Hump Yard

[dwiemer]

I am working on "the plan" and have been running the idea of putting a Hump Yard on the layout. Has anyone else done this? What have you thought of it? What kind of grade are you using? Anything else you think might be important. Thanks,
Dennis

[csxt30]

Dennis, I did a little searching , as we had quite a topic on this quite a while back. They are very difficult to construct & get to work properly, from what I understand, but here is a link to some of the discussion I retrieved.
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=-1&TOPIC_ID=33239&REPLY_ID=333644#333644
I hope this helps, some !
Thanks,

[poppyl]

Dennis;

I wi***hat I could tell you that there is a magic answer to your question but there isn't. I'm mocking one up now in an effort to see if there is a way of effectively retarding cars as they roll down the decline. As far as I know there is no piece of hardware in our hobby that corresponds to the retarders found on real world humps. Instead, I'm experimenting with uncoupling magnets. I've had some, although inconsistent, success using diecast trucks. Of course, magnets won't work with plastic trucks. Also, I've found that electromagnetism cannot always overcome the mass momentum of a heavy scale car moving down the slope. Chalk that up to the laws of physics. So now I'm moving the magnets around on the hump slope and at the bottom to see if there is a sweet spot. The three issues that you have to deal with are slope (up and down), rolling characteristics of your cars, and space (for the hump itself and the rollout area).

Poppyl

[laz 57]

DENNIS,
From what I have retreved from former students that work the yard is that it is a very dangerous place to work. There is enough room for a guy to walk down the spaces sideways. Lots of acidents. You have to have an ear for the job. I have taught a few kids that work for NS and this is what they tell me. So what ever you construct make it tight.
laz57

[mackb4]

Dennis I asked this question sometime ago and got some good replies.Hope I post the link to my question and responders correctly.If you got some fresh ideas let me know please.http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=51243 Good luck Dennis.

[dwiemer]

Got an idea. What if we were to install cut paint brushes so that the bristles make equal contact on both sides of the trucks? We could have this at the bottom of the grade and flatten out the distal end of the yard. this way, the car would stop at this retarder, and the next car would couple to it and then push it down the line. It would require a little more space between tracks, and a method of disguise to make it somewhat believable, but I think I could fashion something like this to work.
Dennis

[poppyl]

Dennis;

Go for it. The reason that I'm playing with magnets is that different cars react differently due to their mass as they go down the hump thus affecting their speed and rollout distance. In theory, by placing several magnets along the path, one can zap a car from one to several times to get the proper rollout speed for the yard. The various options brought up didn't seem to offer that kind of variability. As I am discovering, theory and practice are two different animals.

Poppyl

[dwiemer]

Trial and error, the story of model railroading. I will do as mentioned, I figure that if I cut the length of the bristles to be only 1/2 inch long, and have them mounted in some fashion at truck highth, they will be low profile so that it does not matter the size of the car, and it would also not damage lettering on some. I will let you know, but as menitoned, I am im planning stages of the layout and it may take a little time.
Dennis

[Roger Bielen]

Dennis, I've used a piece of thin clear styrene between the ties just long enough to catch the axel to hold cars on a slight slope where I have an uncoupler. They would have a tendency to follow the engine when uncoupled and foul the switch I was working.

I've also read of heavy gauge monofillament, fishing line leader, being used.

[dwiemer]

Roger,
Thanks for the idea. Do you have any problems with lighter cars derailing? I will be doing some experimenting soon.
Dennis

[Roger Bielen]

Not yet. I do add weight to my lighter cars to bring up the weight to the rivet counter standard of 5 oz + 1 oz / inch. This helps with preventing stringlining with long consists.