Humping cars and more at the CSX Queensgate Yard
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- Опубликовано: 26 мар 2023
- This is a short video showing the CSX Queensgate Yard in Cincinnati.
You'll see several groups of cars sorted over the hump from a couple different views.
We'll also take a quick look around and see a few locomotives and some of the buildings around the facility.
I mistakenly say "calf unit" when I should have said "slug."
The slug unit and switcher can be seen at the 14:37 mark.
Lastly, we see an airplane on the final approach to the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
I hope you enjoy.
Please let me know where you'd like to see me head next.
I am hoping to get to Elkhart, Indiana soon, but would love to hear other ideas. 
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These yard workers bust their butts 24/7! Wow. The level of activity is utterly amazing! Dang!
I could be watching this for hours ! For railroad modelers who live outside the U.S. and will never have the chance to see these trains for real videos like this one are pure gold. Thank you very much for sharing.
Thank you very much. I am so glad you enjoyed the video.
I dispatch for CSX and NS out of their yards.. talk to these RCO’s and Hump tower yard masters on a daily basis. Good railroaders on both ends make my job much easier!
Hello, brother. RTC for CN here!
I grew up very near the Grand trunk yard in Toledo Ohio. We would hear that screeching all the time. And the house would shake when the cars would slam together. Adding to the noise was I-75. Got so used to it the sound would lull me to sleep at night. Thanks for the footage! Never got to see the sorting in action just heard it.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
It is pretty incredible how much energy there is when these cars run into each other and how loud they are.
Plus, that screeching is so loud too.
Pack is a hip control pack for the hump engines, thus removing the need of manned hump power. The pin-puller also runs the power.
Guy with the box is a RCO operator. Box on the front of his lanyard is a remote control that operates the locomotive. He has complete control as he humping his cut of cars.
Thank you for the details. I do appreciate it.
This is the Best Hump Yard Action I have ever seen and heard on RUclips. Thank you! 👍🙏
Thank you very much Ken, I really do appreciate it.
Go to baily yard videos
The pack seen on the crew working the hump is used to remote control the locos.
Said remote is equipped with sensors so that if the operator falls the train shuts down
@@GaryCameron780 emergency braking, not shut down
You have a Great Voice on your videos and the Details and Radio Conversations are greatly Appreciated. Keep up the strong 💪 efforts. Thanks! 👍🙏
Very interesting yard, working process is same as in Russian railway. So cool, I was working at such yards. So much memories! Thanks for video!
I'm very glad you enjoyed it and that's pretty neat you worked in a yard in Russia.
Near the beginning, they mentioned whether or not a train they are making up is a "key train". That is related to the FRA rules about Hazmat. When a train has a significant quantity of Hazmat, different "key train" rules apply
A computer classifies the cars and sends it to the guy you seen walking by them. He pulls the coupler to disassemble that car, and let it go over the hump and then the computer controls the switches and the devices that slow the cars down so that they don't fall off the rail. That guy is also the one controlling the engine. All the engine you see with a slug behind them are remote control. Basically that one guy you saw their runs the whole operation. A computer does the rest.
Really enjoyed the hump action, especially following the locomotives to shove the auto racks over the hump.
Glad you enjoyed it Doug.
It was pretty fun to watch everything pretty much from start to finish.
Awesome footage of the inner working of CSX! Thanks for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it, Rob. I'm hoping to get to several yards in the next few months.
Thanks for another great video. That new drone and your filming skills produce outstanding results. Always interesting to see a hump yard in operation, especially at higher speed.
I'm always glad to hear you enjoyed the video, Terry.
I'm very happy with the drone and the video it produces.
It was a lot of fun filming and then watching everything sped up.
I’m in Louisville, can’t wait to see some of these on M575. thank you this is a great video
The man uncoupling, the cars is the pin puller. The box he is wearing is an a rco box. Which controls the engine at the other end of the cars. And he does have the ability to stop all action with that box.
Thank you for the information. I do appreciate it.
That box also controls the switches in the track that directs the individual cars to their respective train build! That guy is known as the switch man on the yard.
@@draconis0469 ummmm your wrong. That box has nothing to do with switches. It just controls the engine. The Hump tower handles all the switches in the bowl tracks that divide the cars up per track
actually he just pulls the pins the tower lines the switches and there's someone in the engine I believe.
@@maxrshelltrack7443 you’d right
One of the last trains i hopped. was outta this yard. to elkhart, then chicago. and that worker un coupling the cars at the top of the hump, is in control of the locomotives. that pack is a remote control.
I've always been curious about yards and it's magical how someone knows where every engine and every car is located and where it's supposed to go.
It really is incredible what they're able to do in these yards and how they handle so many cars.
Trust me, we don’t always know where everything is. Lots of time spent walking the track and making a new list
That's cool you got the turntable in there. Most real videos don't have any up close images of the turntable they use to switch the engine to a new track, or turn it around.
I didn't know it was there. I happened to just stumble across it. I never gave much thought to how they would turn an engine in the yard until I spotted it.
Absolutely great Video my friend
Thumbs Up! 👍
Thank you, I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed it.
It is actually a slug, the term calf is a cabless engine powered unit mated with a regular cab unit. Yes the pack he is carrying is a remote control that uses either radio or cable tether.
Really great video here. It was great to see the humping a pace that is tolerable. Great job. Keep up the great work and thank you again for the great video.
Thank you very much, Matt. I do appreciate it.
I haven't worked a hump job in years, but the RCO Hump Foreman controls the locomotive and pulls the pins. When I did it, we put the remote in Hump Mode and the hump computer tells the loco what speed to go. But the RCO Foreman can stop and reverse the movement when necessary.
Thanks for the info, Matthew. I do appreciate it.
It's pretty incredible what they're able to do with the locomotives remotely.
Until I saw people walking around, I thought it was a toy lay out in the beginning.
Fabulous video! I love seeing action at rail yards. Queensgate is a good sized one. Thanks 👍 for bringing it to us! 😊😊😊❤❤❤
Thank you, Gary.
I'm glad you liked it.
A hump is used to take a string of cars over the hump where they split into other train according to its destination. My husband once worked for the RR and worked in a hump yard.
Very good footage of current opps. the two low pro slugs mated either end of the mp15t is rather interesting, newer set they've made. those 10 series slugs were first mate with 4300 series GP39s then 2500 series GP38-2s then 2400 series SD40-2s. most of the MP15Ts have been retired or stored.
Thank you very much for the info, I do appreciate it.
Great vid, I visited Cajon Pass and got some footage of UP and BNSF, cool to watch them come out of the mountains
Thank you.
I'd love to head out and spend a few days at Cajon Pass.
It looks incredible watching them come down the mountains.
Wow. This crew works really fast at humping those cars. LOL.
I was thrilled to work on construction of UP’s Brazos Yard in Mumford, TX back in 2018. It would have been one the largest and technologically advanced hump yards. But over halfway into the project, UP suddenly stopped all work since it struck them that hump yards and PSR don’t necessarily mix. I had just overseen the installation of the brand new retarders. Now the site is largely abandoned, with the exception of some car storage. A contractor recently told me the yard is also used for spare parts for other hump yards, including the brand-new retarders.
I've had a few people comment on that project.
It seems crazy that UP would just pull the plug on it like that.
You'd think there would've been a way to cut its losses and keep the facility somewhat operational.
The loud squeeling noises are the "retarders" built into the hump tracks. The retarders are surrounded by brake dust that makes giant dark areas of ground. The speed a car goes thru the yard is controlled in order to make sure the car travels as far as needed WITHOUT hitting the other cars without too much speed. Wind, car weight and distance traveled all come into play. The retarders are giant brake pads that press against the side of the wheels to slow the car down.
Thanks for the log awaited tour of Queensgate, especially the hump. I have tried watching from the Western Hills Viaduct but the action side is on the side of the Viaduct that has no sidewalks. Not safe and the Police politely asked me to move on.
I'm glad you enjoyed it Rupert.
It really is a shame there is no sidewalk on the north side of the viaduct.
Hopefully, the new one will feature plenty of space on both sides.
Absolutely love this video! Great work & thanks so much!!
Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
I hope to get a few more yards in the next month or two.
@NKY Railfan - - -
0:38 He is making sure the knuckle is open , so when it hits the cars , it does not hit and break the knuckle. if the knuckle is closed and it hits another car , it can hit hard enough to possible derail and/or bounce back (Depending on the speed of the coasting car.
An open knuckle will simply just slam shut on impact with the resting cars on the siding.
Just remember , Open knuckle = Good | Closed knuckle = Bad
Another awesome video with lots of great footage. Enjoyed watching once again and have a wonderful rest of your day.(Steve)
Thank you.
Have a great day as well.
When the boxcars 1st enter the yard at the hump it's read by number and weight. The guy uncoupled by a quick switch and it's read again by weight. The dark areas on the track are breaking systems that help slow the boxcars. But also the entrance controls the switches for the tracks
Fantastic video of the operation. The poor guy pulling the pins certainly has the hardest job in the yard. After the cars end up on the right track, someone must recouple all the air lines and verify couplers are locked. Must be a dangerous yard to work in. Ever had a derailment in yard?
Derailments happen in classification yards all the time. They are not necessarily even reportable to the FRA if there was nobody hurt or Hazmat was not involved.
The guy pulling the pins must walk a lot of miles in a day's work!
Pretty cool love it how move them train 🚂🚂 car
super, thx from Poland!!!!
Glad you enjoyed it.
Greetings from the U.S.
I love watching this stuff. If I’m not mistaken he controlling the release of the air hoses and the switches so he can sort the freight out for next part of the journey
Great video right there. Really enjoyed listening and watching the yard traffic.
CSX Slug 1055, ex CO 5890 bulit 4/1953 as EMD GP7, then rebuilt as a Yard Slug.
Yes, as others have said, the pack is the remote control for the locomotives. But yes, it's also an automatic emergency stop if the operator falls.
Thanks for commenting the information. I do appreciate it.
Looks like a very dangerous job to me!
It certainly is.
There was an employee trainee who died just a few weeks ago from a different railroad.
I lived and worked in Cincinnati from 2006 til about 2016 and I miss seeing Queensgate.
Really great filming, I want to ride on the platform, on the front of the engines
At one time I lived up the hill in/near Clifton. I could hear at night the trains that connect with their outbound lines. The sound echoed around the valley. It was a sweet sound and is missed since I moved out of town.
That's not a calf unit,it's a slug. A calf is a complete loco(diesel prime mover and traction motors)minus the cab, much like a B unit. A slug has a lower profile hood (like this)because it lacks the prime mover and has only traction motors. Slugs get their power from another diesel loco. Wich power the traction motors in the trucks. Hope this helps.
Thank you, Philip.
I appreciate the information.
I made a note of my mistake in the description.
I was unaware of the difference.
I assumed it was an interchangeable term and that the cow unit provided the power to the calf/slug.
I did not know calf units were fully functional like a B unit.
The drone footage is awesome. Love your videos. I was just showing my wife the Trim Tower I was in when Queensgate opened. Frank Hiltibran was a clerk there (ex train dispatcher from 14th and Madison Ave ). Queensgate shut down 7 yards around the Cincinnati and northern ky region. I worked at Stevens yard in Silver grove (CS cabin) and KC Jct in Covington and Cheviot before they opened Queensgate. I was training as a dispatcher in Columbus Ohio in 1980. I never worked at Queensgate just went down as a training day to observe the operation when it opened.
Thank you very much.
I bet you have a lot of stories from working those yards over the years.
I wish I had been able to see them when they still existed.
I got to see a little of Decoursey when I was a young kid but wasn't able to appreciate it at the time.
@@nkyrailfan Yes, lots of memories when I started working in that area. A sad memory that I remember while working as a lever operator at KC Jct. It was the winter of 1977 and there was lots of snow that winter. A signal maintainer for KC Jct was late for work one morning. He lived on Russell St across the yard from the tower and usually walked to work. The yardmaster at KC Jct phoned his wife to see if he had over slept. She told him no that he had left for work on time. Later that morning a crew that was switching in the yard found Big Pete cut in two under a cut of cars. It was a very sad day and one that I will always associate with working at KC Jct.
That's is a heartbreaking story.
I can't imagine what that was like for whoever found him.
Sadly, I'm sure those were all too common over the years.
Very good video Sir. Very informative which the public needs. We take Rail and Road Transportation for granted. I seen videos of European car drivers like in Germany yield to Emergency vehicles and semi trucks making wide turns. Very courteous.
Thank you, Richard. I do appreciate it.
Excelente trabajo ese 👏🏽, mucha seguridad ante todo 👍🏽
I worked the UP Proviso(IL) Hump Yard. Theres no locomotive the cars typically are humped from the end of the train via remote control and sent thru retarders. Best job ever!! Thank You .
Jolie vidéo bien filmée. Merci de nous l'avoir transmise. Amicalement de LA FRANCE.
Salutations des États-Unis.
Je suis content que vous ayez apprécié la vidéo.
Thanks. Very interesting
Thats really big, but there are two bigger ones 🙂
The biggest one is Bailey Yard in Nebraska and the 2nd here in germany called "Maschen".
That autorack had a hard couple
Not a rail fan, particularly, but reading Brian Hayes excellent book "Infrastructure" and had to see one of these in action. Excellent video. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
I tell you what I know worked 38 years for Penn Central and Conrail as Humpmaster out of Enola Yard Harrisburg PA, the Device is known as a (RCL) - "Radio Controlled Locomotive" as it only takes one to run the hump as years before took 3 Men to run your average Receiving yard. the RCL does have its problems and issues as there Not 100% perfect. When using a RCL and the (Mother) - "mother is the main locomotive power source that the RCL is slaved to" is Active the Humpmaster can't crouch as if the Brakeman was hurt at any time as the RCL has a sensor built in it that can detect movement that will Shut Down into emergency as a safety call standards, plus every time the RCL is throttled up given the set-up can have a warning horn or bell, strobes go off before power is added. The Hip, chest RCL all have the same instruments as what you would find in a full-size cab but as switches or knobs. RCL have a top speed of 15mph and have a Range of more than 4 miles.
As for the Hump itself there is a lot going on here as I explain the dynamics of the hump and what is going on that you don't see. The Hump itself has a scale weight near the top of the hump that weighs each car as a hump pc measures and figures out in secs the brake effort to apply to the brake retarders to get that said car safety down into the bowl to the other set of freight cars with today's technology can be done using (ACI) - "Automatic Car Identification", which every car Locomotive that has been built after the CSX 8888 unstoppable incident has to have one on said equipment by (FRA) - "Federal Railroad Administration". The brake retarders press squeezing the flange slowing the car down as it makes its way through the Retarder reasons you hear the high pitch squeak. Gravity takes over as the freight car is uncoupled and slowly rolls down off the hump hitting a series of Retarders and lasers as the lasers will detect when a car passes, and the switch is clear the Hump PC will switch track for next car and so on. Humps are only allowed to hump 4 sets of coupled cars together but some railroads depending on hump type have and can hump 8 sets. Any Freight Cars that have special designed brake system or research cars of any type are Not allowed to be Humped as their brakes could cause massive danger and loss of equipment, and locomotives by FRA aren't supposed to drive over Retarders as well. But railroad companies still do as the city Blackout of 96 in Philly proved the theory being real. At the front of some yard receiving bowl's there are safety retarder threads which are 3 burst mini brakes that stick-up next to the inner rail side to stop cars from rolling out of the yard as they can be controlled by air.
Brakeman or Humpmaster is at all times looking at his or her (MFD) - "Multifunction Display screen" located here at this hump on both ends of the hump as you can see Big Black squares that are MFD screens at the ends of the walkway. these screens show the Humpmaster what cars are to be uncoupled from make to model to type, as the screens are in line of sight as the Brakeman walks next to the Freight car, a brakeman may at times have to stop humping as some cars have special coupler knuckles like the F knuckle an anti-slip knuckle mostly used on Tanker cars to prevent tankers from uncoupling so easy when on the move, it is the Brakemans job title to fix the problem at hand any way possible as the Domino effect is the most affected method of a clean release.
@ 3:09... the pinpuller makes 3 cuts on 3 cars that all ended up on the same track... any reason why he just didn't let all 3 go together
My guess is they're fully loaded and would be a strain for the retarders to keep them at a slow enough speed.
The system is designed to work at certain weights and speeds, so my guess is these cars would have been too heavy.
I've seen cuts of 3 cars several times and then what you witnessed where cars are separated but sent to the same track.
Hope this helps.
I never seen before like a this video. Thanks for u shearing.
Great stuff to watch at speeds
Glad you enjoyed it.
Whenever you hear the guy saying three-step. He's letting the engineer know that he's stepping between cars and that the train has to be at a full halt until he radios him to let him know that he's clear.
"Three Step" is required before anyone steps between cars (hook air hoses, check coupling). The "three steps" are: 1-set engine brakes. 2- Place reverser handle (forward/neutral/reverse) in neutral. 3- Shut off circuit breaker for generator exciter (makes engine unable to produce electrical power for wheels).
@@buff5200 well that is exactly on point, thank you for your incredibly verbose response that repeats exactly what I said. LOL
Thanks, nice video
Great video
Thanks, Jason. I do appreciate it.
yes he remoting and pulling the pins
THE MAN IS OPENING THE COUPLER.
The pack on his front is a remote control as those locomotives are RCO- that’s what slugs are for
Always scary when I see railroad tank cars rolling around by themselves
There safe
Would love to see the master control operations in action. I mean those who know what is where, and what needs to happen next. Gotta be looking at a big bank of monitors, camera feeds, headsets, phones... There's a control tower, right?
The control tower is next to the hump.
I've never been inside, so I can't speak to what's there.
I'd imagine you're right though, lots of monitors and other things.
I'm retired BNSF railway and I worked the tower and it's a classification yard hump yard and what's the gentleman's doing up on the hump is he's reading the car numbers on a list he carries while operating the pin lifter and the car goes by the camera to verify the car number and then it gets weighed goes over the scales and into a classification track for eastbound westbound southbound or northbound traffic. On the other end an outbound crew come out and they put these trains together for the their destination and then they pull it into outbound track that's how it works
great train video bro
I think the remote control is for the retarders that slow the cars as they come down the hump so they don't fly into their assigned tracks. It may also operate the classification switches.
The remote control is just for the yard engines. The cars have a big RFID tag attached to them that tells the computers what it is, where it's going, and how much it weighs. Computers control the retarders and switches.
@@ferky123 I stand corrected! Thank you, sir! Bet it's a far cry from the days when brakemen rode the tops of cars and cranked the handbrake!
Nice to Watch.
Very nice video 👌👍👍👍.
Greetings from Germany🙋♂🙂
Grüße aus den Vereinigten Staaten.
Ich freue mich sehr, dass Ihnen das Video gefallen hat.
why un couple 3 tankcars if they all go to the same track 03:16 - 03:55 ? Autorack at 07:50 going too fast (even if the footage is slowed down) Boing to the previous one is too hard. My dad did this work too but in the Netherlands.
I'm not sure why all three would be uncoupled. My guess is they're easier to control as individual cars as opposed to a set of three.
That auto rack sure did knock into the other one.
Another location suggestion....'Galesburg is the second largest classification yard in the BNSF system" I think it has 2 humps. That would be amazing!!
That's pushing my range (5.5 hours) but I will certainly keep it in mind.
I would love to see a 2-humo yard.
CSX needs to send majority of the power units to the wash rack filthy dirty they are !! 🤔👍👍👍👍
I'd be curious to see this kind of video quality done at Radnor Yard in Nashville, Tn. This is some of the best drone hump yard action I've seen on RUclips yet! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you very much.
I am really glad to hear you enjoyed the video.
That's a Awesome video!👍
Thank you very much, Timothy. I do appreciate it.
Congrats on 5k subscribers and interesting video
Thank you.
I never thought I'd reach 1,000.
That is so cool.
I may have no idea of how they coordinate all those cars on all those different track but it was quite interesting to watch highly controlled chaos..
When they entered the yard at the gate the computer reads the barcode. Once they get uncoupled the tracks know when to switch. There's cameras that read them as well.
I am not a railroad worker but it seems to me the yard is following the law of motion.a car will remain in motion until it bumps into the car in front of it.
How does NS reach Gest St.? Is the left most 2 tracks what they use, and where is the separation between the two yards? As the video goes looks in the middle to the south of the Western Hills Viaduct starts Gest St. Yard?
It has an approach over the Ohio River on the Southern Railway bridge.
From the north, trains enter through two tracks to the east of the Queensgate Yard.
The Gest St. Yard is a little more tucked in than it looks.
Most of the tracks going under the viaduct are CSX.
I'm Currently in a program learning about all they Abreviations and Rules there are a lot to know but the Railroad is so interesting
Well oiled machine right there
Really interesting to watch but when some of these cars come in the repair shop from this its a nightmare, almost the whole draft system has to be replaced
I can only imagine what you all have to deal with.
I'm sure these humps keep everyone in the repair shop plenty busy.
From what others have commented, it seems there have been a lot of improvements to the draft system, but not enough to completely prevent damage.
the track layout looks alot like pigs eye or saint Paul yard in saint Paul Mn.
Amazing video! Awesome images with trains and great rail activity! Thumbs Up & Subscribe
All the best from Dublin
Andrew
I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed the video Andrew!
All the best from the United States.
How many channels are you listening to.. just wondering?
Hey Charles,
My radio is set to scan.
So it's picking up CSX and the nearby NS yard, plus road traffic from both.
Your new drone does justice to your cinematography skills. Do you use full auto on camera or manually use filters, with flat color profiles? Looks very cinematic and clear without oversharpening digital camera trickery. Yes, I'm a pixel peeper and this is as good as I've seen.
Thank you, Randy. I really do appreciate it.
I use mostly manual settings, except for shutter speed which I let stay in auto.
I have not got a set of ND filters but am considering them.
I shoot in a normal color profile.
I'm not good enough to color grade better than what the camera can do.
@@nkyrailfan Get ND filters. Drones overexpose things often. Keep the histogram up too.
Good video, like .
Its a switch yard each tk has different desenation they are doing same thing as flat switching use too. Sending cars to where ever they are suppose to go.
Yup hump yards are very cool
Who reconnects air hoses when a consist is assembled?
Awesome video
I just subscribed
Thank you very very. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the video.
The pack he is wearing is for the RCO Units. Yes he is controlling the locomotives and, it does have teh ability to activate an emergency tone and mode if the operator falls
Thank you for the info.
I do appreciate it.
The reason he’s uncoupling the locomotives is to put them in order for the next train to pick them up and leave with them so the next crew doesn’t have to work double
Because you asked how the Hump Operation works, here is how it works. So a line, section or "cut" of cars is brought out of the receiving yard, where freight cars are received from trains coming into the yard. When the cars are received from the receiving yard, they get pushed up an incline called a "Hump". When the cars reach the top of the Hump, a brakeman uncouples the cars according to the orders from the yard master, who is in charge of controlling the switches in the yard. The cars are uncoupled by the brakeman and roll down the Hump by gravity, and are slowed down by big clamps called "Retarders" on the way down, and are switched to various tracks to make new trains for other destinations. And that is how the "Hump" Operation works.
canera camera work looks HD wow
It appears the Guy Walking Beside the Cars is Manually Decoupling the Cars so they can Hump to their Destinations