What Modern UK Rail Freight Handling Might Have Become

[StevieG]

"Limmattal Yard".

Just re-discovered this link to, what to me is a fascinating little film, :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nz-n49p ... r_embedded ,
that I was sent in 2009, and thought it might be of interest.

Not sure when this was filmed but it looks pretty modern. In roughly the second half, keep a look out for the few glimpses of what look like little remotely-controlled in-track sledges that I presume push any wagons that stop too soon (before reaching other wagons in the same siding), along to buffer up with the others.

[ There's a 'music'al soundtrack, though it may be a little harsh to some ears.]

[PGBerrie]

It's the SBB Rangierbahnhof Limmattal between Spreitenbach and Dietikon (Zürich). There's an article on the German Wikipedia, but not much in English.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangierbahnhof_Limmattal
The wagon pushers are shown here
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenbahnw ... rderanlage
The text says they are used to push wagons which stop too soon into position at the end of the train. Without them, they would have to stop the hump operation and go down with a shunting loco.

Peter

[StevieG]

Thanks very much for that further insight, and extra links Peter.

[PinzaC55]

It's exactly like the former Hump yards at Wath, Tinsley etc. Typically for us we got rid of them but they kept them.

[redtoon1892]

Tyne Yards original concept.
Professor Kliq - Bust This Bust That is the music, just thought I'd throw that in.

[PGBerrie]

For me Healey Mills http://www.healeymills.co.uk/index.htm - when they moved the river it added 1/2 mile to the intermediate cross-country run (or walk in my case) of my old school. When I went there last year, though, it was more like a graveyard for EWS diesels.

Big yards are common over here - the local one at Weil-am-Rhein is more a loco changeover yard for the border, although there is a hump and a busy container terminal, plus piggy-back lorry trains. There is a further kilometer of abandoned sidings, which DB were going to give over to Basel for city development (DB owns the land and the Badische Bahnhof in Basel is official German territory!). Now everything is on hold and they are talking of using the land for the railway again. The idea is to join two trains to a 500 m long train before going across the alps - via the new Gotthard tunnel. They are quadrupling the track between Weil and Freiburg at the moment and have built a new tunnel just north of here. Eventually it will be four track all the way from Mannheim, and all done for freight.

Just east of Basel is the massive Prätteln yard which marshalls the traffic for forwarding to Switzerland, the journey across the alps or for the onward journey into German or France. This is a combination of traffic from both sides of the Rhein, i.e. SNCF, DB, SBB and various private operators. I was lucky enough to visit the control tower a couple of years ago - it was a quiet Sunday afternoon, so we were allowed in. I drive past the approaches to the yard on my way to work, and often they are queuing to get in and out. Yesterday I was surprised to see an ERS Class 67 and an Electric loco double heading (had it failed?). I believe that the Class 67s are not allowed further than Prätteln. There was a time when there was one Class 67 a day, but recently they have become rarer.

Peter

[FelixM]

(DB owns the land and the Badische Bahnhof in Basel is official German territory!)

Basel Badischer Bahnhof does not belong to the german federal republic territory but to the german customs area. Furthermore DB does not own the Land, it is just proprietor of the infrastructure. The difference would come to light when there would be a change of land-use.

Regards from Berlin,
Felix

[PGBerrie]

Felix: You are probably right, although the theatre which is now resident in one of the side buildings claims to be the only Swiss theatre with toilets in Germany! A little more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel_Badischer_Bahnhof for those interested.

Peter

[FelixM]

@Peter: I tried to translate http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel_Badi ... enzbahnhof, hope it's correct.

Felix

[Blink Bonny]

Ah, the Healey Mills website brings back memories. 40025 in the scrap line.

[PGBerrie]

Only ten years younger than 40025, but still going strong, one of my favorite Swiss electrics (one of several stabled at the Badische Bahnhof)

BLD Re425 180, Ville de Neuchâtel

Peter

[Coboman]

When was the last hump shunting done in the UK, and why did we decide to stop when other countries seem to be widely using it?
Jim

[PGBerrie]

According to this: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gansg/8-yards/y-marsh.htm, Scunthorpe West Yard in 1990, but maybe something in Wales later.

Peter

[EM2]

when they moved the river it added 1/2 mile to the intermediate cross-country run (or walk in my case) of my old school.
Sound like the same school as I went to. The games teacher could never understand why I did cross country since I was always last. Well writing down all the class 08/24/25/31/37/40 numbers took time.

[Blink Bonny]

Sounds like EM2 has his priorities right...