A siding , in rail terminology , is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line , branch line, or spur . It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighter rails, meant for lower speed or less heavy traffic, and few, if any, signals. Sidings connected at both ends to a running line are commonly known as loops ; those not so connected may be referred to as single-ended or dead-end sidings , or (if short) stubs .
30-653: The APM Siding was a 1.125-kilometre (0.7 mi) long private railway siding in the suburb of Alphington , Melbourne , Australia , that served the Australian Paper Manufacturers paper mill (later becoming the Amcor Fibre Packaging , before being closed in 2012). The siding branched from Fairfield station , on the Hurstbridge line , and ran south-east, passing through the intersection of Chandler Highway , Grange and Heidelberg Roads, and entering
60-519: A banker ), banking engine , helper engine or pusher engine (North America) is a railway locomotive that temporarily assists a train that requires additional power or traction to climb a gradient (or bank ). Helpers/bankers are most commonly found in mountain divisions (called "helper districts" in the United States), where the ruling grade may demand the use of substantially greater motive power than that required for other grades within
90-410: A locomotive from one end of a train to the other. They are important for efficiency on single track lines, and add to the capacity of other lines. A private siding does not belong to a railway, but to a factory, government department, etc. connected to it. Some larger private sidings have their own locomotive belonging to the owner of the siding. In Australia private sidings must be registered with
120-466: A maximum grade of 28 ‰ (which is common, e.g. , for lines through the Alps ), the limit is a train weight of 1400 tons; if a train is heavier, bank engines have to be added in the middle or to the end of the train in order not to exceed the maximum load for any coupler. Adding locomotives in the middle of the train has the distinct advantage of applying the helper power to only part of the train, thus limiting
150-483: A result they could not push at full power for very far before steam pressure dropped. If it could push enough to get the train to the top of the grade, then it could build up pressure while coasting back down and while waiting for the next train to come along. This practice was common in Europe. Since it was not possible to remotely control a steam locomotive , each helper had to have a full crew on board. Careful coordination
180-425: A team track on railroad-owned property adjacent to the railroad agent's train station . As rail traffic became more established, large-volume shippers extended privately owned spur tracks into mines , factories , and warehouses . Small-volume shippers and shippers with facilities distant from the rail line continued using team tracks into the early part of the 20th century. Throughout the mid to latter portion of
210-428: Is the passing siding (U.S. and international ) or passing loop (U.K.). This is a section of track parallel to a through line and connected to it at both ends by switches (U.S.) (points in international usage). Passing sidings allow trains travelling in opposite directions to pass, and for fast, high priority trains to pass slower or lower priority trains going the same direction. Passing sidings are also used to switch
240-489: The Gippsland line to Traralgon , with the overhead on the siding removed by June 1988, except for a short section, long enough for a six-car suburban train at the junction. In April 1994, V/Line announced that the mill would no longer have a need for siding, with it being booked out soon after. Contributing factors included the demise of coal traffic, and changes at the paper mill, meaning pulp would need to be double handled in
270-738: The 20th century, improved highway systems and abandonment of low-volume rail lines made full-distance truck shipments more practical in North America and avoided delays and damage associated with freight handling during transfer operations. However, as a result of higher fuel costs, greater traffic jams on Interstate Highways, and the growing movement towards sustainable development, there has been recent upward trend towards moving long-distance freight traffic off highways and onto rail lines. This has resulted in local communities and rail lines seeking construction of new team track and intermodal facilities. Some railroads publish detailed specifications for
300-410: The alignment of the former Outer Circle railway, and slewed east into the mill itself. Once inside the factory, the siding spread into three branches: the east was used to unload paper pulp, the centre siding for unloading of coal wagons, and the western one being the longest running, almost to the mill's southern fence. Electrification of the siding was provided in the 1950s, at the same time as that on
330-484: The design and construction of many elements of team tracks. For example, the Union Pacific Railroad has standards and guidelines for many aspects of spur track construction including track layout, clearance standards and turnout and switch stand designs. Generally, team tracks do not have road or pedestrian crossings across them. Bank engine A bank engine (United Kingdom/Australia) (colloquially
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#1733084572435360-595: The division. Helpers/bankers were most widely used during the age of steam , especially in the American West , where significant grades are common and trains are long. The development of diesel-electric or electric locomotives has eliminated the everyday need for bankers/helpers in all but a few locations. With the advent of dynamic brakes on electric or diesel-electric locomotives, helpers/bankers can also be used to provide more braking force on long downhill gradients. Bankers or helpers were historically positioned at
390-454: The end of the steam era. Special heavily constructed cabooses were sometimes used in helper areas. Ordinary cabooses were built as lightly as practical and might be crushed by the helper/pusher's force, which could be as much as 90 tons. The heavy cabooses allowed crews to avoid the time-consuming procedure of splitting the train just ahead of the caboose. Pushers/helpers were commonly designed to provide extreme power for very short runs; as
420-571: The end of the train, but in front of the caboose . This was done for the safety of the train crew riding inside the caboose. To be able to add and remove helper locomotives quickly, which is especially important in Europe due to the high traffic density , they are usually added to the end of the train. Normally, they are coupled and the air hoses are connected, which is necessary for the air brake to work correctly e.g. , in emergency situations, but in special cases trains are banked with uncoupled locomotives, which can be added or removed "in-flight." In
450-478: The factory itself. The rail was removed in 2003–2004, and ended up at the Yarra Valley Tourist Railway , with all overhead wiring on the siding gone by this time. A dwarf signal and overhead wiring stanchions remain in the paper mill grounds themselves. The paper mill was closed in 2012. Until the boilers at the paper mill were converted to gas firing, 400 tonnes (440 short tons ) of coal per day
480-518: The factory. The line past the factory was opened on 24 March 1891, as the Outer Circle line , but the paper mill itself did not exist at this time. This section of the line was closed on 12 April 1893. It was not until 29 July 1919, that the line from Fairfield was reopened to the paper mill, and new sidings opened to serve it. From the Heidelberg Road – Chandler Highway intersection, the track left
510-451: The helper(s) and the train being helped. If radio operation is not possible, electrical control might be used, by way of cables running the length of the train (especially in case of passenger trains). Alternatively, radio communication with the lead engine's driver facilitates manual operation, which is still the norm for bank engines at the end of freight trains in Europe. In the UK, an engine that
540-456: The maximum drawbar pull applied to the first car of the train to a safe level. The narrow gauge portions of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad , in particular, used "swing helpers", which meant the helper locomotives were placed mid-train at a point where they were pushing and pulling an approximately equal amount of tonnage, said location being referred to as the train's "swing point". This
570-430: The rear of the train, in which case they also protected against wagons or coaches breaking away from the train and running back downhill. Also, in a pusher role, it was possible for the helper/banker to easily separate once the train had crested the grade . Once separated, the banker would return to a siding or stub so as to clear the mainline and get ready for the next train. A common practice with knuckle couplers
600-442: The safety regulator. A refuge siding is a single-ended (or dead-end) siding with a similar purpose to passing loop in that it temporarily holds a train while another one passes. A team track is a small siding or spur track intended for the use of area merchants , manufacturers , farmers and other small businesses to personally load and unload products and merchandise, usually in smaller quantities. The term "team" refers to
630-700: The siding, with VOBX or VFNX wagons loaded with white paper in cubed form entering the siding and empty wagons out. Railway siding Sidings may be used for marshalling (classifying), stabling , storing, loading, and unloading rail vehicles. Common sidings store stationary rolling stock , especially for loading and unloading. Industrial sidings (also known as spurs ) go to factories , mines , quarries , wharves , warehouses , some of them are essentially links to industrial railways . Such sidings can sometimes be found at stations for public use; in American usage these are referred to as team tracks (after
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#1733084572435660-425: The teams of horses or oxen delivering wagon-loads of freight transferred to or from railway cars. Team tracks may be owned by the railroad company or by customers served by the railroad, or by industrial parks or freight terminals that encompass many customers. In some jurisdictions, the operation and construction of team tracks is regulated by legal authorities. Earliest rail service to an area often provided
690-461: The train would experience a violent run-in (an abrupt bunching of train slack), resulting in the derailment of part or all of the train. The town of Helper, Utah , was named after these engines. It was where helper engines were kept to assist on the climb to Soldier Summit . Nowadays helpers/bankers are often controlled by coded radio signals from the locomotive at the head end of the train, allowing one engineer (driver) to simultaneously control
720-565: The use of teams of horses to pull wagons to and from them). Sidings may also hold maintenance of way equipment or other equipment, allowing trains to pass, or store helper engines between runs. Some sidings have very occasional use, having been built, for example, to service an industry, a railway yard or a stub of a disused railway that has since closed. It is not uncommon for an infrequently-used siding to fall into disrepair. Even if officially abandoned such sidings may be left derelict rather than lifted and removed. A particular form of siding
750-432: Was also done to balance out the "slack" in the train between the locomotives, the swing helpers, and the end train helpers just in front of the caboose. However, this arrangement requires splitting the train in order to add or remove the helper engine(s), which can be a time-consuming maneuver. However, on some American railroads it was necessary to an extent, because operating rules required end of train helpers to be added at
780-406: Was required between engine crews to assure that all locomotives were operated in a consistent manner. Standard whistle signals were employed to tell the helper crew when to apply power, drift or brake . A misunderstanding of signals by a pusher locomotive crew could result in a major wreck if the lead locomotive applied brakes while the bank engine was still applying power. The usual result was that
810-412: Was temporarily attached to the front of a train to assist with the ascent of an incline was called a pilot locomotive . This differentiated it from the train engine(s) that powered the train to its destination. A train with one or more locomotives attached to the front may be described as a " double header ", "triple header", etc., depending on the number of helpers/bankers even when this lash-up of power
840-464: Was to remove the knuckle from the front coupler . The locomotive would be brought up behind the last car of the train while the train was moving slowly. The air brake hose would not be coupled. When the train no longer required assistance, the helper/pusher would slow, then reverse and coast back down the grade to its siding at the bottom of the grade. This practice was outlawed in North America after
870-491: Was transferred in two trains per day, from the company owned Maddingley brown coal mine , on the outskirts of Bacchus Marsh . Wagons were unloaded by hand, until a wagon tippler was provided in 1951. Paper pulp was also transferred from the company Maryvale mill (near Traralgon ), first by steam locomotives , then after electrification of the Gippsland line , by E and L class electric locomotives, along with B and T class diesels. In later years, T and P classes worked
900-400: Was used for the entire run. These terms gradually fell out of general usage as diesel locomotives replaced steam power , and are not used for the common assemblage of several power units. In countries where buffers-and-chain couplers are used, bank engines often cannot be added to the front of the train due to the limited strength of the couplers; In the case of standard UIC couplers and
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