BRC’s Clearing Yard

MetraMan01 Jun 16, 2021

  1. MetraMan01

    MetraMan01 TrainBoard Member

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    Has anyone ever modeled the Belt Railway of Chicago’s Clearing Yard near Midway Airport? I’ve seen the MR NOV2012 layout, but looking for something a little more prototypical in design. The hump and tower that straddles really make that an interesting yard IMHO. Context about my “why” and intent are below. Thanks for reading!

    I’m about 2 yrs away from returning to the US and have been thinking about the basement empire I might build when I return.

    On my (3/4 of) a door layout I’m running WC and Metra. I’m freelancing what I like to think of as the “Northern Illinois Sub” of the WC in a world where CN didn’t buy WC. WC sells the overseas assets and the timing of Metra service on the North Central Service Line injects some revenue and keeps them alive to the modern era. I’d like to connect to the outside world and have a semi-usable staging/fiddle yard in plain sight and BRC’s Clearing yard seemed like a way to do both in an interesting manner.


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  2. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    I've heard of the yard, but don't know much about it other than it's enormous in its size and capacity. It had and may still have a double hump. You'll need a bit of real estate to capture its essential elements, even if scaled way down. In a Model Railroader some 40 years ago I recall an article where someone engineered a hump yard in HO using compressed air to slow the cars. Nonetheless, it'd be very difficult to make model railroad cars roll free at a prototypically slow and consistent speed, even for several feet.

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

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    Properties that vary with powers of scale (momentum ~ scale^4), are very difficult to model. Good luck!
     
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  4. MetraMan01

    MetraMan01 TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks to both of you-was only thinking about the horizontal design and the vertical stopping issue as they come down the hump. Thanks for the insight!


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  5. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    Please explain what (~ scale^4) stands for. o_O
    Just finding the symbols on the keyboard was fun. :LOL:
    Sorry my math was in 'artillery fire direction control' and as a machinist and quality assurance in such.
     
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  6. Randy Stahl

    Randy Stahl TrainBoard Supporter

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    I was arrested for armed robbery after delivering a train to Clearing... A story for another time perhaps...
     
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  7. CSX Robert

    CSX Robert TrainBoard Member

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    The tilde (~) stands for approximately. "^4" means to the fourth power, i. e. X^4 = X * X * X * X.

    Momentum = mass * velocity. When you increase (or decrease) the size of something (assuming the same density), since mass is directly proportional to the volume it's mass will change by scale^3 (scale * scale * scale). For example, if you double the size, you increase the mass 8 fold (2 * 2 * 2 = 8). If you also change the velocity by the same scale, then the change in momentum becomes scale^4.
     
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  8. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

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    Actually, '~' means "is proportional to" or "varies proportionally with", or "varies linearly with".

    '~=' means "Approximately equal to"

    Velocity is measured as distance traveled divided by time elapsed, and that distance scales the same as the dimensions of the railcar.

    So at N scale (1/160), momentum is 1.53E-9 (or about one and a half billionths) of it's 1:1 scale value.

    It is interesting to think about what would happen if you truly constructed an N scale replica of a tank car, hopper or box car. Would they crush and/or rupture similarly to 1:1 railcars in a wreck? The wall thicknesses would scale by 1:160 too. But you could use the same steel. So if you built a tank car out of tin foil, would it work?
     
  9. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    So, like many things in the 'modern English' we must learn the new language. Like the small reference numbers aren't available in Windows 10.
    And DCC rules.
    Rather like the law now requires the ownership of a smart-a-phone. Line phones and simple cells are illegal. :confused:
     
  10. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    The tilde is often used for "approximately equal to" because keyboards lack the [ ≈ ] symbol.
     
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  11. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    OK! Thanks for the incite. It helped to clear this antique mind.
     
  12. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Another odd character is [ ] which means all kinds of things. I first encountered it in an automotive service manual while applying sealant to an oil pan. I asked an Engineer at work what it meant and he said, "Diameter". This made sense because the diagram showed [ 5mm ], the approximate diameter of the bead of sealant.

    What's interesting that it also means "Average", especially in German. Our Volkswagens display the symbol adjacent to the fuel economy display.

    All kinds of interesting stuff out there .......
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2021
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  13. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

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    Insight brings awareness of symbols that incite confusion.
     
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  14. Shortround

    Shortround TrainBoard Member

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    Welcome to the new and advanced world. o_O

    What ever happened to WORDS? :confused:
     
  15. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

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    But then you have to spell them correctly...

    Different disciplines have their own vocabularies and symbologies.

    Pick your poison! There's no escape...
     
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  16. Hardcoaler

    Hardcoaler TrainBoard Member

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    Like railroading, right? :) Many decades ago our local newspaper ran a story about a train wreck caused by a train passing a stop signal.

    The headline read "Train runs light". :rolleyes:

    I thought of a caboose hop.
     
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  17. BigJake

    BigJake TrainBoard Member

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    Ahh, the wonderful English language... "light" can be adjective, adverb, noun, or verb.
     
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