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historical step in the development of classification yards. They 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 labor 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
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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,
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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, riders in cars did this braking. In modern retarder yards, this
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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
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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,
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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
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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. The first hump in
Germany (Leipzig) was built in 1858 and in France (Saint-Etienne) in 1863.
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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
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are constructed on flat ground or 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.
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Not all cars can be sent over a classification hump. This Union
Pacific track maintenance vehicle is permanently labeled "Do not hump" because it is not designed to withstand hump sorting.
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temperature, wind speed, and direction. In regards to speed regulation, there are two types of hump yards—with or without mechanization by
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380:, United States, the world's largest classification yard, is a hump yard. Other large American hump yards include Argentine Yard in
310:. In the old non-retarder yards, braking was usually done in Europe by railroaders who laid skates onto the tracks. The skate or
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work is done by mechanized "rail brakes," called retarders, which brake cars by gripping their wheels. They are operated either
412:. Notably, in Europe, Russia, and China, all major classification yards are hump yards. Europe's largest hump yard is that of
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is done partly at the starting and final destinations and partly (for long-distance hauling) in classification yards.
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Almost all gravity yards have been retrofitted with humps and are worked as hump yards. Examples include
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onto the classification tracks. Larger yards tend to put the lead on an artificially built hill called a
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onto one of several tracks. First, the cars are taken to a track, sometimes called a
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758:(vol. 62) 2002. Part I: VI/02, pp. 46–67; Part II: VII/02, pp. 36–47.
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frequently divided into six to ten classification tracks in each balloon loop.
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are the largest and most effective classification yards, with the largest
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498:, Netherlands, seen from 1,000 feet (305 m). Hump is at upper right.
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Denkmalpflege in
Sachsen, Jahrbuch 2019, Sandsteinverlag, Dresden, 2020.
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St. Paul (US): Motorbooks
International (MBI Publishing Company) 2003.
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Most gravity yards were built in
Germany (especially in the kingdom of
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672:. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. June 1991. p. 22.
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to use the force of gravity to propel the cars through the ladder.
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towerman R. W. Mayberry operates the retarders at
Proviso Yard in
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James T. Kneafsey (1975). "Major
Problems of Railroad Service".
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grip the sides of the wheels on passing cars to slow them down.
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Rail yard used for sorting and assembling rail cars into trains
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323:. Pneumatic systems are prevalent in the United States,
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Time-lapse video of German hump-shunting yard operation
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Special editions about hump yards in various countries:
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161:. From there, the cars are sent through a series of
721:(4th ed.). Omaha, Nebraska: Simmons-Boardman.
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464:pushing a car over the hump at Kornwestheim yard.
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43:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
709:International Railway Journal (IRJ), New York.
653:aus dem Bereich des englischen Eisenbahnwesens
483:Hump yard operation in Vienna, Austria (video)
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666:"ABC's of Railroading: Terms of the Trade".
545:, a typical U.S. classification yard in 2009
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74:Learn how and when to remove this message
435:), Dresden Friedrichstadt and Nürnberg (
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771:Classification yards. Map of the Month.
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719:The Railroad: What It Is, What It Does
694:. Berlin: VEB Transpress-Verlag. 1986.
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443:, "classification yard"), in Germany.
339:, while hydraulic systems are used in
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235:-Hilbersdorf gravity yard (museum).
752:The Yard: Railroading's Hidden Half.
15:
773:In: Trains IV/2003, pp. 42–43.
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713:issues II/66, II/70, VI/75, II/80.
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558:Chicago and North Western Railway
529:" allow fine adjustment of speed.
621:. Lexington Books. p. 138.
618:Transportation Economic Analysis
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651:Köpcke, Mitteilungen (1890).
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577:Nanxiang Classification Yard
408:, and Waycross Rice Yard in
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717:Armstrong, John H. (1998).
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778:North American Railyards.
111:Canadian National Railway
1656:Railway stations by type
135:Canadian Pacific Railway
29:This article includes a
1008:Railway electrification
511:Mannheim Rangierbahnhof
384:, Robert Young Yard in
269:
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58:more precise citations.
378:North Platte, Nebraska
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147:freight train stations
141:(Central Europe) is a
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1147:Platform screen doors
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264:Boston, Massachusetts
252:Warsaw–Vienna Railway
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1615:Minimum curve radius
1582:Zig Zag / Switchback
1097:Anti-trespass panels
433:Saxon Railway Museum
400:, Englewood Yard in
1554:Interchange station
1459:Facing and trailing
1426:Classification yard
944:Classification yard
560:'s Proviso Yard in
462:switcher locomotive
431:Hilbersdorf (today
382:Kansas City, Kansas
149:, used to separate
103:classification yard
1484:Swingnose crossing
1203:Motive power depot
1157:Signalling control
591:List of rail yards
579:in Shanghai, China
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131:Australian English
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31:list of references
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1030:Railway turntable
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776:Rhodes, Michael:
735:Rhodes, Michael:
728:978-0-911382-04-4
692:Rangierdienst A-Z
562:Chicago, Illinois
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410:Waycross, Georgia
367:Chicago, Illinois
133:, as well as the
109:, as well as the
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1544:Spanish solution
1534:Terminal station
1507:Railway platform
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199:
195:
191:
187:
183:
179:
174:
172:
168:
164:
160:
156:
152:
148:
144:
140:
139:shunting yard
136:
132:
128:
124:
120:
116:
112:
108:
104:
96:
91:
78:
75:
67:
57:
53:
47:
46:
40:
36:
32:
27:
18:
17:
1569:Hillclimbing
1539:Balloon loop
1425:
1411:Pocket track
1401:Balloon loop
1393:Rail sidings
1373:Double track
1368:Passing loop
1363:Single track
1182:Wayside horn
1132:Interlocking
1112:Catch points
1072:Water trough
974:Passing loop
954:Pocket track
943:
939:Balloon loop
903:Ladder track
777:
770:
751:
736:
718:
710:
691:
686:
667:
661:
652:
646:
637:
617:
610:
440:
439:) Rbf (Rbf:
426:
372:
353:
304:
282:
281:
237:
227:
226:
216:
215:
175:
170:
166:
158:
154:
151:railway cars
143:railway yard
138:
114:
102:
100:
70:
61:
50:Please help
42:
1605:Track gauge
1464:Grand union
1107:Buffer stop
1067:Water crane
979:Track gauge
918:Tie/Sleeper
525:Hydraulic "
374:Bailey Yard
369:, May 1943.
349:Netherlands
312:wheel chock
202:power plant
182:automobiles
56:introducing
1646:Rail yards
1640:Categories
1280:Industrial
1264:Water stop
1225:for trains
1217:Roundhouse
1191:Structures
1177:Train stop
1127:Guard rail
1102:Block post
1090:and safety
1087:Signalling
1018:third rail
991:Rail track
984:dual gauge
868:Baulk road
628:0669932116
602:References
283:Hump yards
246:yard near
217:Flat yards
178:unit train
64:April 2022
1436:Junctions
1421:Rail yard
1406:Headshunt
1383:Crossover
1230:for goods
1172:Tell-tale
1003:Rail yard
969:Guide bar
949:Headshunt
932:Trackwork
898:Fishplate
888:Date nail
849:(history)
764:0041-0934
678:0041-0934
437:Nuremberg
308:retarders
299:retarders
262:south of
248:Zawiercie
184:from the
165:called a
123:Hong Kong
97:, Germany
1499:Stations
1285:Military
1242:building
1212:Platform
1122:Derailer
1040:Roll way
959:Junction
858:Axe ties
585:See also
496:Kijfhoek
429:Chemnitz
398:Illinois
347:and the
287:shunting
233:Chemnitz
206:shunting
163:switches
1346:Railway
1295:station
1290:Private
1237:Station
913:Profile
863:Ballast
422:Antwerp
418:Hamburg
414:Maschen
402:Houston
394:Chicago
341:Germany
329:Belgium
250:on the
223:Gravity
204:. This
200:to the
196:from a
119:British
95:Cologne
52:improve
1587:Spiral
1517:Island
1057:Switch
1045:Siding
845:Tracks
784:
762:
756:Trains
743:
725:
676:
669:Trains
625:
333:Russia
325:France
256:Poland
240:Saxony
167:ladder
129:, and
127:Indian
1527:Split
1273:Types
1252:ghost
1247:clock
1221:Shed
835:Rail
416:near
406:Texas
345:Italy
337:China
192:, or
188:to a
186:plant
159:drill
157:or a
137:) or
37:, or
1620:Cant
1522:Side
1300:list
1257:list
878:Cant
782:ISBN
760:ISSN
754:In:
741:ISBN
723:ISBN
674:ISSN
623:ISBN
335:and
297:The
270:Hump
254:(in
244:Łazy
212:Flat
198:mine
194:coal
190:port
171:hump
155:lead
1512:Bay
1474:Wye
1077:Wye
392:in
376:in
363:CNW
319:or
113:),
1642::
460:A
404:,
396:,
388:,
351:.
343:,
331:,
327:,
266:.
125:,
121:,
101:A
41:,
33:,
1338:e
1331:t
1324:v
1205:/
828:e
821:t
814:v
788:.
766:.
731:.
680:.
631:.
117:(
105:(
77:)
71:(
66:)
62:(
48:.
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