Kempton Yard
Jeffrey Zweizig Jeff Zweizig Jeffrey Zweizig Jeff Zweizig
Before the WK&S came along in the early 1960s, Kempton rail movements centered in downtown Kempton and were conducted by the Reading Company. Kempton had a passing track as well as a station and a spur into the feed mill. There was also a water tank and a turning Y. The passing track is all that remains. The picture above looks north and shows where the southern end of the Kempton passing track diverged from the main line. The old switch timbers indicate the alignment of the main line. The concrete pad to the left of the switch timbers supported a water column. The water tower itself was further to the left. The town of Kempton in the background. 
The foundation of the old water tower. The track is between the foundation and the building in the background. This location is virtually invisible and inaccessible during the summer. 
Again looking north, this picture shows down town Kempton around 2003. The track in the picture is the old passing track. The main line was located where the truck scale is now. The station was to the left of the scale. The feed mill is on the far left. WK&S trains almost never operate into town. 
Finally, this picture shows where the north end of the Kempton passing track diverged from the main line. Again, the old switch timbers indicate the former location of the main line. Still looking north, the current Kempton station complex is visible in the background. In 1963 the new WK&S Kempton Station was located in what was nothing but an empty field. The only existing infrastructure was the main line and a long passing track that was used to store potato cars. Potatoes were a big area commodity back in the day. Early WK&S crews constructed a crossover switch between the main line and the passing track thereby dividing the passing track into a southern or lower passing track and a northern or upper passing track. A maintenance pit and pit track were built off the lower passing track. The pit track switch was salvaged from the south end of the passing track in downtown Kempton. Early WK&S crews also built the "hole track", a storage track that angels off the main line from in front of Kempton Station. The "back track" was built behind Kempton Station. The back track was originally built for the display of static equipment and was, at first, a stand alone section of track. But a switch was added (in the late '70s, I think) to connect the back track with the hole track. Looking at the alignment of the back track switch, one can see it was clearly an after thought. A tight "switch back" maneuver is required to get from the main line to the back track. The yard configuration described above remained unchanged until 2004 when a new project was begun to get track into the new shop building. 
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1. Main Line
2. Hole Track 3. Back Track 4. Lower Passing Track 5. Shop Tracks 6. Pit Track 7. Crossover 8. Upper Passing track |
A. Model Railroad Car
B. Station C. Gift Shop D. Refreshment Stand E. Restrooms F. Shop |
A view looking south from the pit track. This picture is from before the 2004 project to realign and lengthen the pit track. The train sits on the main line with the refreshment stand to the right of the caboose and the Station and the gift shop to the right of the coaches. In the background, the cupola of another caboose is visible on the hole track. Downtown Kempton is out of picture further down the main line. 
Looking up the hole track from behind the bump stop. On this day the hole track is oddly devoid of stored equipment. The caboose is located where the hole track converges with the main line. The model railroad car #72, box car #5504 and coach #1365 sit on the back track behind the station. A plume of smoke indicates #65 at the water plug. 
Photo by Rob Piligian
Click image for a much larger image of WK&S facilities and the town of Kempton. |
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