Hump yard action

What hump yards can you watch in action from public property (safely)? I've always wanted to see one up close, but the ones I know about don't seem to allow approach to the hump itself.

Thanks.

 

you could probably get some good photos and watch the action at Clearing Yard of the
BRC. You can use the public sidewalk on the Cicero Ave. overpass of Clearing Yard at
approx. 67th St.That will give you a view of the "bowl tracks" for the EB hump and you can
see the BRC mains on the N.side of the yard and also the approach tracks to the WB hump.
The Hump Tower itself as well as the apex of the hump is exactly at Central Ave. Central
Ave is one mile west of Cicero Ave. If you are driving, you can drive to Central Ave on
65th St. Now be advised that this is an industrial district and is mostly factories and warehouses. Not like it used to be during WW2 however! The yard is in the limits of the
village of Bedford Park and 65th St is patrolled by them. DO NOT EXCEED THE SPEED LIMIT!
You can turn south on Central Ave and you can see the hump tower as soon as you turn
into Central. You can go maybe a block and 1/2 until you reach railroad property. There
are quite visible signs there telling you that it is RR property and NO unauthorized entry.
The BRC is quite serious about that too! But if you are in the public domain you should be
able to see trains being humped from that location. I dont know how you will be treated
by the Bedford Park police, and I wouldn't want to rile them up. If you go far enough west to Harlem Ave. You can turn south on "Old Harlem Ave" and enter the factory zone there
and that will take you near the west end of Clearing Yard and you can see the departure
tracks and also you will see the "Bedford Park" mains which are the entry for the west side
of Clearing and also for the "Bedford Park" ramp of the CSX. Be advised that you will be on
private property also with a lot of truck traffic. If you were to continue on Rte 43(Harlem Ave.)and use the overpass to the south side of Clearing,you can again enter a factory zone
and get a view of the CSX Bedford Park facility and also of the EB hump of the BRC. Again be advised that you are on private property.
Again use caution and common sense. This is an industrial zone and there is also some brush land in the area. Coyotes have been sighted in the area and the railroaders know enough to look out for them! You might just try writing to the BRC and ask them if they
would mind giving you an escorted tour of the yard for the purpose of taking photos.
Be honest and tell them that you want to see how a hump yard works.
Good Luck. If you come to Chicago, lemme know and maybe we can meet up for coffee
or a sandwich.

CT

 

the Enola yard in Enola PA by Harrisburg PA has one you can see it from a car dealer i dont know if they will be too calm about you sitting in their lot but just go in and ask if you can go and watch the trains from their lot you get a clear (almost) shot of the hump yard ant hump tower is wright in front of you but out far not too far though
me and my dad were watching them shove cars over the hump when they were closed so you might want to come on a sunday so they arent there

 

Thanks for the help.

 

I usually watch the action at West Colton Yard in Colton, California. This yard is in the San Bernardino, California area.

 

i could of got a lot of pics but the car place was open wen we went to virginia Darn car place

 

In Seattle, at the south end of Interbay Yard on the BNSF, there's Balmer Yard that has a good hump yard. You can get up close action from a public road on the west side that goes the length of the yard, and 3 bridges that go over the yard on the north, center, and south side. They park the power right next to the road so close you can touch them!

 

Pasco, Washington has a hump yard that you can drive past. Several months ago, I was in Pasco, for a job interview with the BNSF, and I had some time before the interview, so I went and parked across the road from the yard and watched it for a while before my interview. During the time I was parked in that area, I didn't see anything going over the hump, but I went back the next day and took some pictures of the hump in action. It was the first time I'd ever seen a hump yard in action. Really cool. Wouldn't mind having the job of classifying the cars or even better running the switcher over the hump. Probably a lot harder than it looks, but it looked interesting.