train graphics and batters attempting to bat homers to the tracks. Northwest Arkansas Community College (Bentonville, AR) Blinn College (Brenham, TX) What others are out there?
Michigan State University; through the campus.
University of Illinois (Champaign)
Notre Dame/ South Bend
Miami (of Ohio, wish that over-rated FL school would pick another name)/Oxford OH
Ohio State/Columbus
University of Iowa/ Iowa City
Nebraska (Mooks is an expert there, especially with what has disappeared)/Lincoln
USC (railroad now gone)
UW Madison
We have BNSF main line running just on north edge of UNL. UNL is looking to expand in a few years, so the railroad will run through it.
For now, we have a very close relationship and if we get a new arena, we will be in the same house.
BNSF has a line that splits the Campus of Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado.
Ex Baltimore & Ohio, now CSX, and route of the Capitol Limited runs through a tunnel underneath the University of Pittsburgh. Does that count?
How about the University of Memphis ( Formerly Memphis State Univ.)
The Norfolk Southern line through East Memphis, and paralleling Southern Ave through the area.
Have not been in the area in several years. Student pedestrian traffic between the main Campus area, and the large parking lots along Southern Ave. have always been an area of potential tresspassing across the line. Not sure if a fence was ever put up to control the pedestrian traffic to just a few points across the ROW was ever installed.
For the longest time it was a situation that resembled the Pamplona (Spain) running of the bulls as the students crossed, almost challenging the trains. It had to be a ‘hairy’ situation for crews. Speed used to be between 30-40 mph (westbound trains were slightly slower), as they were approaching the east yard limits of Forrest Yard.
As previously mentioned the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City (CRANDIC) runs straight throught the middle of the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City. The railline is on an elevated curve, and pedestrian and automotive traffic pass underneath it. One particular feature is the Iowa Street underpass, which is one of those notorious “truck-eating underpasses”. Some idiot getting his truck jammed in there was practically a rite of Spring (and Fall, and Winter, for that matter.)
MIT has the Grand Junction / “Rat Run” running through its campus. Of course, as FRA exempt track it only hosts non-revenue MBTA and Amtrak moves, I believe a single CSX local to one customer (which may or may not still be around) plus it serves as a parking spot of the circus train when it comes to town every year. [:-^]
Charlie already said my fav in Ft Collins. Sandburg in Galesburg Illinois.Augastana in Rock Island. Western Illinois in Moline( its not quite built yet)
I am sure there is more that I know but cant think of right off hand.
The Adirondack Scenic runs through the campus of North Country Community College in Saranac Lake, NY. The locomotive used there is generally equipped with a whistle and a horn, and the whistle is used for trail crossings and the crossings on the campus.
Champlain College, Lennoxville, Quebec. One of the best places to observe big MLW power in the 70s and 80s…and the very last days of steam on the CPR in 1960 (although that’s before my time).
Just off the top of my head the the Takoma Park, MD campus of Montgomery College is next to the CSX and the East Leg of Metro’s Red Line in Takoma Park, MD, sort of a twofer. Columbia University’s football stadium, Baker Field, is across the Harlem River from Metro North’s Hudson Line (ex New York Central) tracks. The New York Central/Metro North Hudson Line tracks were a good outlet for railfans who attended Columbia’s home football games, and got bored with seeing Columbia being pummled by the visiting team.
UP by Iowa State in Ames
UP by Northern Illinois University in Dekalb
University of Houston, Downtown Campus.
The old SP Grand Central Station was directly west of the Meat Packers Warehouse, which is now the downtown Uof H campus.
The old SP coach yard and the Amshack are there now.
The track, used by both UP freight and Amtrak, runs directly under the south end of the building.
The building is also the north terminal of Metro’s transit rail service.
The CTA Red line runs along the western edge of the Loyola University Chicago Lake Shore Campus. These tracks were used by the North Shore Line (trackage rights) 1919 - 1963; they were Milwaukee Road tracks 1910 - 1952.
CSX runs through Gettysburg College.
Limiting this to ones I have direct experience with, and in no particular order, and not necessarily all of them that I know about -
Villanova University, west of Philly - former PRR main line, now Amtrak + SEPTA along the northern side, only expansion beyond it has put the tracks in the middle; plus, the former Phila. & Western line - now SEPTA’s Norristown Division - runs along the south side;
A little further west, Immaculata College - formerly women-only - is split by the same line;
Univ. of Pennsylvania is hard by several ex-PRR lines coming out of 30th Street Station - now mostly Amtrak, some SEPTA, plus the ‘High Line’ which I believe is CSX’s;
Temple Univ. in N. Philly is split by the ex-Reading, now SEPTA’s 9th Street Branch, which despite the name is really the main stem of the former Reading-side lines out of the Market East station and Center City Commuter Tunnel;
Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania - opposite Northumberland, famous in PRR days - has a former PRR branch line running through it. (I wanted to rent a private car to park there for my daughter’s graduation . . . ).
- Paul North.
And North of there is my alma mater Messiah College in Grantham, PA with Norfolk Southern running right next to it. I always enjoyed hearing those trains.[8D].
Ungern
Athens Ga. — Cof Ga Athens - Madison line ( now ABR) goes through eastern part of University of Georgia – Ga RR had track rights. Line just east of football stadium (Sanford stadium) Charter trains into early 60s of ACL (Ga RR a partial subsidiary) and C of Ga would park at the east end and people who couldn’t get tickets would watch from trains and listen to radio broadcasts by Larry Munson. Really big portable radios back then but some AC in cars. If late game they had hard time watching game looking into the sun. Don’t know how much of campus is east of those tracks now but a lot west of tracks. If commuter rail ever run Athens - ATL this track planned to have a passenger station for reverse student commuters.