Sorting slide: device, work technology. Railway infrastructure

An integral part of freight rail transportation is sorting work, in which frames components for sending to one or another direction are completed. Stations on which the redistribution of goods is carried out are called sorting. In their work they use a lot of special devices, the main one of which is a sorting slide. Let's find out what it is and how it works.

general characteristics

Sorting slide is a structure located on the territory of the railway station and intended for the formation or disbandment of trains of freight trains. In fact, it is a mound, on which railroad tracks are laid. The structure consists of three main sections: a sliding part, a hump and a drain part. On the hill the composition is pushed with the help of a locomotive. Then each car under the action of gravity independently rolls to the destination along the drain part, which is located on the slope. Between the rolling cars or trailers (several connected cars) an interval is formed sufficient for the transfer of the arrows in accordance with the plan for the formation of the convoys. The rolling speed of the cars is regulated by braking positions, which are equipped with car retarders.

Basic concepts

The peak of the hill is called its highest point. Usually its height ranges from 3.5 to 4.5 meters. Here, wagons or traps are sent to podgorochnye ways by destination. The height of the hill is called the difference between its peak and the calculated point of the most unfavorable for rolling down the subterranean path. The height is calculated in such a way as to ensure the passage of a car with poor running qualities under adverse environmental conditions to the design point, which is taken with a margin at a distance of 50 m from the end of the braking position of the most difficult path. The hump is called the hump of the hill, from which the car or the trailer starts to move independently.

The sliding part is the area between the last switch translations of the foothill mouth of the receiving park and the top of the hill. This zone, as a rule, is equipped with an anticlean for the convenience of uncoupling the cars and stopping them. The trigger part, respectively, is the area between the top of the hill and the beginning of the sorting park. In this case, the section of the road with the greatest steepness is called high-speed.

Sorting sorts

Mounting complexes can be either one-sided or two-sided. The latter are usually used in very large sorting units, with a large amount of work in both directions. Previously, slides were built only on sites with a natural slope of the earth. Many of these slides are still exploited. Later began to build slides with an artificial slope.

The methods used for braking cars may also differ. Everything depends on the point at which the sorting hill is located. The stations, which were built near the transport hubs, eventually found themselves within the city limits. Such sorting complexes are subject to special requirements. We are talking about the silent operation of retarders and switch gears, special rules for dissolution and limited access to the territory of the station.

Types of sorting parks

The sorting park can be the same length as the other park stations of the station, or shortened. Most shortened parks are common in America, where favorable terrain and long distances between stations allow the formation of extra long trains. Shortened compounds collected in one sorting park are connected on the routes of departure with other half-compositions. However, there are cases when it is more expedient to design long sorting parks. Here everything depends on the specific region.

Sorting hills of the latest generation provide the possibility of local control of elements such as arrows and signaling parks for receiving / sending parks, with the ability to verify all necessary closures and dependencies. Less common is the centralized management of the railway, the sorting station in particular.

Braking of trailers in the hilly area

The first braking of the trailer occurs in the mountain zone for the formation of intervals of succession. It is carried out by one or two TP (braking positions). The following braking - sighting, occurs in the park area, when the car reaches the destination point.

In addition to the known for the stations of JSC "Russian Railways" pincer-pressure retarder, other systems for braking are used. For example, at stations located near residential areas, rails covered with rubber are used to extinguish the speed of the convoys. The frictional force that occurs when the metal wheel moves over the rubber coating is controlled by a retarder. The most perspective are the brake positions of the sorting roller, equipped with permanent magnets. They are most effective at high speed of movement of the trailer (more than 20 km / h).

Braking of traps in the park zone

In park areas, a certain number of point retarders are installed to brake cars or trailers, which provide quasi-continuous speed control. The most recognized at the moment are point hydraulic piston models of moderators. They are activated when the crest of the wheel runs over the retarder piston, mounted on the rail neck. If the roll-off speed is exceeded (recorded with a special sensor), the excess kinetic energy is extinguished when the piston is moved down.

In Europe, the hydraulic spiral moderator also became widely used. When the car passes along it, the crest of the wheel comes into contact with the spiral projection of the cylinder, the latter makes a turn, taking away part of the energy of the wheel. The resistance that a car retarder will have depends on how much the car's speed exceeds the norm.

Braking at stations with a natural bias

At marshalling yards with a natural gradient, speed regulation usually occurs on the entire downhill, and in the pre-park zone as well. The hills of the last generations are equipped with caravans, which are located directly inside the rail track and can be moved by automatically controlled cables. If necessary, the carloader can even bring the trailer to the cars to which he must join. Such devices have found wide application at the railway stations of Munich, Zurich and Rotterdam.

In addition to devices for braking, sorting hills are also equipped with hydraulic accelerators. They, as a rule, are located in the park zone and are activated in case the trailer moves at a speed below the norm.

The first mountain systems

The first inclined track for the distribution of wagons was built in Dresden in 1946. At that time in Europe, another method of disbanding trains was circulated - with turning circles. In 1858 at the station of Leipzig the first semblance of a mountainous system was built. In the form in which the sorting hill functions today, it was first built in 1863 at the French station Ter Nord.

The first counteract

In 1876, at the German station Shpeldorf, the first sorting separate station was built with an anti-slope on the sliding part and an intermediate platform. Previously, slides were built on a natural slope, without an anticlean. In 1891, the division of the sorting park into bundles (groups of paths) began to be applied. Brake shoes were used instead of brake devices . These simple devices to this day can be found at stations with a natural bias.

The first retarder

In the twenties, centuries passed in Europe and America began to use rail car retarder. In 1923 at the European station Hamm launched a mechanized complex of four hydraulic retarders. Thanks to the mechanisms of electromechanical centralization that appeared around the same time, it became possible to carry out remote control of the railway on the section of the sorting hump. Somewhat later, the first electric devices were created, which remember the order of passing the cars. In accordance with the established task, they independently adjusted the beam drive units.

Full automation

In 1955, Kirk's Chicago station launched the first manned complex. By 1970, most of the major stations were fully automated sorting hills. A little later they started using the radio channel to control the locomotives, which allowed to increase the productivity of the work.

Alternative options

In the second half of the twentieth century there was a tendency for small shipments to predominate. Due to increased competition between rail and other types of freight transport, container transportations have become topical, which allow minimizing the costs of transhipment and taking advantage of each mode of transport. In order to reload containers from railway cars to road and sea transport, special platforms with crane mechanisms were equipped. With the development of container shipments, many yards in Europe have transferred their functions to parks, which can overload containers from wagons not only to sea and road transport, but also to other trains.

Complex MSR 32

The company Siemens has developed a special complex MSR 32 for the construction and modernization of railway sorting stations. Depending on the type and power of the required hill, as well as its profile and local conditions, a model is created that is tested with the help of electronic computers. The model shows where it is most expedient to locate speed sensors, weight gauges, detachment size meters, braking positions and other elements of the sorting station.

The system adapts to any customer requirements thanks to the modular device. It is introduced into the slides with different profiles, braking concepts and processing abilities. For example, in Zurich, the hill, equipped with the MSR 32 system, processes 330 wagons per hour. The locomotive is controlled by radio. In Vienna, such a separate point has a capacity of 320 wagons per hour. The locomotive of this hill works on radio control. The system provides a continuous exchange of information with dispatch centers on all slides. The operator of the sorting roller must only make sure that everything is working properly. The first station of the former USSR where Siemens installed its technology was the Vaidotai station in Lithuania. Gradually MSR 32 technology is spreading around the world. At the stations of JSC "Russian Railways" they are also tested.