Retarder (railroad) on:
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"Definitions: Inert retarder."
''Railroad Noise Emission Compliance Regulations.'' ''Code of Federal Regulations,'' .
In rail transport
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...
, a retarder is a device installed in a classification yard
A classification yard (American and Canadian English (Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard ( British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English (Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ...
used to reduce the speed of freight car
A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a ...
s as they are sorted into train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
s.
Construction
Each retarder consists of a series of stationary brakes surrounding a short section of each on the track that grip and slow the cars' wheels throughfriction
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:
*Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of ...
as they roll through them.
Computer control
Modern retarders are computer controlled to apply a precise amount of pressure on the wheels so that cars rolling down a yard's hump are slowed to a safe speed for coupling with cars already standing on the yard's tracks.Inert retarder
An inert retarder holds a cut of classified railcars to keep them from rolling out of a yard.U.S. Federal Railroad Administration, Washington, D.C. (1983)"Definitions: Inert retarder."
''Railroad Noise Emission Compliance Regulations.'' ''Code of Federal Regulations,'' .
See also
* Dowty retarders *Retarder (mechanical engineering)
A retarder is a device used to augment or replace some of the functions of primary friction-based braking systems, usually on heavy vehicles. Retarders serve to slow vehicles, or maintain a steady speed while traveling down a hill, and help prev ...
* Wheel stop
References
Rail yards Railway buildings and structures Rail freight transport {{Rail-transport-stub