Spencer Yard was built by the Southern Railway in 1979, replacing the old Spencer flat yard several miles further south. The new yard has eight reception tracks (116 to 160 55-ft. cars), 46 classification tracks (36 to 56 55-ft. cars), and eight departure tracks (101 to 164 55-ft. cars), and originates or terminates 28 manifests per day.
The yard is located on the west side of the former Southern main line, north of Spencer, NC, about halfway between Washington, DC, and Atlanta.