Came across this video today. While I understood the concept of a hump yard this is the first I’ve seen one in action. Really fun. I could see a video game in the making.
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Fun to watch, Marty
I wish I would have seen the hump yard P&LE had here in Youngstown. The hump and tower are still there. But I've talked to a lot of people who said they used to watch cars roll there when they were kids.
Hard to beat Bailey Yard. John
The yard at Pasco, Washington was always a fun place to watch the cars drop down the hump, to get into the yard you went under an overpass and if lucky, the crews and cops let you stay there.
There was also an Ice House which operated into the 1960's, I am not sure if it still serviced any refers but we went through it on a scout badge trip. The building still stands but is empty to my knowledge. This was all prior to the BN merger.
Fascinating.
Yes, that was fascinating! It would be nice if someone could decipher the radio talk. They are calling out track numbers for the siding lane to place the units and I assume the other numbers are for the engineers on the yard switchers. They must spend years to establish a rhythm in those fast-paced orders. Love watching the trains, and this is an incredibly unique spot.
@MartyE Thanks for the great video.
For several years running; I would annually take one or two of my direct report employees over to NS’ Norris Yard in Birmingham so they could see how a hump yard functioned. It was always interesting to see the facial expressions when they realized we had to climb up the narrow exterior stairs to the top level of the hump tower. 😳
Curt
Spent many a day (and night) going backwards at 1.3 mph
Neat video! I worked at the NS Conway yard when it still had two operational humps, both on the hump pulling pins and at the other end, coupling up cars and building trains for departure. The yard was overwhelming at first but it was fascinating to learn how everything worked together to classify cars and build trains.
Our hump power then consisted of SD38 locomotives paired with a six-axle slug, which were converted from Alco RSD units. The engines had a “Pace Setter” speed control box where you could control the speed of the locomotive in small increments and it would keep that speed as the cars were humped and the load gradually lessened. I’m not sure exactly how the system works, but the engine would be in notch 8 the whole time. What a sound that was!
