Middle Yard

Prototype…

Middle Yard sat roughly halfway between Thomure and the Ste. Genevieve depot—a distance of about two miles. The prototype contained twelve tracks with a total capacity of 139 cars, and a Fairbanks balance-beam scale stood at the yard’s south end. Crews used Middle Yard to classify cars and build trains for the southbound (largely westward) run from Ste. Genevieve to the Missouri Pacific interchange at Bismarck on the DeSoto Division.

Middle Yard (north end) as it looks today. Ste. Genevieve’s lime industry is still served by the UP.

Layout adaptation…

Middle Yard is equipped with three stub tracks for sorting and classifying cars, along with two arrival/departure tracks used to build and break trains efficiently.

This EMD NW2 idling in Middle Yard was the first diesel locomotive that arrived at the prototype in 1949. It was kitbashed from a 3-Rail Atlas SW8 using a Lionel NW2 shell. The headlight castings on the Lionel and Atlas units are not properly scaled (they are closer to S scale, rather than O scale). I’m indebted to local modeler Kevin Leyerle for having properly scaled headlights cast in brass.

The Yardmaster uses a Boulder Creek Engineering scale on Track 3 to weigh outbound loads. Any car found overweight is shoved to the end of the track and held for reweighing the following day.

The scale house on track 3. Scratch built from styrene.
Although never seen, I chose to add interior details, including the Fairbanks track scale.
Detailed instructions guide the yardmaster in weighing cars.
Cars to be weighed will have waybills stamped in the lower right corner. The maximum gross weight has been pre-calculated and is shown in the Allowance field. As long as the scale’s Gross Weight reading is less than this figure, the car is safe to handle and may continue on to its destination. If overweight, the car is held at the end of track 3 for reweighing tomorrow.

The Yardmaster’s position stays busy—managing ferry cuts, weighing loads, and building several trains. Peerless White Lime, the M-I’s largest customer, is switched daily and sometimes twice, depending on car demand. The Yard Job handles Ste. Genevieve local customers and Frisco interchange traffic, while the Derby Junction Turn keeps bridge traffic moving along. And all the while, the boat continues its trips across the river.

Track schematic of Middle Yard

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