This article presents a comprehensive investigation into the influence of headwind on the motion dynamics of an empty open-type gondola car during its descent from a railway sorting hump. Accurate determination of hump height is a critical aspect of marshalling yard design, directly affecting the efficiency and safety of wagon disbanding operations. Traditionally, the engineering practice has considered the empty covered wagon as the worst-case or bad runner scenario for such calculations. However, this assumption fails to reflect the aerodynamic behavior of open wagons under real-world environmental conditions. To address this gap, the motion of the open gondola car was analyzed through an integrated approach combining classical mechanical equations with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling using the SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation platform. The study characterizes the complex distribution of aerodynamic forces acting on the wagon body, including frontal impact pressure, internal turbulent recirculation, and rear-wall suction effects—factors largely neglected in standard hump design methodologies. Simulation results indicate that, for identical hump geometries and initial conditions, the terminal velocity of an open gondola is 34.6% lower than that of a covered wagon. The maximum aerodynamic pressure recorded on the frontal face was 101.602 kPa, with significant turbulent flow structures observed within the wagon’s internal cavity. These findings demonstrate that the open gondola experiences not only higher overall drag but also compound resistance mechanisms that critically affect its trajectory and stopping point on the classification track. The study concludes that continued use of covered wagons as a baseline reference for hump profile calculations leads to systematic underestimation of required elevation and velocity parameters. It recommends that open-type wagons be adopted as the reference vehicle in adverse scenarios, particularly under headwind exposure. Furthermore, the integration of CFD-based methods into the design and automation of marshalling yards is strongly advocated, enabling more accurate predictions of wagon behavior, reduced manual interventions, and enhanced operational reliability.