Hump yards are not for the faint hearted. The cars have to roll freely, there has to be enough grade to keep the cars rolling to clear the leads but the cars have to be slowed so they done't sail out the other end of the tracks or damage the couplers of other cars in the tracks.
Unless you are going to hump cars very slowly you will need some automated method of lining switches for the next car before its cut loose, but after the preceeding car has cleared the switches.
I personally would not advise building one unless you are really, really, really, really, really sure you want one.
Dave H.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Who said anything about Humping Cars slowly?? LOL!
dehusman...the more I read your response....the harder I laughed! I guess I was looking for that magic piece of track or cars, but you put it well into perspective. LOL
I'm certainly not that serious about it. I may model it, but not make it active.
Thanks again.
Hump yards, and automated hump yards, have been built in HO in the past. The one I saw in operation (owned by the late Ed Ravenscroft) relied on one man, a pre-program panel and photocell detectors to get the cars into the correct tracks, and two sets of pre-timed air jets to brake them (if necessary) on the way downhill. Cars could only be humped singly (unlike the prototype, which can handle cuts of several cars as well as singles.)
The hump loco (a big-boilered 0-8-0) would move the cut forward, then stop when the lead car uncoupled. A rotary switch (for each car in the cut to be humped) and a stepping relay would pre-set the turnouts. The car's speed would determine how much air-jet retarder action it would take to get it stopped before it ran out of the other end of the yard. Once the car cleared the second set of retarders the hump loco would push the next car over the top.
Keys to operation - the cars were all the NMRA recommended weight and as free-rolling as available trucks would allow. Also, the pre-computer electricals were an expensive and somewhat unreliable collection of analog devices. Last but hardly least, the couplers were horn-hooks! (Mr Ravenscroft had been NMRA President and was a big backer of the horn-hook coupler and the car-weight Recommended Practice.)
The hump yard was very impressive in operation, and very 'railroady.' It was also a major PITA. Build one if you wish, but do it with your eyes open!
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with flat-switched yards)
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
I have two options for slowing down cars. The first is to take some guard rails from turnouts and angle them towards the outside of the rail.
The second might look stupid, but it probably would work. Take some of those sticks that come on bottle rockets or some dowels put some paper on that sticks out over the track. Put them right before the switches start and about halfway on the run down. Add more or change the position of them, depending on how they work. PM me if it works.
Have you thought about a shorter hump and longer leads? I think Pasco Wa has its arrangement like that,and I also want to say down on our Springfield div. I figure keep the grade light and the cars shouldnt gain to much speed but then you would have stalls sometimes( like the real railroads do) and either your hump engine or a special pusher job would have to go shove the tracks in.
Good luck with it.Some stuff like kicking cars and hump yards dont go well in scale models.
Yes we are on time but this is yesterdays train
I thought about making the hump grade very slight, but after experimenting a little, I'm beginning to see that I don't have the time and resources to pull this off. Maybe in the future. If I ever do try.....I'll be sure to post the results here. thanks to everyone.
- Harry
See this thread.
Crews