I spent a week at NC State University in Raleigh this summer, and while staying there realized that a Norfolk Southern double track main line ran straight through the middle of campus with a tunnel beneath them for the sidewalk. Kind of creepy walking under all of that weight! Are there any other universities around the country or the world even that have railroads that close to them? I say “through” them, but the campus was built around it really. Just curious.
U of Houston, Downtown Campus, is the north terminus for our Metro Light rail, and has the UPs main line entrance to Englewood yard directly under the south side of the building, under the parking lot and edge of the building…
they park locomotives under there, waiting for permission to enter Englewood.
Same track is used by Amtrak, the old SP coach yard is directly west of the campus…
Ed
Texas A&M University has the Dallas-Houston UP (ex-SP) main line right through what is now the west side of the campus. It’s a subject of continuing controversy over there. Has been for some time. Seems to have started when this Aggie from West Texas marched into his Abnormal Psych class with this beautiful annotated photo album of steam engines, walked up and handed it to the prof, turned around and announced to the class that he did his term paper on loco motives…
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Texas A&M at College Station has the Union Pacific. This was originally the Houston and Texas Central, an SP subsidary. Later the MP gained rights to the line through its International-Great Northern subsidiary. When I was there in the early 1970’s there were about a dozen SP/MP trains a day. later Amtrak served the line for a few years. College Station was named for the “station” that was built 5 miles from Bryan TX to serve the new college in 1876.
Iowa State University has the UP doubletrack right on the edge of the campus. It really doesn’t go through any places next to buildings, but it is right there!
Buellman2003
The University of Georgia as I rememeber had some tracks on a great part of the campus, the East end of the football field. (For those that remember Sanford Stadium prior to the last Dooly addition) They were the old Central of Georgia tracks that ran South toward Macon. I’m sure that Mr. Ed King could keep me straight on the specifics… I just know that I saw some pretty good football from those tracks driving not a few train crews nuts on Fall Saturdays. I’m sure those tracks are gone now, destroyed by the demise of the Cental’s secondary tracks and the of the growth of the Bulldog Empire. [bow]
Since you mentioned UGA, I was down there about this time last year and do remember seeing some tracks pretty close to campus. Only there for one evening and I couldn’t get a good view, but I assume trains still run on them. I think it was fairly close to the stadium.
You are not far off the mark my friend, I am just wonder if you can still get a fair seat in that part of the campus
Drexel University, Villanova, Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore in SE Pennsylvania.
Dave H.
Penn State Univeristy’s Harrisburg campus had an indutrial spur running through it from the Philly-Harrisburg main line back to some wharehouse/light industry that butted up behind the campus. Within the last two years though they ripped out the track and filled in the cuts… trucks now clog the small campus. [:(]
The Union Pacific mainline runs along the north edge of the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, OR.
[xx(] The University of Southern California (Los Angeles) had an SP branch, the former PE Santa Monica Air Line, along its southern edge. I would occasionally see the local go by in the early 80s.
The track was abandoned by the 90s; however several segments of the track are still in place. Plans to rebuild it as a light-rail line named the “MTA Expo Line” (named for Exposition Park/Blvd.) have stirred up fierce oppostion from residents in the Palms district further west.
UC Davis, California State University Sacramento all have railroads next to them. California Polytechnic University Pomona is close to tracks,
Colorado State University in Fort Collins has a bunch of old BN and CS spurs running through it, though I don’t think that they are used that much anymore. Then the Joint Line (UP/BNSF) is about two blocks from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.
Can’t leave out University of Nebraska - home of the deposed winning coaches - our campus literally touches the BNSF main line and yards.
Mook
University of Memphis has the ex-Southern main running directly across the south side of campus. Getting to the University parking lots requires crossing the tracks in several places. Several discussions about building a bridge have, so far, come to nothing.
Princeton University, of course, has its “own” train, the infamous octagonal-wheeled “Dinky”, which at one time ran through the west end of campus. You could still see mile marker “0” near Blair Hall a few years ago. The current station is still just across a walkway from Spelman Hall dorms. The NEC is two miles south at Princeton Junction, and since the interlockings were taken out in the mid-80s speed on the main tracks through here can be about as high as any place south of NYC on the Corridor.
Defiance college has the Maumee & Western crawl by campus(former wabash line).
stay safe
Joe
My wife is a UGA grad who still considers the SEC to be the be all and end all of any kind of football. The tracks past the stadium are gone, but the roadbed is still there. Students who couldn’t afford tickets to Georgia games used to hang out on the roadbed. Now Sanford Stadium is a closed bowl so you can’t see in from the roadbed any more.
Columbus State University in Columbus, GA has an abandoned line running right by the campus. (The branch ran from Columbus to Warm Springs, GA.) Every election year someone keeps talking about opening up the line to run students from the north campus to the school of fine arts in the center of town. Hasn’t happened yet, probably won’t happen any time soon.
Erik
University of Louisville has both NS & CSX running through the campus.
And several years ago when they built the new football stadium,most of
it is on old CSX (ex L&N) property. They also have several old cabooses,
(cabeese) that you can rent,to watch the games from.(and party)[:)]
University of Tennessee in Knoxville has its own sidings for private cars. IIRC it is on CSX (ex-L&N)