I asked the Question of the Washington County MD Economic Development Dep and the Answer was that taxes and no land. The land that they did have straddled the state line. With DC urban sprawl even Hagerstown real estate is outta site for any big rail or truck terminal that is low revenue generating and large land user.
Another reason was that it is along side the old Western Maryland line just south of Wayne Avenue. There was a lot of land off of Kriner road which they owned and or purchased to make intermodal yard.
Could it be that they wanted to be closer to Penn Turnpike/Phily/NY than to DC?
Nah, I’ll bet the REAL reason was the train crews were spending too much time at a Hagerstown hobby shop called “The Train Room.” Ever been in that place? WOW! Great train shop and a Lionel museum that will astound you.
Just up S. Burhans Blvd. from the Hagertown Roundhouse Museum. Both places are a “don’t miss” if you’re in the area. Trust me on this one, I’ve been there. Left “The Train Room” with a lighter wallet too.
www.the-train-room.com Stand by to be amazed.
Maybe I’m mistaken, but I believe that the Greencastle terminal is a CSX operation. NS has the Harrisburg intermodal as part of its Crescent Corridor.
Beyond that, most of the reasons for the location have already been described. Proximity to Interstate 81 figured into the equation, too.
Poppyl
CSX is a Chambersburg - NS at Greencastle which they have recently built to access the same market CSX is chasing at Chambersburg.
One reason wa sthat is just off of interste 81 coming south from the Harrisburg area, which has become a transportation hub. This also lets them give NS competition for the intermodal traffic They were looking to shorten the truck runs down to an Intemodal yard. The next closest is in Baltimore, Md which is about another 60 miles south.
BTW: Kriner road is named after Charlie Kriner, who was my wife’s uncle. Her maiden name is Kriner and her family has a very long history in the Chambersburg area going back over 200 years.
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