Terminal Operations

One disadvantage of traditional locomotive haulage shows up at the end of the line. When a train arrives at a dead end terminal, the locomotive is trapped between the train and the buffer stops. The only way to release the locomotive is to remove the train and for that, a second locomotive is required. This second loco is attached to the other end of the train and will be used to provide power for the return trip. When the train has been removed, the first locomotive is released, moved away from the platform to a "loco siding" near the terminus and stored until used for the return trip of another train. This problem can be solved, if space is available. The train stops a distance from the buffer stops and a crossover to a run-around track is provided. This is sometime referred to as a "locomotive escape" and is used as shown in the diagram below.

Often, the adjacent platform track is used but it must be kept free of other trains. Sometimes a scissors crossover is used. Of course, the arrangement would not nowadays be suitable for a major city terminus where space is at a premium and land is very expensive, so efforts are made to use tracks to the optimum. So, although locomotive changing operations at terminals were, and still are commonplace, where there is intense traffic, additional movements for loco changing can restrict the terminal capacity. Also additional locomotives are required to cover these terminal operations. To overcome all these limitations, the multiple unit (укр. - моторвагонний рухомий склад) was introduced.

Дата добавления: 2014-01-11