The Heart of the South: Norfolk Southern's Norris Yard in Action

This is a video I shot over the summer in Irondale, Alabama.
We'll follow along as cars are sorted over the hump and crews work to put trains together.
This is in controlled airspace, so unfortunately we couldn't cover very much of the yard.
I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.
Have a great day!
Norfolk Southern hump counts for the week of 8/10/24 - 8/16/24
Elkhart Yard Elkhart, IN
13,308 total / 1,901 a day average
• Is this Norfolk Southe...
DeButts Yard Chattanooga, TN
11,729 total / 1,676 a day average
• One of the Busiest: No...
Moorman Yard Bellevue, OH
11,682 total / 1,669 a day average
• Bellevue, Ohio: 5 main...
Norris Yard Birmingham, AL
11,295 total / 1,614 a day average
• The Heart of the South...
Conway Yard Conway, PA
10,666 total / 1,524 a day average
Brosnan Yard Macon, GA
8,195 total / 1,171 a day average
• Movin' In Macon: Norfo...

[@nkyrailfan]

Check out the 3:10 mark to hear a surprise call-out from a nearby equipment defect detector. Real-time footage begins at 6:35

[@Nethanel773]

Hearing that DD voice that's been around for decades. I could see AI voice replacing that. DD voice is clear for sure, but it has that stilted cadence whereas AI voice is fluid.

[@Nethanel773]

39:00 - 40:20 Nice, smooth pan across the bowl yard.

[@jasonixo]

Good hearing you on the radio Walt!

[@chrischupp9760]

Cool seeing the cars roll into the yard

[@InvictaView]

Excellant video. This is like the biggest model railway layout in the world lol! 😉👍💯🇬🇧

[@kens.3729]

Great Drone Action. Thanks! 👍🙏

[@nkyrailfan]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Ken.

[@davestrains6816]

Awesome video, thanks for sharing. Dave

[@nkyrailfan]

I'm always glad to hear you enjoyed it, Dave. Have a great day!

[@oubrioko]

5:06 Wow, never seen so many hicube TTX _Railbox_ cars in a single cut Very nice video 👍🏿

[@nkyrailfan]

I was curious about them because of the number. I wondered if they were being sent to the scrap yard or something.

[@aaronTNGDS9]

Great video, thanks for your efforts.

[@Hun73rdk]

Some nice shunting videos thanks

[@nkyrailfan]

Glad you're enjoying the videos.

[@Nethanel773]

Great video as always. I've been this way before, but never from the air. Don't think there are any videos of Norris Yard via drone, so thanks for putting this together.

[@nkyrailfan]

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. It was a fun place to film but finding a spot to get set up was a pain. I would love to spend some more time and check out more of the area.

[@Nethanel773]

@@nkyrailfan There are a lot of locales and sites to check out. There's the multi-line corridor that runs through downtown Birmingham between 35th St S and 14 St N. Major junction area where 6 routes converge. There's the Amtrak depot and no shortage of CSX, NS, and Amtrak going back and forth throughout the day. There are also the historic Sloss Furnaces and the Railpark. There are several overpasses with pedestrian access where you can get great shots in both directions. CSX Boyles Yard is about 2mi north with a number of diamonds and junction points in between. Since it's all not far from the airport, I don't know whether or not you can do drone videos there, but it's worth checking out all the same. Also, there is a BNSF rail yard, East Thomas Yards. I believe that it is BNSF's further reach east of the Mississippi. Finally, there is the US Steel iron works in Westfield a few miles SW. Hope this helps.

[@RH1N0______13]

NS inman yard is the one in atlanta. It handles lots of intermodal trains, and a few manifest (95+ percent are intermodal). Less than half a mile east is howell wye, where a csx line and 2 NS lines meet at a diamond, which gets maybe 80 trains every 24 hours.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thanks for the info on Howell wye. I'll plan on checking that out the next time I'm Atlanta. I actually previously made a video with a look at Inman Yard. Here it is if you want to check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/foDLiH1_e6mkpac

[@cncpgreatlakesdiv4896]

awesome thx for the video happy new year.😊😊👍👍

[@nkyrailfan]

I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed the video! Happy New Year to you as well.

[@IndianRailwaysjourneys]

Awesome video.. 😊

[@StormySkyRailProductions]

WOW very cool video and enjoyed watching.Detector was most likely nerve wracking to hear. Nicely edited and have a wonderful rest of your Tuesday.(Steve)

[@nkyrailfan]

I'm very glad you enjoyed it, Steve. I wish I would've been able to figure out where the defect detector was to see if I could spot the issue, but unfortunately didn't even know about it until I went back and listened to the radio traffic. Have a great day and a Happy New Year.

[@StormySkyRailProductions]

Your very welcome.We have that happen to where we go back and rewatch the video and discover things.I guess its the mystery piece to the puzzle. Thank you and you also a great rest of your day and Happy New Year.@@nkyrailfan

[@RailFanRob]

Great yard footage man! Happy New Year!!!

[@nkyrailfan]

Glad you enjoyed it, Rob! Happy New Year to you as well.

[@EntertainmentWorldz]

nice video 😍😍❤❤

[@fakecumberland]

Not sure if you noticed the SAL Birmingham-Atlanta main passes through the area, now operated by a shortline. CSX severed it as a through route. It was built later than the Southern Atlanta East District and was better engineered. Oh well, you and I can bike some of it today.

[@timothybdavis7520]

This is a awesome video!👍

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you, Timothy! I'm very glad you enjoyed it.

[@timsmith4096]

We live just over the mountain from Norris Yards. When the wind blows in the right direction, we can definitely hear the hump in action! The steam program was killed in 1994, ending 25 years of steam locomotive operations in and out of Irondale.

[@nkyrailfan]

Such a shame they ended the steam program there.

[@timsmith4096]

@@nkyrailfan It was heartbreaking. and they went at it with a vengeance. It needed some revising, to more toward more of a Union Pacific model, but new president Goode utterly gutted it.

[@nkyrailfan]

@timsmith4096 I'm working on a video about the NS RoadRailers going away, and it got me thinking about how much cool/important/interesting railroad equipment could have been saved for museums or excursion experiences over the years with a minimal amount of effort by the RE companies but most it seems would rather scrap the locomotives than spend a little money and give them a proper resting place.

[@terryjennings2791]

Great job again Christian. Always happy to view your new posts. It’s interesting to see the artistry of the hump yard in action and the angles you get with your exceptional drone work really shows off the precision that they operate with. Do you know how this yard compares in size to the NS and CSX yards in Cincinnati? Really appreciate the real time and fast speed views together. Thanks for another great video

[@nkyrailfan]

This yard is similar, but smaller in size to the CSX yard without the NS portion. I believe the Queensgate Yard is around 3.5 miles, while Norris Yard is around 3.2 miles long.

[@fridasophia5356]

Bruh 😂 at 2:30 looks like you caught a trainhopper running outta the hump yard, still holding onto his beer. 😂😂😂

[@nkyrailfan]

😂🤣😂

[@josephcrawford-senger5163]

I remember something similar to this in Alaska I couldn’t remember if it was in Anchorage or Fairbanks 🤔

[@ShiftSouthern1110]

Any plans in the future to do conway yard? Mingo, youngstown, and canton yards would all be awesome to see of kicking cars

[@nkyrailfan]

I've got a PA trip somewhat planned that includes Conway, Enola and Altoona stops. I'm hopeful to do that this spring, but haven't pinned down a date just yet. I've been trying to figure out a NE Ohio trip, but just haven't got around to it. I'm sure I'll get there this year, just a matter of when. If you have any specific spots I should check out in the places you mentioned, please do let me know.

[@peterkerpestein6097]

Hey I’m Gonna go to irondale Al tomorrow with my mom in the afternoon please comment great video

[@nkyrailfan]

I hope you have a great time in Irondale. Hopefully, you catch a lot of trains.

[@jasonervoes1326]

Hi Great video. Happy New Year. Do some of these freight trains have cabooses at the end? Happy New Year everyone

[@nkyrailfan]

Hey Jason! I'm glad you enjoyed the video! Sadly, the caboose has gone the way of the dodo. I believe the only time a caboose is used anymore is as a control platform for remote control locomotives or if there's an excursion rail trip that features a caboose. Everything else only has an end of train device, which relays data to the locomotive.

[@nkyrailfan]

Does anyone know anything about the passenger cars at 6:23 and again at 45:10 ?

[@bhamrails]

Cool video of home lol

[@glengreen362]

I don't remember if it was ever mentioned, but how many acres of land would all of this occupy? I think it would be mind numbing trying to calculate just how many miles of track are involved in this facility. It's very impressive.

[@nkyrailfan]

It is a very impressive yard. I couldn't find any sizes listed for it, but a simple use of Google maps shows it to be around 640 acres give or take a few here and there.

[@markprice1984]

Great video of all the humping action. Do you know when they break to air hose glad-hands at each coupler and then remake them? Are they pulling the train off somewhere behind your camera to make the connections on the whole train once assembled?

[@nkyrailfan]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video. The way it's been explained to me is once the cars are sorted over the hump, the often will couple the car in front of them. A car man will then make the individual air hose connections before the cuts are doubled or tripled out. I'm working on a video that showcases the doubling and tripling out.

[@svenmartin840]

This is an awesome video. If you know German. And you go to Germany. Check out the Kornwesthiem's Classfication yard of the Die Bahn. Where my grandfather worked at. And their is a railfan spot on a bridge where you can watch them make up new trains. And video recording is encouraged. The town is two stops away from the Porsche factory.

[@KjellEson]

So einen Güterbahnhof in den USA zu bauen, ist kein Problem, wenn alles mit Diesellokomotiven fährt. Wir, die wir in Europa leben, sehen im Gütertransport per Bahn einen Beitrag zu einer besseren Umwelt. Im Film sehen wir drei in Reihe gekoppelte Diesellokomotiven. Gibt es ein Land in Westeuropa, das Diesellokomotiven einsetzt? Ja, auf Bahnhöfen. Der Bau eines solchen Komplexes in Europa mit elektrischen Zügen wäre unmöglich. Bereits vor 1924 gab es in Deutschland die erste längere elektrische Eisenbahnstrecke. Schweden folgte und hatte 1924 eine elektrische Eisenbahnlinie. Norwegen folgte, 15 kV in Schweden, Norwegen (16 ⅔ Hz), Deutschland. Österreich und Schweiz (16,7 Hz). In den USA sind sich die Privatbahnen nicht einig, wenn es um Investitionen in elektrische Züge geht. Sie haben sogar unterschiedliche Stärken. Ich habe die Bahnhöfe in Deutschland gesehen. Sie sind absolut die fortschrittlichsten der Welt. Entschuldigen Sie mein schlechtes Deutsch!

[@nkyrailfan]

Grüße aus den Vereinigten Staaten. Vielen Dank für den Kommentar und die Geschichte. Ich wünschte, die US-Bahngesellschaften würden in Elektroantriebe investieren, aber sie scheinen fest entschlossen zu sein, bei den Dieselmotoren zu bleiben. Beim Einsatz von Batterie- oder Hybridlokomotiven wurden Fortschritte erzielt, um die Auswirkungen auf die Umwelt zu verringern, diese sind jedoch nicht sehr weit verbreitet. Ich kann mir nur vorstellen, dass amerikanische Eisenbahnunternehmen auf Elektroantrieb umsteigen, wenn die Regierung einen erheblichen Teil der Kosten subventioniert. An der Ostküste gibt es einen kleinen Abschnitt der staatlich betriebenen, elektrifizierten Personenbahn (Amtrak), bekannt als „Northeast Corridor“, der einen hervorragenden Service bietet und eine hohe Anzahl an Fahrgästen hat. Im übrigen Land sind jedoch auch alle Personenzüge dieselbetrieben. Diese Züge verkehren auf den gleichen Gleisen wie die Güterzüge. Vielleicht bietet die Regierung also an, die Gütergleise zu elektrifizieren, um den Betrieb von Elektrolokomotiven zu ermöglichen, dann hätten die Güterverkehrsunternehmen einen Grund, über Elektrolokomotiven nachzudenken. Unabhängig davon haben mich mehrere Leute kontaktiert und gesagt, ich müsse mir die Rangierbahnhöfe in Deutschland ansehen. Ich hoffe, sie eines Tages persönlich zu sehen. Ich hoffe, dass dies durch die Übersetzung Sinn ergibt. Vielen Dank fürs Zuschauen und einen schönen Tag.

[@nkyrailfan]

I'm hoping to see some of the marshalling yards in Germany within the next few years. I was in Paris over the summer and saw a few small yards but nothing like some of the videos I've seen show in Germany. Thanks for the information, I do appreciate it. Have a great day

[@jasonervoes1326]

​@@nkyrailfanHappy New Year to you and your family. Great video. My question is Do any of these freight trains have cabooses at the end? I the caboose is the one thing I like best about freight trains. You see cabooses at the end of freight trains just at the state borders for long hauls. Other places they use a caboose once in a blue moon not too often. The deliveries they make are local runs. That's probably why you don't see cabooses that much anymore blah. 😂

[@LordCarpenter]

Great video! Is this N-Scale? 😅

[@oldskoolgemini3839]

Can someone explain how the single box cars and other single cars are moving by themselves?

[@ronaldtetlow6369]

The hump Is on a down hill slope there a locomotive on the other end with a car man pulling cars apart when the carman clear the car the locomotive push it down or kick it down the hill the tower control all the switches and restricts entrances into the hump there a air brake system that slow the car down like a roller coaster so they don’t bang into the park cars in the hump

[@henryrodriguez4448]

what is that between engine?

[@nkyrailfan]

Hello, Would you mind letting me know a specific time reference you're talking about? I think I know what you're asking about, I just want to be sure.

[@MachenLand]

2024.. our cell phones fold in half, they can take 3D pictures.. and yet.. their radio communication is still static-y, garbled, and out of date..

[@pieterpost563]

You got that right 😅 Just bad immagine working with it day in day out 😊

[@ghostgardenfarms]

That's like takin a picture of Bigfoot, it's always blurry, yea the train transmission's are a little statically

[@chriskratz5033]

Can you do Enola yard the next time you are up North

[@nkyrailfan]

Hey Chris, I have a Pennsylvania trip in the works for the spring. It'll include Enola, Conway and Altoona yards. Do you live near Enola or just want to see it from the air?

[@chriskratz5033]

@@nkyrailfan I'm going to be working for NS as conductor based out of Harrisburg and I'll moving to area within a month or so

[@nkyrailfan]

That's awesome! I hope you enjoy the area and the job. I won't be able to get to the yard before you start, but I'm hoping to make it in March or maybe April. I'll try and give you a heads up when I know it will happen.

[@chriskratz5033]

@@nkyrailfan I should be getting qualified between April-October. I'll reach out to you when I'm working

[@nkyrailfan]

@chriskratz5033 sounds good. Stay safe and good luck!

[@brutemegahunk3895]

Conjunction junction, what’s your function.

[@nkyrailfan]

😂😂😂

[@RailfanKiah]

I rainfan there

[@philipsauers4987]

HOW are those cars moving on their own????

[@davidmihevc3990]

Gravity. They are being shoved over a hump.

[@Kumarrajeshhembrom]

Hii. Friends

[@gravedigga314]

I hopped out of irondale. Way better than Bham

[@electrolytics]

Maybe you'll get lucky and lose an arm or a leg one day.

[@gravedigga314]

@@electrolytics ✌🏼Thanks for watching and commenting😀

[@jeffreyreed5299]

Too much waving the camera around.....too fast.

[@jimmarydavis4758]

Action????

[@henryrodriguez4448]

what is that between engine?