One of the Busiest: Norfolk Southern's DeButts Yard in Action

[@locoman44.86]

The amount of freight moved by rail is just staggering.love video's about rail yards,soooo many locomotives in one place.thanks for posting another excellent video.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you very much. I'm glad to hear you enjoy the videos.

[@fgtw96way]

wow what a big yard that was wonderful to see you can't see this action on the ground now these days

[@nkyrailfan]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

[@pm8934]

I bet many didn’t notice, but that railroader at 9:25 on the ground is operating the locomotive with a remote control transmitter attached to his chest. One of the more interesting things about the railroad I’ve enjoyed since joining.

[@pm8934]

Please look out for remote control operations in the future at yards!!

[@albertvieira6635]

❤ I would love to see more humping yards it's very very interesting and I enjoy watching it keep up the good work double thumbs up😊😊

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you. I'm glad to hear you enjoy the videos. I have playlist of railyard videos if you want to check that out. I have a few more yards I plan on visiting in the coming months.

[@AGSGuy]

So happy to see Chattanooga being posted since I'm close to it. Thank you for uploading!

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you very much. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I had a lot of fun recording DeButts. It was one of the busiest yards I've been to.

[@kamala2111]

Excellent video enjoy all your vids. Love the hump yard ones so interesting.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you very much. I do appreciate it.

[@lnrailroad3215]

I've been subscribed since the beginning. You have one of the best channels on KZbin!!

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you so much! I really do appreciate it.

[@G3Dream]

Humpty Dumpy sat in the tower, Working his radio and feeling the power, When all the NS horses and all the NS cars came rolling down the tracks, Humpty Dumpty opened some switches and built some trains that CSX lacks. Nice work @NKY Railfan!

[@nkyrailfan]

😂😂😂

[@Vaitamanu]

I watched on old documentary movie about a French yard operating with a hump like this one, before complete computerization. Iron marbles, in the same number than the cars passing the hump, were going down a series of electrical contactors, following a pre-arranged pattern, closing some of them such commanding the switches on the railway, so the cars were sorted in accordance. Fascinating...

[@nkyrailfan]

That's really interesting. Let me know if you remember the name of the documentary. That seems like a worthwhile watch.

[@Vaitamanu]

@@nkyrailfan The name is this one: LES TRAINS, LES GRANDES GARES DE TRIAGE FERROVIAIRE, L’ART DU TIR AU BUT UN SPECTACLE FASCINANT You can see the marbles from 7min14s to 9min12s.

[@Vaitamanu]

In fact, after listening again (I'm French), the marble is just going down a tube corresponding to the number of the track the car must reach. The marble command a switch on the railway, then is stopped until the car passes through a photoelectic cell, which authorize the marbles to continue its descent in the tube, activating the next switch on the railtrack (provided the switch was not already in the good position). So the marbles don't follow physically a pattern looking like the cars pattern on the rails, there are just as many vertical tubes than the number of possible final tracks, and they are just going down their tubes.

[@Vaitamanu]

There is another movie, older one (the first one is not recent either!) : Les gares de triage modernes (1949) You can see the marbles better, but the explanation is difficult to follow after that, even for a French... It's funny to imagine photoelectric cells and steam locomotive operating at the same time. This documentary states that French railways are proud to have been the first to provide modern marshalling(?) (perhaps even before the war), but nowadays, French freight transport by rail is a shadow of its former self... Hope you are able to watch this documentaries.

[@nkyrailfan]

@Vaitamanu thank you very much. I plan to check these recommendations out this weekend.

[@mik3r0wave]

Yay! congrats on 20,000 subs! Keep up the great work.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you very much.

[@pixamite1]

Cool to see this. I spent my first 3 1/2 years in the yard there before finally getting out on the mainline where I always wanted to be.

[@nkyrailfan]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully, you're enjoying the main line action.

[@KTnc-f4z]

Excellent- thanks for uploading this

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@AdamPierce-nw3hj]

Hi there I'm new here and I love trains I listen to the radio scanner a lot I love all kinds of locomotive but my most favorite engine is BNSF I'm a huge fan of trains

[@workinghardusa]

Great video, well done!

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@januschreichel7510]

Excellent Video,thumbs up 👌👍 Greetings from Germany🌝🙋‍♂

[@nkyrailfan]

Greetings from the United States 🙋‍♂️ Thank you very much, I am glad you enjoyed the video.

[@jordonfreeman166]

I’m listening to the radio chatter and I hear some Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum chatter coming from the crews of Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia (TAG) GP38 #80 and Southern 2-8-0 #630.

[@thetriplem2661]

Having lived outside of Attalla (Gadsden) Alabama for about 2 years, I was very familiar with the NS line Northeast from Norris yard towards Chattanooga, but hadn't realized DeButts was at the other end, & the larger yard. The sleepy single track line from Norris yard to Chattanooga was very quiet most of the time, so I never thought NS had such an even larger yard at the other end.

[@nkyrailfan]

That's interesting it isn't that busy of line between the two yards. I would've assumed it was very busy. Maybe they route a significant amount of traffic through Atlanta or something. It doesn't make sense but a lot of the things I see railroads do don't make sense to me.

[@thetriplem2661]

@@nkyrailfan yep... NS lines through B'ham are very inefficient & winding through the hills, with many bottlenecks. Wouldn't be surprised if most traffic is through Atlanta, & Birmingham is used mostly as a terminal yard for local industry & shortlines.

[@nkyrailfan]

@thetriplem2661 I didn't know it was so hilly in that area. We had a similar line in my area that was closed because NS didn't think it was worth the maintenance to keep it open.

[@dallaswashington481]

​@nkyrailfan a lot of time railroads take the traffic off due to lack of maintenance. They slowly reduce the track speed until its not even worth running on it. Running 15/20 mph start to lose value even it's a 80 mile run.

[@thetriplem2661]

@@dallaswashington481 well this line is still rated for 30, 40, 50 mph freights. The customers however, are few & sparse, making this an expensive feeder line to Birmingham customers. Maintenance usually dwindles on lines you speak of, as customers leave, until the state or region provides an economic incentive to upgrade portions of a deteriorating line. Bottom line is, there's little business sense in spending money on maintaining a line that doesn't provide much income or originate revenue.

[@johnhargis4566]

I'm an NS retiree I can say DeButts is the busiest yard I was ever in 😊 I the Sou Ra days the loco facility @ DeButts could do any repair to a EMD loco mechanical, electrical, paint & sheet metal 😮

[@nkyrailfan]

I wish I could've recorded it back in its hey day. It amazes me how organized this place is and that it can have so many crews working at once.

[@suzylarry1]

very interesting to see the shuffle

[@keiganthetennessean1796]

I live an hour and a half from Chattanooga. The last time we were there was for the Thomas & Friends experience. My 9 year old is a huge train fan.

[@nkyrailfan]

If you have a Saturday with nothing to do, I would certainly recommend a trip to Cofey's Cliff. It's a great open place to watch the trains come and go, plus watch the yard crews work. g.co/kgs/otTnzdV

[@brianligat9493]

Some of the speeds and forming "collisions" seem way too fast. Surprised there aren't derailments within the yard. Fascinating to see things in action.

[@nkyrailfan]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video. This version is sped up though. This version shows the yard at regular speed. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGqlq2CifLOeq8k

[@timdaugherty5921]

I work for NS and switch in this yard

[@nkyrailfan]

Hey Tim, I actually tried to get ahold of you before I came through for the video. I commented on one of your previous comments about it. If I'm ever down that way again I'll try to get in touch with you.

[@Keikdv]

Why hump 6 cars 1 by 1 to the same track 00:00 to 01:50 when you can do pairs or more? 05:38 they do 3 in 1 and 06:10 even 4 in 1 hump. Saves on uncoupling before and coupling back up again after the hump. Time is all...

[@nkyrailfan]

I don't get it either. All I can think is that the sets of cars they send over the hump are all empty and therefore don't weigh as much. Because everything you said is true and it doesn't seem to make sense.

[@swainscheps]

I noticed the tanks at the start of the video were single humped even though they were all ending up in the same strong. Then a few minutes later multiple cars would get cut and go over the hump together. Assume that’s some kind of a safety issue(?) - or maybe they were full while the other multi-car cuts were empty(?)

[@Motherslug-q7l]

I can answer that, Yes loaded are uncoupled Singler as empties can be uncoupled up to 7 at a time No more that 7 as it then becomes unsafe for anyone around. Single Cars weigh different to multiple cars coupled so the brake retarder has to work harder for something that can be avoided simply by humping singles

[@Motherslug-q7l]

Humping can get old only if you want it to as there is a lot going on when uncoupling cars, most railfans don't understand that the Hump Master is also inspecting each car he comes across that rolls over the Hump making sure things look a certain way, if he see's something out of place or broken that car will be Flagged and sent to car shop. The worse part I had on the Hump is when you get a car and the Coupler doesn't want to uncouple as it happens quite a lot, forcing a coupler to open is interesting fight as the Hump Power will try to kick the car off the train with the use of Power all while trying to pull the Cut-Lever to separate the cars. Back in the day I found Hobo's in boxcars that you have to stop train and call Police immediately for trespassing, and Wintertime isn't fun at all. Common Question I get asked all the time is why you shouldn't Hump the cars that say, "Do Not Hump" on them, first off almost every American railroad still Humps these cars regardless of the saying "Do Not Hump" it's a known fact by rail crews. "Do Not Hump" railcars have that saying is because of weight and pressure as some cars can be off weight and make the Brake Retarders think the car is this heavy when it's actually lighter in weight than it really is causing the car to either coast faster or slower into the yard bowel, Scale Test Cars use Air Pressure to crate artificial Mass to the wheels making a single Rail car feel like your pulling 20 railcars, so if the pressure is on then goes through a set of Brake Retarder's a whole lot of Hell is going to happen. Departure Switching is known as "Trim-Job" and the Conrail Yards I worked in crews needed to know distance of Cut-Track because when you pull a string of cars out of the Receiving yard to place them into the Departure Yard you have to know how long of a distance your string of railcars is, so you don't over run your distance on the Cut-Track which could lead to a massive problems given train cars aren't airline connected until there in the Departure Yard for other reasons, head-on collisions as well as derailment's can happen when pulling a string cut of cars without airbrakes doesn't stop as fast as you think even when you're doing 10-to-15mph ect. Counting Cars from a certain point is a thing when working the Trim-Job.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thanks for all the fascinating information! I really do appreciate it. That's very interesting about the hump rules and what can cause chaos in the process.

[@swainscheps]

Great info! Thanks for your explanation…very valuable context for videos like this…

[@Motherslug-q7l]

@@nkyrailfan need to checkout Conway Hump Yard Pennsylvania, maybe after winter more around spring or summer, a lot of operations going on right down the river in the area, you won't be disappointed on all that's going on

[@nkyrailfan]

@@Motherslug-q7l You're never going to guess what video I'm editing right now. I made the trip to Conway two weeks ago. It did not disappoint! I hope to have the video out on Friday or Saturday.

[@Motherslug-q7l]

@@nkyrailfan fun fact about Conway Yard is that yard is 1 of 3 Worlds largest Double Hump yards back in the day the other two yards were Altoona and Enola which all 3 of them shared a nickname known as the 3 Sisters which are all located in Pennsylvania which PRR was the Worlds Largest Railroad to have ever exist, surpassing todays railroads

[@McMinn1981]

It’s at 21:04

[@nkyrailfan]

It's an automated voice talking about pullback protection for a remote-controlled locomotive. You'll find a decent explanation about halfway down the page. Here's a thread discussing it in better detail than I could here: www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,1030311

[@ericthered1140]

Hump Day!!!!!

[@RobertCox-t8i]

My son in law works this yard. Caught his voice on some of the radio transmissions.

[@nkyrailfan]

That's really cool! Hopefully, he enjoys working at the yard.

[@petesopenrailsvideos]

Something I'm always interested in/confused by with hump yards occurs right at the start of the video. First up we see the tank cars being cut off individually despite all of them heading to the same track but right after that 3 center beams are cut off together. Is there are reason why some go to the same spot singly while others can be sent in a group?

[@nkyrailfan]

I believe it all comes down to weight. I've seen 4 cars go down together and the next four go individually, all to the same track. The retarders can only slow down a car so much, so when a car is fully loaded the retarder can't slow it down as much as an empty car. So, to keep the car(s) within a manageable speed they must limit how much weight the retarders are trying to control. So, if they're empty, more can go down at once together because it's less weight that retarders are trying to slow down. Hopefully, that makes sense.

[@petesopenrailsvideos]

@@nkyrailfan Thank you, that makes perfect sense. I probably should have worked that out for myself. 😊😊

[@logandetwiler4483]

Is Bellevue one of the other hump yards still around

[@nkyrailfan]

Yes, it is. NS says it's the largest yard in the system. Here's a video I did showcasing the yard: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iH6UZ5tqd8mGfrM

[@kingy002]

The guy doing the uncoupling must cover some distance walking in a day. How does the first carriage stop on the line that it is diverted down? There must be mistakes made, surely, due to human era. How do they extract that carriage from the wrong line that they have placed it on? Thanks for a quality video.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Some yards have retarders (brakes) at the end of the bowl track to keep the cars from rolling out. Others are set up to where the middle of the bowl is slightly lower than the entrance and exit areas of the track, letting gravity keep it in the bowl. Those are the only ways I know of that they keep cars in the bowl. As for mistakes, they'll pull the cut of cars with the mistake from the bowl and send it over the hump again to be re-sorted.

[@legendshadow547]

What if the wagon is going too fast or too slow?

[@nkyrailfan]

Gravity will continue to pull the car down the hill even if it came to a stop at some point. The ultra-low friction between the steel wheel and steel rail means the car would roll for quite a bit if it wasn't stopped in the bowl yard. If a car goes too fast, the 3 retarders will slow it down to the desired speed.

[@povertyspec9651]

Harry DeButts 😂 Fort Wayne, Indiana had a mayor named Harry Baals years ago.

[@nkyrailfan]

😂😂😂

[@Indy125]

love your videos! are you a recreational drone flier or do you have a part 107?

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you, I'm glad to hear you enjoy them. I have my part 107 license. I've been flying drones for about 9 years.

[@Indy125]

@@nkyrailfan I have a drone too, I need to get my 107 but its tough.

[@nkyrailfan]

@Indy125 I would recommend searching online and taking some practice tests to get the hang of it. I have no doubt you'll pass if you put some time into it.

[@garrettsharp6356]

I work as a Carman in this yard.

[@nkyrailfan]

You must be busy as can be at work. I couldn't get over how many crews were working at the same time.

[@justjoe942]

Are all large yards gravity fed, or is that unique to this yard?

[@nkyrailfan]

@@justjoe942 Hump yards using gravity are fewer and fewer these days. The short answer to your question is most yards this big are likely to be hump yards. A hump is more efficient than flat-track switching if the yard handles a large amount of cars (1,000+ a day). To do that, the yard must be very large like this one. However, it's not always the case. This video shows CSX's very large Russell yard in Kentucky. It's a flat-track yard. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rp-amImue9WofqM This video shows a comparison between hump yards and flat-track switched yards: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqfRg6upjJV6sKM Lastly, here is a link to an interesting Trains magazine article further discussing hump yards: www.trains.com/trn/train-basics/abcs-of-railroading/north-americas-hump-yards/

[@justjoe942]

@@nkyrailfan Thank you; much appreciated.

[@zacmoore6209]

Nice vid u should take a look at csxs Cumberland yard in Maryland

[@nkyrailfan]

I'm glad you liked the video. I'm working on getting to Cumberland in the springtime. I had hoped to get there before they removed the hump but didn't make it.

[@zacmoore6209]

Yeah they did but it’s still a very busy place

[@jordonfreeman166]

When was this filmed? Because unless they have reactivated the hump since 2023, DeButts is a flat switched yard.

[@nkyrailfan]

It was in September of 2023. I knew they shut down the hump in 2017 and restarted it a year later, but was not aware they had closed it again.

[@jordonfreeman166]

@ they must have reactivated it because in August 2023 and before I know it was flat switched.

[@scottsmith7051]

I would love to see the process of a new train being built. I've seen tons of humping, but not a new train being built...other than a point out that an engine is doing it. But not the entire process.

[@nkyrailfan]

I'm working on a video showing the cuts of cars being pulled from the bowl and set together for a new train to be created. I hope to have it out within a month or two. I just need to record a few missing pieces.

[@scottsmith7051]

@ Fantastic!

[@McMinn1981]

What was the automated voice I kept hearing? Did he explain?

[@nkyrailfan]

If you can give a timestamp I should be able to let you know. It's likely from a defect detector within range. Those are automated, with computer'esque voice calls.

[@McMinn1981]

@ didn’t sounds like a default detector, but I have to go back and watch the video. I’ll get back to you.

[@boblong8149]

I want to watch this but the walketalky, driving me mad.

[@syedriazhussainshah7889]

How on earth do the wagons move on their own one by one, without any locomotive😮😮😮.

[@nkyrailfan]

It's all done with gravity. The cars are pushed to the top of the hump hill. Once they reach the crest, the coupler is opened and the lead car is pulled away by gravity. It really is a fascinating system.

[@IDrone-l5m]

I wonder how many hobos get stuck inside the yard.

[@Sussilando]

Gutes Video! Aber ist schon komisch,wie man diese Waggons mit solch einer Geschwindigkeit aufeinander prallen läßt.🤔😲

[@nkyrailfan]

Grüße aus den Vereinigten Staaten. Ich freue mich, dass dir das Video gefallen hat. Ich glaube, dass das Kupplungssystem ausreichend Schutz bietet, um Schäden an der Ladung zu verhindern.

[@James-v6k]

Humpin da butts

[@nkyrailfan]

😂😂😂

[@GerhardGulewicz]

The video is playing too fast.👎👎 You can see this very clearly from the cars driving too fast. What is the reason for this? This question goes to the creator of this video?

[@thatkyledude1093]

He explained this at the beginning of the video, dude... If you want the normal speed video, check the description.

[@GerhardGulewicz]

@@thatkyledude1093 thanks!

[@nkyrailfan]

Thanks for checking out the video. I've had people say they want the video sped up to see what's going on and I've had people say it is too fast. So, I've started creating two versions so everyone can watch how they want. Hopefully, you enjoyed the normal-speed video.

[@АхмедАхмедов-с9у]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJjTXn93mbljbbc а это горка в России (and this is a roller coaster in Russia)