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Classification yard

February 15, 2024

A classification yard (American English, as well as the Canadian National Railway), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, and Australian English, as well as the Canadian Pacific Railway) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway yard found at some freight train stations, used to separate railway cars onto one of several tracks. First the cars are taken to a track, sometimes called a lead or a drill. From there the cars are sent through a series of switches called a ladder onto the classification tracks. Larger yards tend to put the lead on an artificially built hill called a hump to use the force of gravity to propel the cars through the ladder.

Godorf Station, Cologne, Germany

Freight trains that consist of isolated cars must be made into trains and divided according to their destinations. Thus the cars must be shunted several times along their route in contrast to a unit train, which carries, for example, automobiles from the plant to a port, or coal from a mine to the power plant. This shunting is done partly at the starting and final destinations and partly (for long-distance-hauling) in classification yards.

Flat edit

Flat yards are constructed on flat ground, or on a gentle slope, not enough to allow a free-fall operation without locomotives. Freight cars are pushed by a locomotive and coast to their required location.[1]

Gravity edit

Gravity yards were invented in the 19th century, saving shunting engines and instead letting the cars roll by gravity was seen as a major benefit, whereas the larger amount of manual work required to stop the rolling cars in the classification tracks was judged to be not that important. Gravity yards were a historical step in the development of classification yards and were later judged as inferior to hump yards, because it became clear that shunting engines were needed anyway (at least in inclement weather like strong winds or icy temperatures when the oil in the bearings became thick), and because manual labour was getting relatively more and more expensive. Thus, only a few gravity yards were ever built, sometimes requiring massive earthwork (one example is the first German gravity yard at Dresden). The historic technique of a gravity yard is today partly presented in Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf gravity yard (museum).[2]

Most gravity yards were built in Germany (especially in the kingdom of Saxony) and in Great Britain (so Edgehill, 1873),[3] a few also in some other European countries, for example Łazy yard near Zawiercie on the Warsaw–Vienna Railway (in Poland). In the US, there were very few old gravity yards; one of the few gravity yards in operation today is CSX's Readville Yard south of Boston, Massachusetts.

Hump edit

 
Not all cars can be sent over a classification hump. This Union Pacific track maintenance vehicle is permanently labelled "Do not hump", because it is not designed to withstand hump sorting.

Hump yards are the largest and most effective classification yards, with the largest shunting capacity, often several thousand cars a day. They work similarly to gravity yards, but the falling gradient is limited to a small part of the yard, namely the hump. It is the heart of the yard—a lead track on a small hill over which an engine pushes the cars. Single cars, or a block of coupled cars, are uncoupled at or just before the crest of the hump, and roll by gravity onto their destination tracks in the area of the yard where the cars are sorted, called the classification bowl.[4] The first hump in Germany (Leipzig) was built in 1858 and in France (Saint-Etienne) in 1863.

 
The retarders grip the sides of the wheels on passing cars to slow them down.

The speed of the cars rolling down from the hump into the classification bowl must be regulated according to whether they are full or empty, heavy or light freight, varying number of axles, whether there are few or many cars on the classification tracks, and varying weather conditions, including temperature, wind speed and direction. In regards to speed regulation, there are two types of hump yards—with or without mechanisation by retarders. In the old non-retarder yards braking was usually done in Europe by railroaders who laid skates onto the tracks. The skate or wheel chock was manually (or, in rare cases, mechanically) placed on one or both of the rails so that the treadles or rims of the wheel or wheels caused frictional retardation and resulted in the halting of the railway car. In the United States this braking was done by riders on the cars. In the modern retarder yards this work is done by mechanized "rail brakes" called retarders, which brake the cars by gripping the wheels. They are operated either pneumatically or hydraulically. Pneumatic systems are prevalent in the United States, France, Belgium, Russia and China, while hydraulic systems are used in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.[5]

Classification bowls in Europe typically consist of 20 to 40 tracks, divided into several fans or balloons of tracks, usually with eight classification tracks following a retarder in each one, often 32 tracks altogether. In the United States, many classification bowls have more than 40 tracks, which are often divided into six to ten classification tracks in each balloon loop.

 
CNW towerman R. W. Mayberry operates the retarders at Proviso Yard in Chicago, Illinois, May 1943.

Bailey Yard in North Platte, Nebraska, United States, the world's largest classification yard, is a hump yard. Other large American hump yards include Argentine Yard in Kansas City, Kansas, Robert Young Yard in Elkhart, Indiana, Clearing Yard in Chicago, Illinois, Englewood Yard in Houston, Texas, and Waycross Rice Yard in Waycross, Georgia. Notably, in Europe, Russia and China, all major classification yards are hump yards. Europe's largest hump yard is that of Maschen near Hamburg, Germany; it is only slightly smaller than Bailey Yard. The second largest is in the port of Antwerp, Belgium. Most hump yards are single yards with one classification bowl, but some, mostly very large, hump yards have two of them, one for each direction, thus are double yards, such as the Maschen, Antwerp, Clearing, and Bailey yards.[citation needed]

Almost all gravity yards have been retrofitted with humps and are worked as hump yards. Examples include Chemnitz Hilbersdorf (today Saxon Railway Museum), Dresden Friedrichstadt and Nürnberg (Nuremberg) Rbf (Rbf: Rangierbahnhof, "classification yard"), in Germany.

Image gallery edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ James T. Kneafsey (1975). "Major Problems of Railroad Service". Transportation Economic Analysis. Lexington Books. p. 138. ISBN 0669932116.
  2. ^ Denkmalpflege in Sachsen, Jahrbuch 2019, Sandsteinverlag, Dresden, 2020.
  3. ^ Köpcke, Mitteilungen (1890). aus dem Bereich des englischen Eisenbahnwesens. Leipzig: Der Civilingenieur.
  4. ^ "ABC's of Railroading: Terms of the Trade". Trains. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. June 1991. p. 22. ISSN 0041-0934.
  5. ^ Rangierdienst A-Z. Berlin: VEB Transpress-Verlag. 1986.

Further reading edit

  • International Railway Journal (IRJ), New York. Special editions about hump yards in various countries: issues II/66, II/70, VI/75, II/80.
  • Armstrong, John H. (1998). The Railroad: What It Is, What It Does (4th ed.). Omaha, Nebraska: Simmons-Boardman. ISBN 978-0-911382-04-4.
  • Rhodes, Michael: The Illustrated History of British Marshalling Yards. Sparkford: Haynes Oxford Publishing & Co, 1988. ISBN 0-86093-367-9. Out of print.
  • Kraft, Edwin: The Yard: Railroading's Hidden Half. In: Trains (vol. 62) 2002. Part I: VI/02, pp. 46–67; part II: VII/02, pp. 36–47. ISSN 0041-0934.
  • Wegner, Robert: Classification yards. Map of the Month. In: Trains IV/2003, pp. 42–43.
  • Rhodes, Michael: North American Railyards. St. Paul (US): Motorbooks International (MBI Publishing Company) 2003. ISBN 0-7603-1578-7.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Classification yards.
  • Time-lapse video of German hump-shunting yard operation

February 15, 2024
classification, yard, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, april, 2022, learn, wh. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations April 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message A classification yard American English as well as the Canadian National Railway marshalling yard British Hong Kong Indian and Australian English as well as the Canadian Pacific Railway or shunting yard Central Europe is a railway yard found at some freight train stations used to separate railway cars onto one of several tracks First the cars are taken to a track sometimes called a lead or a drill From there the cars are sent through a series of switches called a ladder onto the classification tracks Larger yards tend to put the lead on an artificially built hill called a hump to use the force of gravity to propel the cars through the ladder Godorf Station Cologne GermanyFreight trains that consist of isolated cars must be made into trains and divided according to their destinations Thus the cars must be shunted several times along their route in contrast to a unit train which carries for example automobiles from the plant to a port or coal from a mine to the power plant This shunting is done partly at the starting and final destinations and partly for long distance hauling in classification yards Contents 1 Flat 2 Gravity 3 Hump 4 Image gallery 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksFlat editFlat yards are constructed on flat ground or on a gentle slope not enough to allow a free fall operation without locomotives Freight cars are pushed by a locomotive and coast to their required location 1 Gravity editGravity yards were invented in the 19th century saving shunting engines and instead letting the cars roll by gravity was seen as a major benefit whereas the larger amount of manual work required to stop the rolling cars in the classification tracks was judged to be not that important Gravity yards were a historical step in the development of classification yards and were later judged as inferior to hump yards because it became clear that shunting engines were needed anyway at least in inclement weather like strong winds or icy temperatures when the oil in the bearings became thick and because manual labour was getting relatively more and more expensive Thus only a few gravity yards were ever built sometimes requiring massive earthwork one example is the first German gravity yard at Dresden The historic technique of a gravity yard is today partly presented in Chemnitz Hilbersdorf gravity yard museum 2 Most gravity yards were built in Germany especially in the kingdom of Saxony and in Great Britain so Edgehill 1873 3 a few also in some other European countries for example Lazy yard near Zawiercie on the Warsaw Vienna Railway in Poland In the US there were very few old gravity yards one of the few gravity yards in operation today is CSX s Readville Yard south of Boston Massachusetts Hump edit nbsp Not all cars can be sent over a classification hump This Union Pacific track maintenance vehicle is permanently labelled Do not hump because it is not designed to withstand hump sorting Hump yards are the largest and most effective classification yards with the largest shunting capacity often several thousand cars a day They work similarly to gravity yards but the falling gradient is limited to a small part of the yard namely the hump It is the heart of the yard a lead track on a small hill over which an engine pushes the cars Single cars or a block of coupled cars are uncoupled at or just before the crest of the hump and roll by gravity onto their destination tracks in the area of the yard where the cars are sorted called the classification bowl 4 The first hump in Germany Leipzig was built in 1858 and in France Saint Etienne in 1863 nbsp The retarders grip the sides of the wheels on passing cars to slow them down The speed of the cars rolling down from the hump into the classification bowl must be regulated according to whether they are full or empty heavy or light freight varying number of axles whether there are few or many cars on the classification tracks and varying weather conditions including temperature wind speed and direction In regards to speed regulation there are two types of hump yards with or without mechanisation by retarders In the old non retarder yards braking was usually done in Europe by railroaders who laid skates onto the tracks The skate or wheel chock was manually or in rare cases mechanically placed on one or both of the rails so that the treadles or rims of the wheel or wheels caused frictional retardation and resulted in the halting of the railway car In the United States this braking was done by riders on the cars In the modern retarder yards this work is done by mechanized rail brakes called retarders which brake the cars by gripping the wheels They are operated either pneumatically or hydraulically Pneumatic systems are prevalent in the United States France Belgium Russia and China while hydraulic systems are used in Germany Italy and the Netherlands 5 Classification bowls in Europe typically consist of 20 to 40 tracks divided into several fans or balloons of tracks usually with eight classification tracks following a retarder in each one often 32 tracks altogether In the United States many classification bowls have more than 40 tracks which are often divided into six to ten classification tracks in each balloon loop nbsp CNW towerman R W Mayberry operates the retarders at Proviso Yard in Chicago Illinois May 1943 Bailey Yard in North Platte Nebraska United States the world s largest classification yard is a hump yard Other large American hump yards include Argentine Yard in Kansas City Kansas Robert Young Yard in Elkhart Indiana Clearing Yard in Chicago Illinois Englewood Yard in Houston Texas and Waycross Rice Yard in Waycross Georgia Notably in Europe Russia and China all major classification yards are hump yards Europe s largest hump yard is that of Maschen near Hamburg Germany it is only slightly smaller than Bailey Yard The second largest is in the port of Antwerp Belgium Most hump yards are single yards with one classification bowl but some mostly very large hump yards have two of them one for each direction thus are double yards such as the Maschen Antwerp Clearing and Bailey yards citation needed Almost all gravity yards have been retrofitted with humps and are worked as hump yards Examples include Chemnitz Hilbersdorf today Saxon Railway Museum Dresden Friedrichstadt and Nurnberg Nuremberg Rbf Rbf Rangierbahnhof classification yard in Germany Image gallery edit nbsp A switcher locomotive pushing a car over the hump at Kornwestheim yard source source source source source source Hump yard operation in Vienna Austria video nbsp Kijfhoek Netherlands seen from 1 000 feet 305 m Hump is at upper right nbsp Mannheim Rangierbahnhof Germany two sided nearly symmetrical systems for opposing directions nbsp Hydraulic dowty retarders allow fine adjustment of speed nbsp North Yard in Denver Colorado a typical U S classification yard in 2009 nbsp Chicago and North Western Railway s Proviso Yard in Chicago Illinois December 1942 nbsp Nanxiang Classification Yard in Shanghai ChinaSee also editList of rail yards Siding rail References edit James T Kneafsey 1975 Major Problems of Railroad Service Transportation Economic Analysis Lexington Books p 138 ISBN 0669932116 Denkmalpflege in Sachsen Jahrbuch 2019 Sandsteinverlag Dresden 2020 Kopcke Mitteilungen 1890 aus dem Bereich des englischen Eisenbahnwesens Leipzig Der Civilingenieur ABC s of Railroading Terms of the Trade Trains Waukesha Wisconsin Kalmbach Publishing June 1991 p 22 ISSN 0041 0934 Rangierdienst A Z Berlin VEB Transpress Verlag 1986 Further reading edit International Railway Journal IRJ New York Special editions about hump yards in various countries issues II 66 II 70 VI 75 II 80 Armstrong John H 1998 The Railroad What It Is What It Does 4th ed Omaha Nebraska Simmons Boardman ISBN 978 0 911382 04 4 Rhodes Michael The Illustrated History of British Marshalling Yards Sparkford Haynes Oxford Publishing amp Co 1988 ISBN 0 86093 367 9 Out of print Kraft Edwin The Yard Railroading s Hidden Half In Trains vol 62 2002 Part I VI 02 pp 46 67 part II VII 02 pp 36 47 ISSN 0041 0934 Wegner Robert Classification yards Map of the Month In Trains IV 2003 pp 42 43 Rhodes Michael North American Railyards St Paul US Motorbooks International MBI Publishing Company 2003 ISBN 0 7603 1578 7 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Classification yards Time lapse video of German hump shunting yard operation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Classification yard amp oldid 1194446747, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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