Eastern Railroad Discussion > Allentown hump

I heard from a reliable source that NS closed the Allentown Pa. hump today at 19:00. PSR ? ---   Ken 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/19 19:53 by Kemacprr.

They were still humping cars at about 20:00. I heard the 15th.

Posted from Android

7 PM tonight was either the end or the last shift and then the end of humping @ Allentown.

Andrew Pine
,

Humping through tonight and perhaps tomorrow morning if needed. Second shift tomorrow is the first shift to definitely not hump cars. Why do I get the feeling I should take a vacation day tomorrow....

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/19 18:55 by OHRY.

So much for that theory!

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Are they going to flat Switching?
 

Yup, we're going to give it a shot.

Posted from Android

A bicycling trip along the portion of the D&L trail that parellels Allentown Yard gave me this welcome suprise as I crossed the tracks!  Glad I caught these when I did.  

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Kemacprr Wrote:
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> I heard from a reliable source that NS closed the
> Allentown Pa. hump today at 19:00. PSR ? --- 
>  Ken 

They should have closed it 15 years ago and made Enola twice the size it is.

abyler Wrote:
> They should have closed it 15 years ago and made
> Enola twice the size it is.

LOL!!! Now that’s a hysterical idea!!!! Why? So they could put a second gravity Hump in so they can classify 80 cars per shift compared to 40 with the one NS spent MILLIONS to construct only to spend MILLIONS more to redesign and put the retarders back in!! LOL!!!!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/19 06:44 by Short-Hood-Lead.

LOL!!!!!!! You have to love the stupidity of investors who choose to buy NS stock and find out that it’s printed on Two Ply Quilted Northern after they made Conrail shareholders millionaires!!!!!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/19 10:56 by Short-Hood-Lead.

Short-Hood-Lead Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> abyler Wrote:
> > They should have closed it 15 years ago and
> made
> > Enola twice the size it is.
>
> LOL!!! Now that’s a hysterical idea!!!! Why? So
> they could put a second gravity Hump in so they
> can classify 80 cars per shift compared to 40 with
> the one NS spent MILLIONS to construct only to
> spend MILLIONS more to redesign and put the
> retarders back in!! LOL!!!!

Not put in a second hump, but made the single hump there a major yard with 40-45 tracks.  The EB hump should have been ripped up to make a receiving/departure yard long enough for modern 2 mile trains.  Enola is at a natural hub location in the network where huge numbers of trains want to pass through and be sorted out.  Allentown isn't.  And the traffic in the east naturally flows into and out of Enola to all destinations.

Enola is a mistake in every way. The log jam starts at 111L and that’s not far from the Pittsburgh Line. One small train takes a while to clear the main. A two mile long train will shut the railroad down for quite some time! Trains back up for miles waiting their turn. Some have to be recrewed because the crews run out of time waiting.
Put tracks back in? Many have been killed riding cars because the tracks are so close. Conductors are instructed to ascertain if the adjacent track is clear from the Yard Master before riding a shove, then the conductor finds out if the YM was correct or a crew put a cut of cars on the wrong track on another train is running down the wrong track. Trust me, I’m not making this up. These things happen at Enola so putting more tracks in will only put employees lives at risk.
The Enola hump only classifies about 250-300 cars a day (Allentown can classify 500 PER SHIFT!). Not putting a second Hump means flat switching. Flat switching requires a train to take head room occupying switching leads tying up the yard. Flat switching is very stressful to coupler knuckles leading to stress fractures and cracking. Eventually the knuckles fail and break which stops the train causing delays for all trains in the area.
Adding track is only a small fix and the yard would be a log jam again quickly with the first 200 car train to show up and shut everything down. That is if it makes it there. Recently, with two trains stringlined on Horseshoe Curve, it’s only a matter of time until the next one, this time arriving or departing Enola. Where? Between CP Hip and CP Mary or between CP Paxton and CP Front Street.
Conrail shut Enola down for a reason. Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.