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The more I learn about them, the more I want to know! Like what are retarders, and a gazilion other questions. I am kind of afraid to do a search, because of the other results. What's a good sight to find out?Thanks! METRAUP
RE: Looking for Info on Hump Yards, derekmorton, Jun-25-03, 08:02 PM, (1) RE: Looking for Info on Hump Yards, ssw_96, Jun-25-03, 09:48 PM, (2) RE: Looking for Info on Hump Yards, metraup, Jun-25-03, 10:11 PM, (3) RE: Looking for Info on Hump Yards, ssw_96, Jun-25-03, 10:56 PM, (4) RE: Looking for Info on Hump Yards, WestSlopeRRfan, Jun-26-03, 01:01 AM, (5) RE: Looking for Info on Hump Yards, Swissie, Jun-26-03, 07:57 AM, (6)
>email me with your questions.THanks for the offer! But I am just looking for general information. About the Google search, I mean the other results that might be got.Thanks! METRAUP
OK well a hump yard consists of several "bowl" tracks as to where cars roll of the yard to make up a train. The hump is a slight hill tall enough to let cars roll down at a good pace. retarders slow the cars down to a speed not to fast as to where they will derail when coupled. A set of engines (usually SW-1500, MP15's SD38's and slugs) pull a cut of cars around to the other side of the hump, and then starts to push the cars up the hill once on the other side. A "pin-puller" has a list of all the car numbers within the cut of cars that is being pushed up the hump, and the yardmaster has a line drawn in between the cars numbers, which represents where to make the cut at. Once the cars reach the point of the hill, the pin puller lift the uncoupling pin and the cars are separated and roll down the hump. Once going down the hump the cars pass through the retarders which has a bar which presses against the inside of the wheel to slow it down. This makes a loud screeching noise. The yardmaster throws the switches himself in the tower that he sits in. Autoracks, and intermodal cars are not usually humped. Also dangerous materials and explosives are usually not either. "Humping is a 24/7 operation. But humps dont stay busy all the time though.
Here is the picture version to what ssw_96 is talking about...Everything goes over the "Hump" Yardmaster throws the switches to make trains in a yard like this The retarders slow the cars down (big black things along the track) useful website www.rr-fallenflags.org/cr/cr-skirk.htmlHope it helpsNick
Hi Metraup,to help visualize things, I dug out an old schematic of the Swiss RR's second largest hump yard, named RBL which is an abbreviation for "Rangierbahnhof Limmattal" (which translates into "Limmat Valley Switching Yard") and added some English explanations to it. Basically, the hump yard is like most if not any other hump yards I know of. Apart from the arriving and departing ladders it's heart is the sorting yard - or true hump yard - where freight cars are assembled into consists.Apart from these three typical groups of tracks (arrival, sorting, departure) a hump yard may consist of several other areas or groups as the term goes over here. There will often be additional switching tracks where through freight trains that do not need to go over the hump, or cars that are not allowed over the hump, can be lined up for switching, engine changes etc. Larger yards will also have a number of transit or by-pass tracks, shops, an engine house for the switchers, maybe even a small depot for crew shuttle trains (at RBL typically a sole railcar) serving the yard & its associated areas.This is a schematic of the entire RBL area. Sorry for the blurry quality, the original file was something like 1700 pixels wide, and I had to squeeze it hard to make it fit the 800 pixels/100 KB limit of the library, loosing too much on quality for my own personal preferences. Well, anyway, here's some statistical data to round off the post:- Total area covered: 4.3 km long, 0.4 km wide (~2.6 Mi. by 1/4 Mi.) - Total track length: 120 km (~75 Mi.) - Number of points (switches, doubleslips): 410 - Number of signals: 550, of which 90 are absolute. - Number of cars handled on average (except weekends): -- Entire yard: 3300 a day -- Hump: 200 an hour during daytime, raising to 250 an hour during nighttime. - Yard runs limited operations on Saturdays, remains closed on Sundays.(Data Source: http://www.luwi.ch/RB-Limmattal.htm - german only)Lukas a.k.a Swissie Edit: Updated statistical data
useful website
This is a schematic of the entire RBL area. Sorry for the blurry quality, the original file was something like 1700 pixels wide, and I had to squeeze it hard to make it fit the 800 pixels/100 KB limit of the library, loosing too much on quality for my own personal preferences. Well, anyway, here's some statistical data to round off the post:- Total area covered: 4.3 km long, 0.4 km wide (~2.6 Mi. by 1/4 Mi.)