Rail yard
Encyclopedia
A rail yard, or railroad yard, is a complex series of railroad tracks
for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad car
s and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic. Railroad cars are moved around by specially designed yard switcher
s, a type of locomotive. Cars in a railroad yard may be sorted by numerous categories, including railroad company, loaded or unloaded, destination, car type, or whether they need repairs. Railroad yards are normally built where there is a need to store cars while they are not being loaded or unloaded, or are waiting to be assembled into trains. Large yards may have a tower to control
operations.
Many railway yards are located at strategic points on a main line
. Main line yards are often composed of an Up yard and a Down yard, linked to the associated railroad direction. There are different types of yards, and different parts within a yard, depending on how they are built.
Hump yard and gravity yard tracks are equipped with mechanical retarders
which control the speed of the cars as they roll downhill to their destination tracks.
A large freight yard complex may include the following components:
Unit train
s, which carry a block of cars all of the same origin and destination, do not get sorted in a classification yard, but may stop in a freight yard for inspection, engine servicing, and/or crew changes.
Freight yards may have multiple industries adjacent to them where railroad cars are loaded or unloaded and then stored before they move on to their new destination.
Major freight yards in the U.S. include the Bailey Yard
in North Platte, Nebraska
, operated by Union Pacific Railroad
, and the Corwith Yards
(Corwith Intermodal Facility) in Chicago
, operated by BNSF Railway
.
Major U.K. freight (goods) yards include those in Crewe
, Reading and Bescot, near Walsall
; which are operated by EWS and Freightliner.
Coach yards are used for sorting, storing and repairing passenger cars. These yards are located in metropolitan areas near large stations
or terminals. An example of a major U.S. coach yard is Sunnyside Yard
in New York City
, operated by Amtrak
. Those that are principally used for storage, such as the West Side Yard
, are called "layup yards". or "stabling yards".
Major U.K. coach stabling yards include those in Crewe
and Longsight, Manchester
; which are operated by various regional train companies.
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad car
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
s and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic. Railroad cars are moved around by specially designed yard switcher
Switcher
A switcher or shunter is a small railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains over long distances but rather for assembling trains ready for a road locomotive to take over, disassembling a train that has been...
s, a type of locomotive. Cars in a railroad yard may be sorted by numerous categories, including railroad company, loaded or unloaded, destination, car type, or whether they need repairs. Railroad yards are normally built where there is a need to store cars while they are not being loaded or unloaded, or are waiting to be assembled into trains. Large yards may have a tower to control
Centralized traffic control
Centralized traffic control is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America and centralizes train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system consists of a centralized train dispatcher's office that...
operations.
Many railway yards are located at strategic points on a main line
Main line (railway)
The Mainline or Main line of a railway is a track that is used for through trains or is the principal artery of the system from which branch lines, yards, sidings and spurs are connected....
. Main line yards are often composed of an Up yard and a Down yard, linked to the associated railroad direction. There are different types of yards, and different parts within a yard, depending on how they are built.
Freight yards
For freight cars, the overall yard layout is typically designed around a principal switching (US term) or shunting (UK) technique:- A hump yard has a constructed hill, over which freight cars are shoved by yard locomotives, and then gravity is used to propel the cars to various sorting tracks;
- A gravity yard is built on a natural slope and relies less on locomotives;
- A flat yard has no hump, and relies on locomotives for all car movements.
Hump yard and gravity yard tracks are equipped with mechanical retarders
Retarder (railroad)
In rail transport, a retarder is a device installed in a classification yard used to reduce the speed of freight cars as they are sorted into trains. Each retarder consists of a series of stationary brakes surrounding a short section of each rail on the track that grip and slow the cars' wheels...
which control the speed of the cars as they roll downhill to their destination tracks.
A large freight yard complex may include the following components:
- Receiving yard, also called an arrival yard, where locomotives are detached from freight cars, cars are inspected for mechanical problems, and sent to a classification yard;
- Classification yardClassification yardA classification yard or marshalling yard is a railroad yard found at some freight train stations, used to separate railroad cars on to one of several tracks. First the cars are taken to a track, sometimes called a lead or a drill...
(US and by Canadian National RailwayCanadian National RailwayThe Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) or Marshalling yard (UK and Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) where cars are sorted for various destinations and assembled into blocks (this is also known as sorting yard colloquially); - Departure yard where car blocks are assembled into trains;
- Car repair yard for freight cars;
- Engine house (in some yards, a roundhouseRoundhouseA roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...
) to fuel and service locomotives.
Unit train
Unit train
A unit train, also called a block train, is a railway train in which all the cars making it up are shipped from the same origin to the same destination, without being split up or stored en route...
s, which carry a block of cars all of the same origin and destination, do not get sorted in a classification yard, but may stop in a freight yard for inspection, engine servicing, and/or crew changes.
Freight yards may have multiple industries adjacent to them where railroad cars are loaded or unloaded and then stored before they move on to their new destination.
Major freight yards in the U.S. include the Bailey Yard
Bailey Yard
Bailey Yard is the world’s largest railroad classification yard. Owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad , Bailey Yard is located in North Platte, Nebraska. The yard is named after former Union Pacific President Edd H. Bailey....
in North Platte, Nebraska
North Platte, Nebraska
North Platte is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Nebraska, United States. It is located in the southwestern part of the state, along Interstate 80, at the confluence of the North and South Platte Rivers forming the Platte River...
, operated by Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
, and the Corwith Yards
Corwith Yards
Corwith Yards, a railroad intermodal freight terminal located at Pershing Road & Kedzie Avenue in the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, in the neighborhood of Brighton Park, is a landmark in the history of railroad freight transport. At the time it was built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe...
(Corwith Intermodal Facility) in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, operated by BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
.
Major U.K. freight (goods) yards include those in Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
, Reading and Bescot, near Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
; which are operated by EWS and Freightliner.
Coach yards
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
or terminals. An example of a major U.S. coach yard is Sunnyside Yard
Sunnyside Yard
Sunnyside Yard is a large coach yard, a railroad yard for passenger cars, in Sunnyside, Queens in New York City.-Description:The yard is owned by Amtrak and is also used by New Jersey Transit. The shared tracks of the Long Island Rail Road Main Line and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor pass along the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, operated by Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
. Those that are principally used for storage, such as the West Side Yard
West Side Yard
The West Side Yard is a rail yard owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on the west side of Manhattan in New York City...
, are called "layup yards". or "stabling yards".
Major U.K. coach stabling yards include those in Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
and Longsight, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
; which are operated by various regional train companies.
See also
- Anchor portalAnchor portalAn anchor portal is a support structure for overhead electrical power transmission lines in the form of a portal for the installation of the lines in a switchyard. Anchor portals are almost always steel-tube or steel-framework constructions....
- Classification yardClassification yardA classification yard or marshalling yard is a railroad yard found at some freight train stations, used to separate railroad cars on to one of several tracks. First the cars are taken to a track, sometimes called a lead or a drill...
- List of rail yards
- List of railway roundhouses
- Rail transport operationsRail transport operationsA railway has two major components: the rolling stock and the infrastructure .-Operation:...