Headshunt

Short length of track to release locomotives at terminal platforms Platform track and run-round loop at Toyooka Station, Hyōgo, Japan, the terminus of the line from MiyazuA headshunt (or escape track in the United States) is a short length of track provided to release locomotives at terminal platforms, or to allow shunting to take place clear of main lines. Terminal headshunt Sequence at a terminal headshunt: 1. train arrives at the station 2. locomotive is detached from the train and moves into the headshunt 3. locomotive reverses and the points are switched 4. locomotive travels along the passing loop to pass the cars 5. locomotive reverses direction and the points are switched 6. locomotive couples to the opposite end of the train 7. locomotive reverses and the train departs A 'terminal headshunt' is a short length of track that allows a locomotive to uncouple from its train, move forward, and then run back past it on a parallel track. Such headshunts are typically installed at a terminal station to allow the locomotive of an arriving train to move to the opposite end of (in railway parlance, 'run around') its train so that it can then haul the same train out of the station in