Hump shunting in mainland Europe.

[citycat]

I drive an articulated truck in Holland and Belgium and one of my regular runs is to Antwerp docks. The distribution centre is next to a container rail yard so it is always interesting watching the cranes in operation.

However, on the other side is a hump shunting yard. In today’s health and safety world, I didn’t know hump shunting was still a thing. It seems strange to think rail workers are walking around while double bogied tanker wagons and other freight wagons weighing several tonnes are rolling around silently, especially at night when I see the operation taking place.

Are there many hump shunting yards in Europe, and how are the wagons controlled to slow them down on the slope? Are there any injuries or deaths reported in these yards?

 

[Fragezeichnen]

Sure, there are lots. Siemens has an entire division selling yard automations solutions including humping: https://www.mobility.siemens.com/gl...ard-and-depot-solutions/cargo-automation.html. Devices called retarders are used to slow the wagons down.

If you lived next to a rail line you wouldn't ever refer to wagons "rolling silently". I don't see how purely being there it's any more dangerous than any other situation where rail staff have to cross active rail lines. There will be safe walking routes laid around the yard where there is no risk of a collision with a train.

The phyiscal intervention part of shunting is unavoidably dirty and dangerous - lots of trip hazards, climbing unseen underneath the parts of the train to be split or joined, lifting heavy couplings. I should imagine there are relatively large number of injuries.

 

[citycat]

If you lived next to a rail line you wouldn't ever refer to wagons "rolling silently". I don't see how purely being there it's any more dangerous than any other situation where rail staff have to cross active rail lines.

When I walked up to the perimeter fence of the yard, I didn’t hear the wagons making much of a noise as they rolled individually.

I can’t imagine the UK H & S giving the greenlight to something like that, which is why I was surprised that hump shunting was still a thing.

Anyway, thanks for the info.

 

[DanielB]

ProRail has published a video on YouTube which describes the hump shunting process as used on Kijfhoek yard in the Netherlands relatively detailed (in Dutch):

 

[citycat]

ProRail has published a video on YouTube which describes the hump shunting process as used on Kijfhoek yard in the Netherlands relatively detailed (in Dutch):

Interesting. Bedankt !

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Huge and very busy hump yard at Maschen (sic) on the DB outside Hamburg which we visited officially about 20 years ago - I could not get over the sight of tank wagons being humped , something that was banned in the UK at places like Temple Mills........

 

[Krokodil]

If you lived next to a rail line you wouldn't ever refer to wagons "rolling silently". I don't see how purely being there it's any more dangerous than any other situation where rail staff have to cross active rail lines. There will be safe walking routes laid around the yard where there is no risk of a collision with a train.

An individual wagon (in good nick) slowly rolling down under gravity is pretty quiet. Until it hits the next one!

In the bad old days (before wagon retarders) shunting was an incredibly dangerous occupation, with shunters chasing wagons with brake sticks to control their speed.

 

[Gordon]

Switzerland's big marshalling yards have humps

 

[Re 4/4]

Switzerland's big marshalling yards have humps

Indeed, there's one just outside Zurich further down the Limmat valley. There was an open day years ago where you could ride in an open top wagon over the hump as a visitor attraction!

 

[MarcVD]

The only remaining operational hump yard in Belgium is in the port of Antwerp. The picture below shows half of it.

 

[Gordon]

Indeed, there's one just outside Zurich further down the Limmat valley. There was an open day years ago where you could ride in an open top wagon over the hump as a visitor attraction!

Yes that is Rangierbahnhof Limmattal. It is not really, in Swiss terms, 'just outside Zurich' as it is actually 17km away from Zurich HB and most of the yard is not even situated in Canton Zurich, but in Canton Aargau .

The other main yards are
Basel Muttenz
Lausanne Triage (Denges)
Chiasso

I found a youtube video of hump operations at Denges:

 

[citycat]

The only remaining operational hump yard in Belgium is in the port of Antwerp. The picture below shows half of it.View attachment 167820

The only remaining operational hump yard in Belgium is in the port of Antwerp. The picture below shows half of it.View attachment 167820

That’s the yard in my original post in this thread. The distribution centre that I deliver to is to the left of the yellow buiding out of shot. Nice to see an overview of the yard.