There was a comment not long ago about prototype yards designed so the body tracks were in a definite but gentile bowl. The story was backed up with the persons near miss accident of being almost run over by a freight car that at last observation was standing still. A gust of wind or otherwise unknown forces will cause a standing car to start rolling and thus the bowl to keep it in the yard instead of rolling out on the mainline. Recently I installed Intermountain trucks on a fleet of cars and discovered they will roll freely on the slightest of incline. This was desirable for keeping the grade in the "Hump Yard" at a realistic pitch. I did notice on a few occasions that a stopped car would roll deeper into the yard after sitting there a few minutes. The cars are fine tuned so every one will roll to end of either three sorting tracks at left. The final three feet of these tracks go slightly up hill. There are Tufts of grass that will catch the axles to hold them on that incline to keep the track open for other cars being routed there. As the tracks start filling up with cars, the following cars need to be slowed down so they don't hit the stopped cars at speed. I use a mechanical retarder in the form of a long guard rail that pinches the wheel flanges operated through a remote control wire at the edge of the layout. This device is near the top of the hump and will slow a car for several inches of travel. It can be engaged early or near the end the retarder depending on the rolling ability of each individual car. cars can hit very hard without damage. I strive for slow rolling and soft coupling as the prototype does. I don't claim this a perfect system, but has anyone done better. The mainline tracks through the yard also have a dip in the center to contain cars left there in the event of switching. The train on the main will proceed to the far end after the caboose is dropped off. The the view will open up to the hump track and I'll release a couple cars and take another picture. |
Position of cars after being humped into yard. A few cars weren't rolling so well after a few months. Cleaning gunk build up from the wheels and then working some graphite in the wheel journals made them roll as good as new. Sixteen cars are set up with Intermountain trucks and their the ones I rolled in the yard now. Everything had to prove itself over time before going through the work and expense of more trucks. I might try an couple Walthers and Atlas brands next as an experiment of roll ability. A note on scenery: The quick foreground covering is my #2 Dead and Alive ground up moss. A couple shades of Earth are randomly scattered in addition. A couple line side shacks could be built in the open areas to make it busy such as a hand car house and tool shed and piles of ties, rail and some scattered junk. Painted brown paper bag material hides the plywood edge of bench work where the steamer is parked. It takes years for me to start the scenery in most places so the paper bag solution works good for me. |
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An 18 car train is positioned on the hump lead track. A Kadee under the rails magnet is located by the yard tower. The down grade begines at the magnet and with a little gigle of the train, a car is released. Just a few inches to the right is the area below. |
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The car retarder is barely visible and consist of movable guard rails that pinch the wheel flanges and operated with a wire at layout edge. I seldom slow cars with it as they roll into the yard slow and easy. |
The three center tracks are for sorting cars and most of them will make it all the way to the end. Only East Bound trains are sorted for blocking trains for La Junta Co., Kansas City Kansas and Texas destinations. The switches are hand laid because I'm working with angles that commercial turnouts couldn't do. The upper tracks are considered Galup NM with four tracks as a staging area where the Grand Canyon Limited is stopped for now. |
