How fluid is your yard? Achieving maximum yard throughout that also increases capacity on main lines is a delicate balancing act, a blend of operations strategy and technology.

From: Railway Age | Date: August 1, 2005| Author: | Copyright information

Pity the poor classification yard. When it functions well, nobody even notices it. But when traffic bogs down, it catches hell. How many times has it been said the only good yard is a dead one?

As railroad system capacity, fluidity, and velocity are becoming better understood, it's become obvious that class yards aren't going away. They are, in fact, even more vital components of the whole process of precision railroading than many professionals believed.

"A traditional view is that yards are only places that add cost and delay cars," says Dr. Edwin "Chip" Kraft, director ...

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