Unit 4

Topic: Marshaling Yards

Grammar: The Gerund

1. Basic Vocabulary

а marshaling yard [ə ˈmɑːʃ(ə)lıŋ jɑːd] сортувальна станція

destination [ˌdɛstɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n] місце призначення

to approach [tə əˈprəʊtʃ] наближатися, підходити

an approach road [ən əˈprəʊtʃ rəʊd] під'їзний шлях

assigned [əˈsʌɪnd] призначений

to assemble [tə əˈsɛmb(ə)l] збирати

a flat yard [ə ˈflat ˈjɑːd] безгірковий парк

a hump [ə ˈhʌmp] сортувальна гірка

a hump yard [ə ˈhʌmp ˈjɑːd] гірковий парк

a gentle slope [ə ˈdʒɛnt(ə)l ˈsləʊp] пологий схил

a switch / a point [ə ˈswɪtʃ / ə ˈpɔɪnt] залізнична стрілка

to haul [tə hɔːl] тягнути, тягти

a switch/shunting engine [ə ˈswɪtʃ/ ˈʃʌntıŋ ˈɛndʒɪn] маневровий локомотив

up and down direction [ʌp ənd daʊn dɪˈrɛkʃ(ə)n] парний і непарний

напрямок поїздів

departing trains [dɪˈpɑːtıŋ trains] поїзди що відбувають

a brake [ə ˈbreɪk] гальмо

to brake [tə ˈbreɪk] гальмувати

to proceed (on) [tə prəˈsiːd (ɒn)] продовжувати

reception sidings [rɪˈsɛpʃ(ə)n ˈsʌɪdɪŋz] колії приймання

departure sidings [dɪˈpɑːtʃə ˈsʌɪdɪŋz] колії відправлення

shunting = switching [ˈʃʌntıŋ = ˈswɪtʃıŋ] маневрова робота

to detach /uncouple /cut [tə dɪˈtatʃ/ ʌnˈkʌp(ə)l/ kʌt] відчепити, роз'єднати

shunting capacity [ˈʃʌntıŋ kəˈpasɪti] маневрова здатність

to attach = to couple [tə əˈtatʃ = tə ˈkʌp(ə)l] причепити, приєднати

law of gravity [ˈlɔː əv ˈɡravɪti] закон тяжіння, гравітації

to push [tə pʊʃ] штовхати

to branch out [tə ˈbrɑːn(t)ʃ aʊt] розгалужуватися

a classification track [ə ˌklasɪfɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n ˈtrak] сортувальний шлях/колія

a sorting siding [ə sɔːtıŋ ˈsʌɪdɪŋ] сортувальний шлях/колія

to roll down [tə ˈrəʊl daʊn] скочуватися з гірки

overtaking [əʊvəˈteɪkɪŋ] обгін

to accommodate [tə əˈkɒmədeɪt] розміщувати

to marshal/ to shunt [tə ˈmɑːʃ(ə)l/ tə ˈʃʌnt] сортувати вантажні вагони

density of traffic [ˈdɛnsɪti əv ˈtrafɪk] щільність руху

to inspect cars for any defects [dɪˈfɛkts] перевіряти вагони на дефекти

hump capacity = [ˈhʌmp kəˈpasɪti] гіркова пропускна здатність

throughput [ˈθruːpʊt] гіркова пропускна здатність

reliable [rɪˈlʌɪəb(ə)l] надійний

a retarder [ə rɪˈtɑːdə] уповільнювач

a coupler [ə ˈkʌplə] зчіплювач, зчіпка

interchange [ɪntəˈtʃeɪn(d)ʒ] зміна, транспортна розв'язка

preblocking [prɪˈblɒkɪŋ] попереднє об'єднання вагонів

за маршрутами

a block train/ a unit train [ə ˈblɒk ˈtreɪn/ ˈjuːnɪt ˈtreɪn] маршрутний поїзд

Граматичний коментар

The Gerund

Герундій – це не особова форма дієслова із закінченням –ing , що має властивості дієслова й іменника. Як і інфінітив, герундій називає дію: reading читання, listening слухання.

Як і дієслово, герундій перехідних дієслів вживається з прямим додатком (e.g. I like reading books.) і може мати означення, виражене прислівником (e.g. They continued listening attentively.)

Як і іменник, герундій може вживатися з прийменником (e.g. They sat without talking.) і може мати при собі присвійний займенник або іменник у присвійному відмінку (e.g. We insist on your coming next week.). Але, на відміну від іменника, герундій не вживається з артиклем і не має форми множини.

Герундій має неозначену й перфектну форми, вживається в активному і пасивному стані. За формою герундій збігається з відповідними формами Present Participle.

	Active	Passive
Indefinite	writing	being written
Perfect	having written	having been written

Сполучення герундія з іменником у присвійному відмінку або присвійним займенником становить герундіальний комплекс:

e.g. They were afraid of our finding out the truth.

Our partners informed us of Mr. Brown’s coming here.

2. Text

MARSHALING YARDS

A marshaling or classification yard is a railroad yard found at some freight train stations, used for separating trains or cuts of cars, for distributing cars in groups according to destinations, routes, commodities or traffic requirements. A marshaling yard consists mainly of a number of closely spaced parallel tracks. Each track is reserved for cars assigned to a particular route. Incoming trains approach the yard along a main track at one end. Newly assembled trains leave the yard along a main track at the other end. There were three chief types of classification yards: flat-shunted yards, hump yards and gravity yards. Now there is only one type that is used – the hump yard.

Flat yards were older types of a classification yard. They were constructed on flat ground, or on a gentle slope. In these yards, switch engines hauled cars from incoming trains onto the proper tracks from which departing trains were made up. An engine had to travel back and forth in up and down direction many times to make up a train. In addition, the switches and car brakes in these yards were operated by hand. The work required many employees and proceeded only as fast as the workers could do their job. As a result, classification often took a long time. Goods trains were received on the reception sidings and awaited their turn for shunting. The train engine was then detached and sent for servicing and the cars were examined for any defects.

Hump yards are the largest and most effective classification yards, with the largest shunting capacity – often several thousand cars a day. Hump yards speed the work of classification greatly. These yards make use of the law of gravity. In hump yards, switch engines or shunting locomotives push incoming trains along a single track to the top of a low hill, or hump. On the other side of the hump, the track branches out into a number of classification tracks or sorting sidings. On the arrival of a train to the top of a hump it is uncoupled into single wagons or groups of wagons (called “cuts”) according to destination (a cut list is prepared beforehand) and the proper switches are opened. The cars are weighed and then down the hump the single wagons or cuts roll, through points and retarders, by gravity onto their destination tracks in the classification bowl (the tracks where the cars are sorted). In its journey from the hump top to its destination in the siding, a wagon passes through several points, which determine its destination and also through retarders, regulating its speed in relation to other cuts, to reduce the possibility of overtaking. The speed of the cars must be regulated because of the different natural speeds of the wagons (full or empty, heavy or light freight, number of axles), the different filling of the tracks (whether there are presently few or many cars on it) and different weather conditions (temperature, wind speed and direction). In the modern marshaling yards braking is done by mechanized "rail brakes" called retarders. They are operated either pneumatically or hydraulically.

The cars are then collected from various tracks to form a unit train on the departure lines. The unit train proceeds on its journey as soon as the engine is attached and the main line is clear to receive the train from the yard. The reception and departure lines are of length sufficient to accommodate the longest goods trains running in the section served by the marshaling yard. The number of tracks in the reception and departure lines depends on the number of goods trains to be marshaled, the time taken for marshaling each train, the time required for inspecting cars for possible defects and on the density of traffic on the main line. All the yards are classified by hump capacity, i.e. the throughput of cars per day, into small, medium and high capacity yards handling up to 6000 and more cars a day. This operation is impossible without reliable automatic devices.

Gravity yards are operated similarly to hump yards but, in contrast to the latter, the whole yard is set up on a continuous falling gradient and there is less use of shunting engines. Typical locations of gravity yards are places where it was difficult to build a hump yard due to the topography. Gravity yards also have a very large capacity but they need more staff than hump yards and thus they are the most uneconomical classification yards.

The newest hump yards are almost completely automated. Automated hump yards not only require fewer workers than did older hump yards, but they also make classification quicker and more efficient. Computers control most of the yard operations. They assign cars to the proper track and so reduce the possibility of error. They also operate the hump switches and control special braking devices built into the hump tracks. These devices, called retarders, regulate a car’s speed as it rolls down the hump. The car thus meets the other cars on its track with just enough force to operate its coupler. These retarders are operated electrically or electro-pneumatically so that they press against the sides of wheels and bring the cars to a stop.

Automated hump yards help speed interchange by preblocking cars on a freight train – that is, by arranging all the cars on the train into groups according to their final destination. Cars on such a block train do not have to be reclassified at interchanges or yards. Unit trains further reduce the number of switchings or eliminate switchings entirely. Unit trains have a single type of freight car loaded with a single type of freight, such as coal or wheat. The cars all have the same destination and remain together until they reach it. Many unit trains make regular nonstop runs between the same two terminals – for example, between a coal mine and an electric power plant. Some unit trains change or add locomotives when they change from one rail line to another.

III. Vocabulary and Speech Exercises