Bailey Yard

Last updated
Bailey Yard
Railway classification (hump yard) and repair facilities
Bailey Yard at night.JPG
Bailey Yard illuminated at night
General information
Location North Platte, Nebraska
US
Coordinates 41°09′N100°50′W / 41.15°N 100.83°W / 41.15; -100.83
Owned by Union Pacific
Construction
Structure typeat-grade
History
Opened1866;158 years ago (1866)
Location
Bailey Yard

Bailey Yard is the world's largest railroad classification yard. Employees sort, service and repair locomotives and cars headed all across North America. Owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad (UP), Bailey Yard is located in North Platte, Nebraska. The yard is named after former Union Pacific president Edd H. Bailey.

Contents

Facilities

Bailey Yard is halfway between Denver and Omaha. [1] It covers a total expanse of 2,850 acres (4.45 sq mi; 11.5 km2) and is over 8 miles (13 km) in length and 2 miles (3.2 km) wide at its widest point; the facility is about 1,000 yards (910 m) wide on average. The entire facility is large enough to hold 2,155 American football fields (including the end zones). Bailey Yard has 200 separate tracks totaling 315 miles (507 km) of track, 985 switches, 766 turnouts, [2] and 17 receiving and 16 departure tracks. [3] Union Pacific employs more than 2,600 people in North Platte, [1] most of whom are responsible for the day-to-day operations of Bailey Yard.

An average of 139 trains and over 14,000 railroad cars pass through Bailey Yard every day. The yard sorts approximately 3,000 cars daily using the yard's two humps. The eastbound hump is a 34 foot (10 m) tall mound, and the westbound hump is 20 feet (6.1 m) high. These are used to sort four cars per minute into one of the 114 "bowl" tracks -- 49 tracks for the westbound trains, and 65 for eastbound. [1] The bowl tracks are used to form trains headed for destinations across North America, including the East, West and Gulf coasts of the United States, and Canadian and Mexican borders. [4] [5]

The yard also includes 3 locomotive fueling and servicing centers called eastbound run thru, westbound run thru, and a service track that handles more than 8,500 locomotives per month, a locomotive repair shop that can repair 750 locomotives monthly, [2] and a car repair facility that can handle nearly 50 cars daily. The car repair shop replaces 10,000 wheel-sets each year. The yard features an in-motion wheel defect detector developed by Union Pacific that uses ultrasound technology to inspect each wheel. It is the only such detector in the world. [6] UP has also developed a method for changing wheels in the field on empty westbound coal trains, which enables four workers to use a hydraulic jack under the couplers between two cars and exchange the trucks. [2] This has reduced the time needed to replace trucks from up to 12 days to 8–12 minutes. [2]

Locomotives can be serviced in a NASCAR-like pit stop facility called a Run-Thru staffed by five different crafts—an electrician, machinist, fireman, oiler, and car inspector. [2] Locomotives are serviced in 45 minutes without detaching them from their trains. The cars go through the car department to get fixed, while the diesel locomotives go to the diesel shop. [7]

Because of the enormous amount of products that pass through Bailey Yard, Union Pacific describes the yard as an “economic barometer of America.” [1]

History

North Platte was first platted as a railroad town by chief engineer Grenville Dodge. He chose the location because of the availability of good water nearby, and its distance from Grand Island, Nebraska. The town, first known as "Hell on Wheels", received its first train in 1866. Dodge then constructed major shop facilities and winter quarters for its crews. In 1867 it began conducting main line operations through the town. [8] The early yard was a flat-switched yard with 20 tracks. [9]

Buffalo Bill located Scouts Rest Ranch at North Platte because it allowed him to move his Wild West Show by train or by wagon across the United States relatively quickly. From 1941 to 1946, the North Platte Canteen served baked goods and refreshments to more than six million service members during a 10-minute stop as they were convoyed across the United States. [10] After 105 years, passenger service was discontinued in 1971. [8]

North Platte became a division point for UP, where trains are sorted, railroad crews are exchanged, and maintenance or repairs are performed on equipment. [9] Bailey Yard was updated after World War II in 1948 as a hump yard with 42 tracks. Another hump yard with 64 tracks was added in 1968, followed by a diesel locomotive shop in 1971, and a railroad car shop in 1974. In 1980, the 1948 hump yard was replaced with a new 50-track yard. [9]

In 1995, as a result of its massive size, the yard was recognized in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest rail yard in the world. [9] It was featured on the "Freight Trains" episode of Modern Marvels on The History Channel. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Pacific Railroad</span> Class I freight railroad in the United States

The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over 32,200 miles (51,800 km) routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, with which it shares a duopoly on transcontinental freight rail lines in the Western, Midwestern and West South Central United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BNSF Railway</span> American freight railroad

BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, 33,400 miles (53,800 km) of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide rail connections between the western and eastern United States. BNSF trains traveled over 169 million miles in 2010, more than any other North American railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Classification yard</span> Rail yard used for sorting and assembling rail cars into trains

A classification yard, marshalling yard or shunting yard is a railway yard found at some freight train stations, used to separate railway cars onto one of several tracks. First the cars are taken to a track, sometimes called a lead or a drill. From there the cars are sent through a series of switches called a ladder onto the classification tracks. Larger yards tend to put the lead on an artificially built hill called a hump to use the force of gravity to propel the cars through the ladder.

The Pennsylvania Railroad, legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia. It was named for the commonwealth in which it was established. At its peak in 1882, the Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest railroad, the largest transportation enterprise, and the largest corporation in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Pacific Big Boy</span> Type of American simple articulated 4-8-8-4 locomotive

The Union Pacific Big Boy is a type of simple articulated 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive manufactured by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) between 1941 and 1944 and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad in revenue service until 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad</span> Former railroad in the Midwestern United States

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and also in Texas through subsidiaries Colorado and Southern Railway, Fort Worth and Denver Railway, and Burlington-Rock Island Railroad. Its primary connections included Chicago, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver. Because of this extensive trackage in the midwest and mountain states, the railroad used the advertising slogans "Everywhere West", "Way of the Zephyrs", and "The Way West".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway</span> Former railroad company in the United States

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States.

<i>City of Los Angeles</i> (train)

The City of Los Angeles was a streamlined passenger train between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California via Omaha, Nebraska, and Ogden, Utah. Between Omaha and Los Angeles it ran on the Union Pacific Railroad; east of Omaha it ran on the Chicago and North Western Railway until October 1955 and on the Milwaukee Road thereafter. The train had number 103 westbound and number 104 eastbound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Trunk Western Railroad</span> American railroad

The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company was an American subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, later of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holding company, the Grand Trunk Corporation. Grand Trunk Western's routes are part of CN's Michigan Division. Its primary mainline between Chicago and Port Huron, Michigan serves as a connection between railroad interchanges in Chicago and rail lines in eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States. The railroad's extensive trackage in Detroit and across southern Michigan has made it an essential link for the automotive industry as a hauler of parts and automobiles from manufacturing plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail yard</span> Enclosed area designated for railways

A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or unused locomotives stored off the main line, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic. Cars or wagons are moved around by specially designed yard switcher locomotives (US) or shunter locomotives (UK), a type of locomotive. Cars or wagons in a yard may be sorted by numerous categories, including railway company, loaded or unloaded, destination, car type, or whether they need repairs. Yards are normally built where there is a need to store rail vehicles while they are not being loaded or unloaded, or are waiting to be assembled into trains. Large yards may have a tower to control operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belt Railway of Chicago</span> Largest terminal railroad in the United States

The Belt Railway Company of Chicago, headquartered in Bedford Park, Illinois, is the largest switching terminal railroad in the United States. It is co-owned by six Class I railroads — BNSF, Canadian National, CPKC, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific — each of which uses the switching and interchange facilities of the BRC. Owner lines and other railroads bring their trains to the Belt Railway to be separated, classified, and re-blocked into new trains for departure. The BRC also provides rail terminal services to approximately 100 local manufacturing industries. The company employs about 440 people, including its own police force.

The South Simcoe Railway is a steam heritage railway in Tottenham, Ontario, north of Toronto. Operating excursions since 1992, it is the oldest operating steam heritage railway in Ontario and features the second oldest operating steam locomotive in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Pacific 6936</span> Preserved diesel-electric locomotive

Union Pacific 6936 is an EMD DDA40X locomotive built for the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). Previously a part of UP's heritage fleet, 6936 was for several decades the last remaining operational "Centennial" type, and thus the largest operational diesel-electric locomotive in the world. It is now owned by the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America in Silvis, Illinois, who plans to return the locomotive to operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Northern Railroad</span> Class III line up the western Sacramento Valley

The California Northern Railroad is one of several Class III short-line railroad companies owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. It operates over Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) tracks under a long-term lease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CPKC Alyth Yard</span>

CPKC Alyth (Calgary) Yard is a 168-acre (0.68 km2) Class 1 railway facility in the neighbourhood of Alyth, southeast of downtown Calgary, Alberta. One of Canadian Pacific Kansas City's main marshalling yards in Canada, it primarily serves as a rail car repair shop and diesel locomotive servicing facilities on site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Railway Spencer Shops</span> United States historic place

The Southern Railway Spencer Shops are a former locomotive repair facility in Spencer, North Carolina. The shops were one of the Southern Railway's primary maintenance facilities. The shops were built in the 1890s and named after Southern Railway president Samuel Spencer. Following dieselization, the need for the Spencer Shops diminished, and the facilities were decommissioned in the 1970s. The Spencer Shops and associated land were donated by the Southern Railway to the state of North Carolina, which established the North Carolina Transportation Museum on the site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enola Yard</span>

Enola Yard is a large rail yard located in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, along the western shore of the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The Union Pacific heritage fleet includes commemorative and historic equipment owned by the Union Pacific Railroad. The fleet currently consists of two historic steam locomotives, three historic diesel locomotives, seventeen modern diesel locomotives in historic or commemorative paint schemes and nearly four dozen passenger cars used on office car specials and excursion trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cedar Hill Yard</span> Railway yard in New Haven, Connecticut, US

Cedar Hill Yard is a classification yard located in New Haven, North Haven and Hamden, Connecticut, United States. It was built by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in the early 1890s in and around New Haven's Cedar Hill neighborhood, which gave the yard its name. Electrical catenary for electric locomotives was added to the yard in 1915. To handle increasing traffic as a result of World War I, the yard was greatly expanded between 1917 and 1920 with additional construction along both sides of the Quinnipiac River. The construction project added two humps where railroad cars were sorted into trains by gravity. The yard was further modernized in the 1920s, becoming one of the busiest railroad yards in the United States, and the most important yard in the entire New Haven Railroad system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northup Avenue Yard</span> Rail yard in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.

Northup Avenue Yard is a rail yard located in Providence and Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in the United States. The location has been the site of a rail yard since at least 1899. It was significantly expanded by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad between 1918 and 1921 and made into a hump yard. The hump was removed around 1970, after Penn Central Transportation Company took over the New Haven in 1969. Under Penn Central, the yard was downsized and the hump removed. Conrail superseded Penn Central in 1976 and sold off the yard to the Providence and Worcester Railroad in 1982.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Humping cars in Union Pacific's Bailey Yard". Trains Magazine. May 21, 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Dwelling on the positive at UP's Bailey Yard". Progressive Railroading. May 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  3. ↑ "Facts about Bailey Yard". goldenspiketower.com. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Facts and Figures about Bailey Yard". goldenspiketower.com. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  5. ↑ "About Bailey Yard". visitnorthplatte.com. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  6. ↑ "About Bailey Yard: On-Site Car Repair". goldenspiketower.com. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Freight Trains" (video). Modern Marvels. 2006.
  8. 1 2 "The Work of Giants". Golden Spike Tower. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Van Hattem, Matt (2010-05-21). "North Platte: The rise of a railroad town". Trains.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. ↑ "Union Pacific: Overview of Bailey Yard". up.com. Retrieved January 12, 2024.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.