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A headshunt (or escape track in the United States) is a short length of track provided to release locomotives at terminal platforms, or to allow shunting to take place clear of main lines.
A 'terminal headshunt' is a short length of track that allows a locomotive to uncouple from its train, move forward, and then run back past it on a parallel track. Such headshunts are typically installed at a terminal station to allow the locomotive of an arriving train to move to the opposite end of (in railway parlance, 'run around') its train so that it can then haul the same train out of the station in the other direction (assuming, of course, that it is a locomotive equipped to run in either direction; for locomotives that only operate in one direction, a wye or turntable needs to be provided to physically turn the engine around, as well as a run-around track).
Found primarily on metro systems, rapid transit light rail networks, and tramways, a 'reversing headshunt' allows certain trains or trams to change direction, even on lines with high traffic flow, whilst others continue through the station.
The term headshunt may also refer to shunting neck or 'shunt spur': a short length of track laid parallel to the main line to allow a train to shunt back into a siding or rail yard without occupying the main running-line.[ citation needed ]
A run round loop (or run-around loop) is a track arrangement that enables a locomotive to attach to the opposite end of the train. It is commonly used to haul wagons onto a siding, or at a terminal station to prepare for a return journey. [1] This process is known as "running round a train". [2]
Although a common procedure for passenger trains when the majority of them were locomotive-hauled, the maneuver is now becoming rarer on public service railways.[ citation needed ] Increased use of multiple unit and push-pull passenger services avoids the requirement for dedicated track and the need for railway staff to detach and reattach the locomotive at track level.[ citation needed ] However, on heritage railways run-round loops are still usually more or less necessary at each end of the running line, partly because train services are usually locomotive-hauled, and partly because the run-round operation gives added interest to visitors. This practice is still very common on Intercity services in Victoria, Australia.
Runaround tracks are used in freight rail service in order to back cars into spurs or to change directions to keep the locomotive at the front of the train for transport. In this case the runaround track must be as long as the longest set of cars that would be pulled. The locomotive leaves the cars on the runaround track or the main line, goes around, and hooks up to the other end of the train. It can then reverse the cars into a spur.
Stations which used to have run-rounds include:
Stations which still have run-rounds include:
If a terminal station does not have a run-round loop trains are restricted to multiple units or Top and Tail trains.[ citation needed ]
North Weald railway station is on the Epping Ongar Railway, a heritage railway, located in North Weald, Essex.
In railroad structures, and rail terminology, a wye or triangular junction is a triangular joining arrangement of three rail lines with a railroad switch at each corner connecting to each incoming line. A turning wye is a specific case.
Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. The station serves as the northern terminus of the East Coast Main Line, 393 miles 13 chains from London King's Cross, although some trains operated by London North Eastern Railway continue to other Scottish destinations beyond Edinburgh.
The Battlefield Line Railway is a heritage railway in Leicestershire, England. It runs from Shackerstone to Shenton, via Market Bosworth, which is a total of 5 miles (8.0 km). Shenton is near Bosworth Field; this is the location of the final battle of the Wars of the Roses, immortalised in Shakespeare's Richard III, giving the railway its name.
Birmingham Moor Street, also known as Moor Street station, is one of three main railway stations in the city centre of Birmingham, England, along with Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Snow Hill.
Preston railway station in Preston, Lancashire, England, is an interchange railway station on the West Coast Main Line, half-way between London Euston and Glasgow Central. It is served by Avanti West Coast, Northern Trains and TransPennine Express services, plus Caledonian Sleeper overnight services between London and Scotland. It is also served by the Calder Valley line to Leeds and York, and by branch lines to Blackpool, Ormskirk, and Colne.
Dunbar railway station serves the town of Dunbar in East Lothian, Scotland. It is located on the East Coast Main Line and is a two platform station. It is 29 miles 5 chains (46.8 km) from Edinburgh Waverley and 364.092 miles (585.950 km) from London King's Cross.
The Belmont railway line is an abandoned coal haulage and passenger rail line from Adamstown, New South Wales to Belmont, New South Wales. This was a private railway, being the property of the New Redhead Estate and Coal Company and was generally known as the Belmont Branch. The line closed in December 1991. It has since been converted into a cycleway or rail trail - The Fernleigh Track.
Slateford railway station is a railway station serving Slateford in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on the Shotts Line from Glasgow Central to Edinburgh Waverley via Shotts. The station has two platforms, connected by a stairway footbridge, and CCTV. It is managed by ScotRail.
Loch Awe railway station is a railway station serving the village of Lochawe, on the northern bank of Loch Awe, in western Scotland. This station is on the Oban branch of the West Highland Line, originally part of the Callander and Oban Railway. It is sited 49 miles 48 chains (79.8 km) from Callander via Glen Ogle, between Dalmally and Falls of Cruachan. ScotRail manage the station and operate all services.
Burntisland railway station is a railway station in the town of Burntisland, Fife, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Fife Circle Line.
The Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line is a main railway route which connects the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, by means of their respective sections of the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
Kilkenny railway station, serves the city of Kilkenny in County Kilkenny.
Killarney railway station is a station on the Mallow to Tralee line serving the town of Killarney in County Kerry.
Barnoldswick railway station was the only railway station on the Midland Railway's 1-mile-64-chain (2.9 km) long Barnoldswick Branch in the West Riding of Yorkshire in England. It served the market town of Barnoldswick, which was in West Riding of Yorkshire at the time. The line left the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway at Barnoldswick Junction 55 chains from Earby railway station. The line through the junction was on a 20-chain radius after which it converged to a single track and ran in a straight but undulating line to Barnoldswick. The passenger train that ran back and forth between Barnoldswick and Earby was known locally as the 'Barlick Spud' or 'Spudroaster'. The real reason for the name is lost in time, but the two versions that were commonly recited are that the original branch locomotive was so small it looked like a portable potato roaster used by a local vendor or that the journey time was the same as that taken to roast a potato in the locomotive's firebox.
Wroxham railway station is located near the villages of Wroxham and Hoveton in Norfolk, and is the southern terminus of the Bure Valley Railway, a minimum gauge operation which reuses some of the trackbed of a former standard gauge branch line. The station is close to Hoveton & Wroxham railway station on the standard gauge National Rail network, and the two are connected by a footpath.
The Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway was a railway company formed in 1836 to connect the city of Edinburgh with the harbours on the Firth of Forth. When the line connected to Granton, the company name was changed to the Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Railway. It opened part of its route in 1846, but reaching the centre of Edinburgh involved the difficult construction of a long tunnel; this was opened in 1847. It was on a steep incline and was worked by rope haulage.
The Old Kiln Light Railway is a 2 ft narrow gauge railway at the Rural Life Living Museum in Tilford, near Farnham, Surrey. It has a collection of historic locomotives and rolling stock including two steam locomotives. It operates on most weekends in the summer and occasionally certain midweek days during school half term.
Manuel Junction is a railway junction near the village of Whitecross, Falkirk, Scotland. It is the terminus of the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway and forms a connection between it and the Glasgow–Edinburgh via Falkirk line.
Pant railway station is the southern terminus of the Brecon Mountain Railway, a heritage line on the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales.
