Can A Site Be Rail Served?

You can always put a non-rail industry on a rail-served site, but you can't put an industry that needs rail service on a non-rail site. What are the requirements for a site to be rail served?

1Slope: A rail site must be able to overcome the elevation changes between the mainline and unloading pad. The siding must meet the following requirements:

• Single Car Service: siding must have less than a 2.5% slope for single railcar service
• unit train Service: siding must have less than a 1.5% slope for unit train Service

2Siding Curvature: Trains cannot turn as sharply as trucks. Therefore, the turning radius can be as much as 600 feet for a train compared to 60 feet for a truck. I like to use the ballpark analogy where trucks only need the infield to make a complete turn around while trains need the entire ballpark.

• Recommended Curvature: less than 10 Degrees
• Maximum Curvature: curvature over 12 Degrees requires written approval of the Chief Engineer

3Track Layouts: Track configuration is driven by freight volume requirements and are also driven by the slope and curvature requirements. Here are the most basic types of configurations:

• Basic Stub-In: this configuration allows cars to be placed and pulled out in one direction only.
• Runaround: Usually parallels the mainline and can accomodate traffic from either direction.
• Loop Track: designed to support continuous movement for faster unloading or large trains.

4Nearby Obstacles: turnouts for rail sidings also cannot be located near:

• Rail Curves: Siding turnouts cannot be located within 200 feet of a curve
• Road Crossings: Siding turnouts cannot be located within 200 feet of a road crossing
• Bridges & Tunnels Siding turnouts cannot be located within 200 feet of a bridge or tunnel.
• Another Turnout: Siding turnouts cannot be located within 200 feet of another turnout.