General merchandise freight flows in the days before the mergers that began towards the end of the 1960s, were limited to runs along the trunk routes, secondary routes, and branch lines of individual railroads. Traffic headed beyond the bounds of an individual railroad needed to be routed onwards to one or more additional railroads, sometimes onto manifest trains originating at the same yard at which the previous train terminated, but sometimes (often) requiring transfers from the destination yard of one railroad to the originating yard of the next railroad.
Routing choices when a shipment required travel over several railroads were not automatic, although some railroads had standing cooperation agreements, but would often be specified by the traffic manager of the shipping customer. Most general merchandise trains stopped at every sorting yard along their route to pick-up or set-off cars, and to rearrange those they already had to facilitate set-off at the subsequent yards on their runs. Less-than-carload traffic flows were even more convoluted, with the shipments having to be offloaded at the end of one railroad's run and re-loaded onto a different car at another railroad's freight facilities, generally after a road trip between them.
The most that can reasonably be described for the majority of general freight flows of the times is to show the major routes operated by each railroad of the period, and perhaps give some indication of their connecting paths in the major interconnection centers.
Manifests carry all traffic that does not qualify, either in character or volume, for a unit train. This includes small numbers of cars carrying the same traffic that travels in unit trains in larger number of cars between the same origin and destination.
Many railroads in the 1990s and 2000s operate their manifests on what amounts to a "hub and spoke" system, with long-distance manifests connecting the major yards (the "hubs"), and shorter-distance manifests taking the traffic to/from the lesser yards, where it transfers to/from local trains connecting to origin/destination facilities.
Major yards on the Northern Transcon are at Pasco, WA and Northtown, MN. Long distance manifests thus move between Pasco and Northtown, over either the former GN main line, or the combination of the Montana Rail Link and the former NP main line. Some long-distance manifests continue beyond Northtown to Galesburg, IL (and other runs between Northtown and Galesburg), using the former CB&Q line down the Mississippi River, and taking the branch from Sterling, IL, to Galesburg. Local manifests from Galesburg are then used to get traffic into Chicago (e.g. to Eola Yard). Thousand-mile inspections and on-line locomotive refueling take place at Havre, MT.
Local manifests serving Seattle/Everett, Tacoma, and Portland, OR (Vancouver, WA), are used to get the traffic between these Pacific Northwest locations and Pasco, where this traffic is sorted into trains for the northern Transcon or the Central Corridor (or the Inside Gateway route, where the train from Everett does not suffice).
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Major yards in the Central Corridor (former CB&Q lines) are at Laurel, MT (for traffic off the Montana Rail Link), Denver, and Galesburg, IL. Long distance manifests thus move between Laurel and Galesburg, over the line through Gillette, WY, and Alliance, NB, reaching the former CB&Q main line from Denver at Lincoln, NB, and from Denver to Lincoln, with both taking the main line across Iowa, through Burlington, to Galesburg. Some long-distance manifests on this route may originate at Pasco, WA, taking the Montana Rail Link as far as Laurel before diverging onto the Central Corridor line.
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Except for the ultra-long-distance special-traffic (wine) manifest between Modesto, CA, and Selkirk, NY (the H-MODSEL, known as the "wine train"), all manifests from Northern California, over the Tehachapi Pass line, and from Southern California, terminate at Barstow, CA, where their traffic is reformed into other long-distance manifests for onward travel.
Major yards on the Transcon and its offshoots are at Barstow, Alliance, TX, Argentine (Kansas City), KS, and Galesburg, IL (since the BNSF merger, and the opening of the Cameron Connector on May 29, 1996), with long-distance manifests running from Barstow to all of them. Thousand-mile inspections and on-line locomotive refueling are performed at Barstow, and at Argentine for manifests passing through. Locomotive power runs through between the endpoints of a train.
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Long-distance manifests up and down the west coast run alternately between Everett, WA or Pasco, WA, in the Pacific Northwest, and Barstow, CA, in the Pacific Southwest, passing through Stockton, CA on the way. These trains use the Inside Gateway line through Bend and Klamath Falls, OR, to Keddie Wye, in California, then trackage rights on UP's Feather River Canyon line to reach Stockton, the former Santa Fe down the San Joaquin Valley, and trackage rights over UP's Tehachapi Pass line to reach the Mojave Desert and Barstow. One major traffic type included in the long-distance manifest trains on this route is center-beam bulkhead flat cars for the wood products business, loaded southbound and empty northbound.
Major yards on the former Santa Fe Texas line are at Alliance, TX, Argentine (Kansas City), KS, and Galesburg, IL (since the BNSF merger). Long-distance manifests thus run between pairs of these yards.
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Major UP yards on the west coast (since the UP-SP merger in September, 1996) for trains using the Overland Route are at Los Angeles, West Colton CA, Roseville, CA, and Hinkle, OR. Long-distance manifests from these yards run over their respective feeder routes (Salt Lake Route to Ogden, the former Western Pacific to Salt Lake City, as well as the Overland Route itself, and Oregon Short Line) to North Platte, NB, where all manifests are reformed.
East of North Platte, long-distance manifests run to Proviso Yard, in Chicago, over the former C&NW (a continuation of the Overland Route), or to Neff Yard in Kansas City and then perhaps to Dupo Yard in East St. Louis, or down towards Texas, over the same tracks as the UP Central Coal Route.
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Major UP yards on the Sunset Route and its connections (initially just the Golden State Route (see below) and the Cotton Belt, but since the UP-SP merger in 1996 also the former Texas & Pacific and the former MoPac) are at West Colton, CA, Englewood (Houston), Centennial (Fort Worth)—since the UP-SP Merger, Memphis, Valley Yard (East St. Louis), and, after the UP-SP Merger, Dupo (East St. Louis). Long-distance manifests thus run between pairs of these yards (except the last two). Thousand mile inspections and on-line locomotive refueling take place at El Paso and Kirby (San Antonio)..
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Major UP yards on the west coast (since the UP-SP merger in September, 1996) for trains using the Overland Route are at Los Angeles, West Colton CA, Roseville, CA, and Brooklyn (Portland), OR. Long-distance manifests connecting them use the former SP I-5 Corridor. One major traffic type included in the long-distance manifest trains on this route is center-beam bulkhead flat cars for the wood products business, loaded southbound and empty northbound.
The St. Louis/Chicago to Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth route is operated with directional running on the former MoPac (northbound) and Cotton Belt (southbound) lines. Long-distance manifests run through between the endpoints of these lines, such as Yard Center in Dolton (Chicago), Dupo (East St. Louis), Centennial (Fort Worth), Settegast (Houston) and perhaps Englewood (Houston).
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Prior to its division between CSX and Norfolk Southern in 1999, Conrail operated major yards at Elkhart, IN (100 miles east of Chicago), Avon (Indianapolis), IN, Buffalo DeWitt, NY, Selkirk (Albany), NY, Conway (Pittsburgh), PA, Oak Island, NJ (just west of New York City), and some others (such as Allentown, PA, Enola, PA, Buckeye (Columbus), OH, Toledo, OH, and Sterling, MI). Long-distance manifest trains ran between such origin-destination pairs as Elkhart-Conway, Avon-Conway, Buffalo-Conway, Conway-Oak Island, Buffalo-Selkirk, Elkhart-Buffalo, Avon-Buffalo, etc. The routes used were the Water-level Route (Chicago Line), the Cleveland-Indianapolis-St. Louis route (Indianapolis Line and St. Louis Line), the Cleveland-Pittsburgh route (Cleveland Line), and the Pittsburgh-Harrisburg (Pittsburgh Line) and Harrisburg-Oak Island (Harrisburg Line) lines. Alton & Southern Yard, St. Louis was served from Avon, and Chicago from Elkhart. Baltimore and Washington, DC, were served using the Port Road south from Enola.
Unlike intermodal and automotive trains, no general merchandise trains passed Selkirk without originating or terminating there. All such trains were reblocked at Selkirk in the Conrail era, providing portions for separate trains to or from points in metropolitan Boston and metropolitan New York City (mainly served from points in New Jersey).
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Prior to its takeover of the smaller part of Conrail in 1999, CSX had major yards at Barr Yard (Chicago), Willard, OH, Queensgate (Cincinnati), Nashville, TN, Russell, KY, Erwin, TN, Cumberland, MD, Hamlet, NC, Tilford Yard (Atlanta), Acca Yard (Richmond), VA, Waycross, GA, and Baldwin, FL Long-distance manifests are run between pairs of these yard, with shorter-distance (and some long-distance to yards of other railroads or yards at CSX endpoints) as 'spokes' from these yards.
Long-distance manifest trains from Chicago to the Washington, DC area, use the former B&O Chicago line. Trains from the St. Louis area to Atlantic tidewater take the former B&O St. Louis line to Cincinnati, and then the former C&O to Newport News. Trains from Virginia south use the former ACL, named "A-line" by CSX, with a short diversion to call at the Hamlet Yard on the way. Trains from Chicago to the deep south use the former C&EI to Evansville, IN, and the former L&N onwards (including the former NC&St.L., if they're headed for Atlanta).
In 1999, CSX took over the former Conrail yards at Avon (Indianapolis), IN, Buffalo DeWitt, NY, Selkirk (Albany), NY, and has access to Oak Island, NJ (just west of New York City), and Sterling, MI, as part of shared-access areas (with Norfolk Southern). CSX maintains the former Conrail long-distance manifests between such origin-destination pairs as Buffalo-Selkirk, Elkhart-Buffalo, (both on CSX's portion of the Water-level Route) Avon-Buffalo, etc. St. Louis is still served from Avon. Some of the former Conrail trains still serve NS yards at one end and CSX yards at the other. Some long-distance pairings, between old and new CSX yards, have been introduced since 1999.
An overall summary of the changes in traffic flows between Chicago/St. Louis and the Northeast from the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad era, through the Conrail era, and into the devolved Norfolk Southern and CSX era, is here. An overall summary of the traffic flows between Chicago and the various destinations and origins in the Southeast throughout the merger era between the 1950s and 2000s is here.
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Prior to its takeover of the larger part of Conrail in 1999, Norfolk Southern had major yards at Chicago, Bellevue, OH, Buffalo, NY, Alexandria, VA, Spencer Yard (Salisbury/Linwood), NC, Inman Yard (Atlanta), Brosnan Yard (Macon), GA, DeButts Yard (Chattanooga), Norris Yard (Birmingham), AL, and Sheffield, AL. Long-distance manifests are run between pairs of these yard, with shorter-distance (and some long-distance to yards of other railroads or NS endpoints) as 'spokes' from these yards.
Long-distance manifest trains from Chicago to Atlantic tidewater area, use the former Nickel Plate to Bellevue, then the former PRR line that the N&W acquired in 1964 to reach former N&W rails at Columbus, and the former N&W 'Pocahontas' line onwards to Roanoke, Lynchburg, and Norfolk. Trains from the Kansas City or St. Louis area may use the former Wabash to intersect this route, but may also use the former Southern from St. Louis to reach the 'Rathole'. Trains from the Washington, DC area, to the deep south, use the former Southern main line through Lynchburg, Salisbury, Atlanta, Birmingham and Meridian, MS, to New Orleans. Trains from Chicago to the deep south use the former Nickel Plate to Fort Wayne, IN, then a former Pennsy line acquired with the NS portion of Conrail to reach Cincinnati and the former Southern 'Rathole' onwards to either Knoxville and Salisbury or Chattanooga and then either Birmingham, via the former Alabama Great Southern, or Atlanta. Trains from the Memphis area use the former Memphis & Charleston to reach Chattanooga.
In 1999, NS took over the former Conrail yards at Elkhart, IN (100 miles east of Chicago), Toledo, OH, Columbus, OH, Conway (Pittsburgh), PA, Enola, PA, and Allentown, PA, and has access to Oak Island, NJ (just west of New York City), and Sterling, MI, as part of shared-access areas (with CSX). NS maintains the former Conrail long-distance manifests between such origin-destination pairs as Elkhart-Conway, and Conway-Oak Island. Chicago is still served from Elkhart. Baltimore and Washington, DC, are served using the Port Road south from Enola. Some of the former Conrail trains still serve NS yards at one end and CSX yards at the other. Some long-distance pairings, between old and new NS yards, have been introduced since 1999.
An overall summary of the changes in traffic flows between Chicago/St. Louis and the Northeast from the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad era, through the Conrail era, and into the devolved Norfolk Southern and CSX era, is here. An overall summary of the traffic flows between Chicago and the various destinations and origins in the Southeast throughout the merger era between the 1950s and 2000s is here.
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After Soo Line acquired the former Milwaukee Road, and sold off what became the Wisconsin Central (now part of CN) in the 1980s, the major yards on the Soo Line became Bensenville in Chicago and Pig's Eye in St. Paul, with trains between them running over the former Milwaukee Road. Northwest of St. Paul, long-distance manifest trains on the former Soo Line reach to Calgary, AB or Vancouver, BC. East of Chicago, CP has trackage rights over CSX for delivery of trains to the Detroit River Tunnel and home rails in Windsor, ON.
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Before Illinois Central was acquired by CN in 1999, the major IC yards were at Markham in Chicago, Champaign, IL, Memphis, TN, and Jackson, MS, with long-distance manifests running the length of the IC main line.
Since the merger of IC into CN, Chicago operations now blend the former IC Markham Yard (with new connectors between the former GTW to the east and the former IC towards Markham), the IHB Blue Island Yard, the former WC Schiller Yard, and Glenn Yard, as well as connection at BRC Clearing Yard, UP Proviso Yard or BNSF Cicero Yard, with through trains now running between (for example) former Wisconsin Central locations (Stevens Point, Fond du Lac, Green Bay), former GTW locations (Flint, Pontiac former IC locations (as above), and Canadian CN locations (Prince George, Edmonton, Winnipeg Symington, Sarnia, Toronto MacMillan).
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On the transcontinental lines across Canada, CN operates major yards at Prince George, BC, Edmonton, AB, Winnipeg (Symington Yard), MB, and Toronto (MacMillan Yard), along with London, ON and Sarnia, ON, on the line across Ontario towards Chicago, with long-distance manifests on the CN transcon either between any pair of these yards, or serving them on the way. With the new connectedness through Chicago (former GTW, former WC, and former Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific), trains between Toronto and Winnipeg are enabled to run via Sarnia, the former Grand Trunk Western, Chicago (and soon via the EJ&E around Chicago after calling at Markham), the former WC and the former DW&P as well as via the Canadian Shield.
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