Unit 4 Freight Trains and Freight Yards.

The arrangement and operation of freight trains have little in common with those of passenger trains.

As to the freight train working there are no constant factors in freight train operation. The most important problem in the case of freight trains is train load. Wagons are loaded at different points for different destinations. They can reach their destinations only in the form of trains with other wagons which share part of their journey.

There are places where freight wagons are formed into trains. These places are called freight or marshalling yards. It is in the freight yard where the incoming trains are received and the cars are sorted. Many of them are loaded with inbound freight and distributed to industrial sidings. The freight yard is the place where cars of outbound freight are collected and sent to their destinations. The work of a freight yard is under the supervision of a yard-master. The work of the yard-master is very difficult. Cars come into a yard at all hours, both day and nigth, and they must be sorted, made into trains and sent on their way. The work of some freight yards is now facilitated by the use of radio–telephone systems and electronic computers.

Freight trains may pass from one yard to another in two forms: 1) the wagons may be assembled without regard to destination; 2) the wagons are marshalled in sections according to the ultimate destination to facilitate the work of shunting at the next yard. It is obvious that the efficiency of work can be obtained if freight trains run at higher speeds for long distances.

Exercises

I. Translate the sentences, paying attention to the word “only”:

only – только the only – единственный

1.Wagons can reach their destinations only in the form of trains.

2.For many years the time interval system was the only method of controlling train movement.

3.The working time-table is not the only kind of time-table which is used by railwaymen.

4.Marshalling yards are designed so that wagons move in one direction only.

II Mind the translation of the words “that” and “those”:

1.We know that the dispatcher operates the movement of the trains.

2.It is necessary to remodel those old marshalling yards.

3.That old hump yard is modernized.

4.This modern hump yard is much more efficient than that one.

5.One of the most interesting loading and unloading devices is the magnetic crane that is used in freight yards.

6.Freight station facilities are greater in size than those required for passenger service.

7.It is in freight yards that the journeys of all freight trains begin and end.

8.It is for busy sections of the line that special time-tables are prepared.

III. Translate the sentences into Russian:

1.The largest and the most important railway lines have C.T.C.

2.The faster the wagons will be loaded, the quicker the goods will be delivered to the place of their destination.

3.The best site for a station generally is near the centre of a town.

4.The island platform is cheaper to equip and to work than two separate platforms.

5.The more we learn about the work of the train dispatcher, the better we understand its importance.

6.The simplest kind of a passenger station is that on a single line.

7.The “hump” principle is the most economical and efficient in the layout of marshalling yards.

IV. Translate the sentences, paying attention to Gerund:

1.Uncoupling the cars before humping is automatic.

2.The dispatcher keeps his eye on the progress of all trains by watching the track model in front of him.

3.The sidings are used for meeting trains.

4.After preparing the cars and cleaning them they are coupled.

5.The speed of shunting over the hump may be different in different yards.

V. Pay attention to the translation of the “-ing” forms:

1.Sorting in this yard is highly efficient.

2.Having received information about traffic condition on his division the dispatcher ordered extra trains.

3.Handling trains is one of the most difficult jobs.

4.The trains lost a lot of time entering and leaving the sidings because of the delays and stops.

5.With the opening of the new route having a speed of 172 km/h. the present journey time can be cut.

6.Setting up the routes is the duty of the dispatcher.

VI. Make a summary of the text: