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YARDS AND TERMINALS.

1701. This subject includes the laying out and maintenance of the extensive railway yards which are found at all terminal and division points.

A terminal to be effective must provide ample track room for all cars being stored, unloaded, or exchanged, with the tracks so arranged that terminal business may be transacted with facility and dispatch. To save time is to save money in all departments of a railroad. Much time is unavoidably consumed in transferring cars to foreign lines, making up trains, and shifting cars to freight depots or side tracks for unloading; but a badly arranged yard involves waste of time and increased forces of men and engines. Hence, the laying out of yards and terminals should be placed in the hands of men of judgment and large experience. Furthermore, a railroad company can well afford to incur large expenditure in first cost if they thereby avoid the continual extra expense due to badly arranged yards and terminals.

A well-arranged terminal is shown in Fig. 547, in which practically all the requirements for local and through traffic

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and for traffic exchange, both by rail and water, are fully met.

The railroad has a double track, a a' and b b'. The passenger station A is placed where two important streets intersect, and should be as near the center of population and business as is practicable. This station combines two buildings, the one c in front, containing the passenger, baggage, and express rooms on the first floor and the general offices of the company on the upper floors. The rear building d is a train shed, and contains six tracks, with platforms between. These platforms should be from 8 to 10 feet in width, so that passengers need not crowd each other while taking the cars. In many of the best stations, these platforms are of concrete, finished smooth with Portland cement. This makes an excellent walk, is fireproof and enduring. The roof should be of iron, and the entire station made fireproof, if practicable.

Empty passenger coaches are stored on the tracks e, convenient to the station. The freight station and offices are shown at B. This station is in four parts. The first part f, in front, contains the freight offices, and is usually two or three stories in height. The parts g and h are freight rooms for receiving and discharging freight. The part k is a train shed, containing six tracks, allowing three rows or banks of cars for each freight room. The cars are backed into the train shed with the car doors on each track on line with those on the adjoining tracks. Bridges of either planks or sheet iron extend from car door to car door, so that two or three rows of cars may be loaded at the same time. By this means a way freight train for a long line with numerous stations may be loaded with dispatch and without confusion.

The freight rooms have no outside platforms. Drays loaded with outgoing freight back up to the doors of the freight room; the freight is discharged directly into the freight room, and often is carried by trucks directly from the drays to the car. This saves the delay and expense of rehandling, which would result from discharging from

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drays to a platform. Trains of local freight are stored on the tracks l while awaiting their turn for unloading, and cars laden with outgoing freight may be stored on the tracks in until a train is made up.

It will be observed that the main tracks a a' and b b' are comparatively free from switches, excepting at the passenger train yard and station. All tracks entering the passenger station A connect with the outbound track b b'. All the tracks connecting with the freight station B are thrown from the main stem track n, which connects with the outbound main track b b'. The streets o and p, adjoining the freight station, are extended to accommodate drays or other vehicles while unloading freight in car lots from the adjoining sidings.


The track q r is sometimes called a ladder track. It runs diagonally across the yard, intersecting all tracks and connecting with each by means of slip switches, shown in detail at A' and B'. This track extends to the steamship wharves C and D. Two tracks run alongside each pier, the tracks being depressed so as to bring the car floors nearly on a level with the deck of the pier. The passenger room and steamship offices are at E. Additional side tracks for local freight in car lots are shown at s and t. Additional railroad wharves are shown at F, G, and H. Wharves should be covered with strong sheds, and when the pier foundation is of stone or creosoted piles, it is economy to build the shed of iron. Grain elevators are shown at I and K. The tracks, five in number, run between the elevators, giving abundant dockage for ships on either side.

The wharves L, M, N, O, P, and Q are for coal traffic. The piers support coal pockets, which have sufficient elevation to cause the coal to run by gravity into the holds of vessels lying alongside. The track v, connecting with the main track b b', has an ascending grade not to exceed 2 per cent., which gives sufficient elevation to the spur tracks running on to the coal wharves.

Track x, connecting with the elevated track v, leads to a coal chute R. The buildings shown at S, T, and U are

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warehouses, where freight is stored in bond or otherwise for future delivery. A foundry is represented by V, a car shop by W, a machine shop by X, a round house with turntable by Y, and a chute for coaling engines by Z. The engine and boiler house y is so situated that it can supply steam to foundry, car, and machine shops. Track z, as well as q r, is a ladder track. The tracks C' are for outgoing trains and for cars to be transferred to foreign lines. Tracks D' are for storing local and steamship freight. Tracks approach the turntable at Y from both directions, which saves time and switching. Cross-overs are placed at the points where there is frequent shifting of cars from one track to another. The slip switches, shown at A' and B' in detail A, combine economy of space with great flexibility and greatly simplify the work of shifting cars and making up trains.


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