Control system for railway yard and related methods

A server for controlling a railway yard with a plurality of railroad tracks, a plurality of remote control locomotives (RCLs) and sets of railcars respectively associated therewith on the plurality of railroad tracks, the plurality of RCLs being communication with the server, a plurality of railyard sensors in communication with the server and configured to generate railyard sensor data of the plurality of railroad tracks, the server comprising:

• a processor and memory coupled thereto and configured to:
• generate a database associated with the sets of railcars based upon the railyard sensor data, the database comprising, for each railcar, a railcar type value, a railcar logo image, and a vehicle classification value, and
• selectively control said plurality of RCLs to position the sets of railcars within the plurality of railroad tracks based upon the railyard sensor data,
• wherein said plurality of railyard sensors comprises an image sensor configured to generate railyard image data, and a proximity sensor configured to detect a presence of plurality of RCLs, and
• wherein said processor is configured to identify each railcar based upon the railyard image data.

A method for operating a control system for a railway yard with a plurality of railroad tracks, the control system comprising a plurality of remote control locomotives (RCLs) and sets of railcars respectively associated therewith on the plurality of railroad tracks, and a plurality of railyard sensors configured to generate railyard sensor data of the plurality of railroad tracks, the method comprising:

• operating a server in communication with the plurality of RCLs and the plurality of railyard sensors to generate a database associated with the sets of railcars based upon the railyard sensor data, the database comprising, for each railcar, a railcar type value, a railcar logo image, and a vehicle classification value;
• and
• operating the server to selectively control the plurality of RCLs to position the sets of railcars within the plurality of railroad tracks based upon the railyard sensor data,
• wherein said plurality of railyard sensors comprises an image sensor configured to generate railyard image data, and a proximity sensor configured to detect a presence of plurality of RCLs, and
• wherein said server is configured to identify each railcar based upon the railyard image data.