How Railroad Yards Work | Railroad Central Station

Classification

Cars are grouped by destination so they can be placed into the correct outbound train.

A locomotive pushes or pulls cars directly from one track to another through switches.

In a hump yard, cars roll by gravity over a small hill and are routed into classification tracks using switches and retarders.

Large yards often separate arriving trains from trains that are ready to leave.

Yards may include fueling, sanding, inspection, and maintenance facilities.

Without yards, railroads would have far less ability to combine cars from many shippers into efficient long-distance trains.

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