Hump Yard

[stationmaster]

Well, I'm thinking of the ultimate challenge.... a hump yard. Looking for input on how to make this work. I didn't want cars crashing into each other and breaking off couplers. That would add to an already high maintenance load.

Has anyone ever done or tried this?

Bob

 

[wheeler1963]

Bob. read this thread. It's already been discussed in length.

http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10612&highlight=hump+yard

 

[stationmaster]

Many good points, counter points and ides. Thanks for the link.

Sounds like a good physics problem. Weight of cars would have to be exact and the forces to retard the cars perpetuatory, adding more force as the lines in the bowl became longer.

The electromagnet idea interests me as the magnets could be used as ballast to bring the cars to equal weights. Time to get out the slide rule...

Bob

 

[dmeephd]

Lehigh Valley

The Lehigh & Keystone Valley Model Railroad Club in Bethlehem, PA, has an operating Hump yard. I have only seen it once, during an Open House in 2007, but it was being used then and seemed to work much better than the videos shown in the discussion linked to above.

Here's their link: http://www.webspawner.com/users/Lvlou04/index.html

David

 

[dmeephd]

The 3,000 square foot ‘O’ Scale layout at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry has a computer-controlled hump yard.

 

[dmeephd]

And here's a guy with a small, but nice working, hump yard.

http://www.rrscenery.com/humpyardwest1.html