Does anyone have a good track plan for an autorack unloading yard? Love to see what you have as I am now planning to add one and am having trouble finding a plan
autorack yard
- Thread starter jsoflo
- Start date
I can't think of a 'net reference offhand but I do know that the general layout includes a fair amount of space for the vehicles. It may be something like paired tracks with a lot of parking lot around them.
Lordstown, Ohio
at Lordstown ohio (GM) it is a 5 track double ended yard off of a long siding (left to right). A wye is attached to the right end of the yard. The top of the wye has a long track (up) with a trailing point switch (right hand) that goes down into a 3 track stub ended unloading area next to a HUGE parking lot. Sorry no pics, maybe someone can post a schematic of what I said. A wye is a must, as these cars need unloaded in a certain direction.
at Lordstown ohio (GM) it is a 5 track double ended yard off of a long siding (left to right). A wye is attached to the right end of the yard. The top of the wye has a long track (up) with a trailing point switch (right hand) that goes down into a 3 track stub ended unloading area next to a HUGE parking lot. Sorry no pics, maybe someone can post a schematic of what I said. A wye is a must, as these cars need unloaded in a certain direction.
Here's a shot.
Newark, NJ- Oak Island Yard, next to it- an intermodal and next to that an autorack unloading facility. Look up Newark, NJ on Google using their map program with the satellite feature- amazing things you can find.
You can zoom in and count cars if you want.
Mark
Newark, NJ- Oak Island Yard, next to it- an intermodal and next to that an autorack unloading facility. Look up Newark, NJ on Google using their map program with the satellite feature- amazing things you can find.
You can zoom in and count cars if you want.
Mark
Here's one in Portland, Oregon.
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=45.640628,-122.761917&spn=0.0033,0.004345&t=k&om=1
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=45.640628,-122.761917&spn=0.0033,0.004345&t=k&om=1
Most of the cars that come off the ships here have a white plasic protective coverings, So all of the cars look white from the air.
Here's a satillite shot of one that's a few miles from my house. The main line is to the south of the yard and parallel to the highway. There's normally a string of empty aurtorack cars running close to a mile on the siding tracks. I don't know when this picture was taken, but there's usually a lot more cars in the yard and usually a bunch of auto carriers off to the bottom right. I only see a couple in this shot. In the center of the yard you can see two yellow off-loading ramps.
70Runner said:
I just said, outloud, " ... daaaayaaaammmmmmm ... "
That's a really cool picture. Interesting to note that the loading ramp is not a permanent fixture, but a rolling ramp that can even be placed on top of the rails. I also find it odd that they apparently only have two ramps? But four lanes of track with the cars devided into two groups? Shouldn't they have six more ramps? Maybe it's just a function of how many drivers they have available. It would also seem to make sense to have the ramp at the end of the rail line be a permanent fixture so they don't waste time moving the ramp around.
Scrolling around from that link I've found a double tracked loop around some little pool, southwest of the original link. Any idea what's going on there?
Just above that loop is a very long 'fish hook' curve that does not close a loop. I find that odd.
Southeast (mostly east) from the original link is another autorack loading area with the same mobile ramps and multiple lanes. Really strange - I would have thought giant concrete ramps with hinged bridges to the cars would make more sense.
MCL_RDG said:
With all due respect to Monty Python... Where do they load/unload the "not white" cars?
Andrew
This is really a most interesting area. Go still farther South and there is another nest of track loops.
I believe that the upper two are mostly some loading/unloading facilities for something which comes/goes by ship - but WHAT?
In the loops farther South I think there is a quarry and a big junk yard. Anybody among us who had something to do with air reconaissance?
Anyway, this area could be the theme for an article in the 'A Railroad you can model' series in MODEL RAILROADER.
Ron
This is all Terminal 6 in Portland, OR. There's Oregon Steel Mill, A potash facility, multiple container yards/storage,A few Grain loading facilities,at least two autorack loading yards. Oh! Yeah and A BNSF yard(Maybe it's Lake yard? Not sure.)
C
Catt
Mocolova Modelworks has just brought out a autorack unloading ramp.This could prove to be useful.
http://mocalova.tripod.com/
http://mocalova.tripod.com/
Thanks for the responses, very informative. We have an enormous autorack loading and unloading facility here in Miami for the FEC, but its so huge there is no way to model it on a home layout, I was looking to see what existed in the realm of smaller loading facilities, lots of great ideas, thanks!
I work as a conductor at a UPRR Auto facility in Mira Loma CA. Our main spotting area consists of 8 stub tracks which are broken into B and A pads. The B pad of each track holds five regular autoracks. The A pad holds 7 autoracks. There is a one car lengh gap between B and A pads to allow the movement of ramps to unload the cars. When you have BTTX's or what is called articulated autoracks, then less cars will fit on the pads.
The cars are spotted from west to east, and several of the stub tracks have room on the east end, after a one car cap to spot cars in the dirt. This area is called the "off-spot." Some tracks, specifically tracks 7 and 8 have room for five cars in the "off-spot."
North of the spotting area are the support tracks. Here we have 9 through tracks that run east to west. The inbound trains shove the cars in from the west. We have loads on typicially 3-5 tracks. We pull the loads from the east to spot in what we call the "south yard " that I previously described.
We have two crossovers at the east end of the support tracks. Both crossovers give us access to the 'north yard," which consists of four through tracks. Track 1 is a rip track which holds 17-23 cars. Tracks 2-4 are used for support, empties, and sometimes we spot loads on these tracks. When loads are spotted the tracks are broken up into in to 3 pads. All pads into the auto facilty are in asphalt, only the "off-spots" are on the ballast. The three pads in the north yard from west to east are A(holding 6), B( holds five), and C which holds 7 cars. Each pad is separated by one car length, except between B and A which are two car lengths.
Also, at the south end of the support tracks are two more rip tracks that hold 7 cars a piece. A contrete block wall separates the support tracks from the south potting yard. A complete concrete block wall surrounds the entire facillity.
The mainline is across a major 4 lane road. The mainline is double tracked with a parallel siding on the southiside. After an inbound train enters this siding, it then shoves the cars across a bridge over the road into the west end of the autoplant. Only one way in and out of the plant.
As previously mentioned there is plenty of room to park the cars and the truck transporters. Builing wise there is on small office in the south yard. On the southwest corner of the massive facility is one concrete tilt up wall building that houses the offices for all the companies that work here.
I hope that helps. I should also add that no tracks are straight except the tracks in the south yard. Both the supports tracks and the north yard have sweeping curves to accomodate more track in less area.
The cars are spotted from west to east, and several of the stub tracks have room on the east end, after a one car cap to spot cars in the dirt. This area is called the "off-spot." Some tracks, specifically tracks 7 and 8 have room for five cars in the "off-spot."
North of the spotting area are the support tracks. Here we have 9 through tracks that run east to west. The inbound trains shove the cars in from the west. We have loads on typicially 3-5 tracks. We pull the loads from the east to spot in what we call the "south yard " that I previously described.
We have two crossovers at the east end of the support tracks. Both crossovers give us access to the 'north yard," which consists of four through tracks. Track 1 is a rip track which holds 17-23 cars. Tracks 2-4 are used for support, empties, and sometimes we spot loads on these tracks. When loads are spotted the tracks are broken up into in to 3 pads. All pads into the auto facilty are in asphalt, only the "off-spots" are on the ballast. The three pads in the north yard from west to east are A(holding 6), B( holds five), and C which holds 7 cars. Each pad is separated by one car length, except between B and A which are two car lengths.
Also, at the south end of the support tracks are two more rip tracks that hold 7 cars a piece. A contrete block wall separates the support tracks from the south potting yard. A complete concrete block wall surrounds the entire facillity.
The mainline is across a major 4 lane road. The mainline is double tracked with a parallel siding on the southiside. After an inbound train enters this siding, it then shoves the cars across a bridge over the road into the west end of the autoplant. Only one way in and out of the plant.
As previously mentioned there is plenty of room to park the cars and the truck transporters. Builing wise there is on small office in the south yard. On the southwest corner of the massive facility is one concrete tilt up wall building that houses the offices for all the companies that work here.
I hope that helps. I should also add that no tracks are straight except the tracks in the south yard. Both the supports tracks and the north yard have sweeping curves to accomodate more track in less area.
Hopefully this works. Here is a link to a small auto loading facility in Council Bluffs, IA on the east side of the yard. This view is looking east.
Council Bluffs, IA
Council Bluffs, IA
wixom - Google Maps
Wixom, Michigan. Until last year, they made Lincoln Town cars there. They still use the autorack loaders for other cars. They apparently end load.
Mike
Wixom, Michigan. Until last year, they made Lincoln Town cars there. They still use the autorack loaders for other cars. They apparently end load.
Mike