If you're following this series of Penn Central Car Movements you know that two blocks of cars have arrived at West Mill from Terminal Yard. They have now been sorted at West Mill Yard into three trains that will soon be dispatched to do their respective work.
Here are some pics of yard switching action taken Friday when Tony and Wil employed their SD9 #6925 to move cars into the yard.
These two cars were from the first cut from Terminal Yard to be transferred to the KP&W yard at Mayfield for local industries.
Tony and Wil set these additional cars seen below on Track #1 to join them.
Coupling on...
There are no weekend freight movements on the KP&W's Mountain Branch so this is when the West Mill Historic Rail Society operates fan trips into the Catskills using the vintage doodlebug. Passengers catch a ride at West Mill and head up the Mountain Branch to access gorgeous scenery and resort hotels.
Passing the switch that accesses the Mountain Branch....
...and heading for the hills!
While there are no freight movements on the Mountain Branch, the same is not true of the Mayfield Branch as Extra #566 rolls into West Mill a little later.
Some of these cars are from earlier P.C.C.Ms and will be later be shown following their next moves as prescribed by the Rail Traffic Management Form John described in his blog. Just a quick recap; the R.T.M.F. is a list of the various cycles of car movements each of the freight cars we have in common will make. Some have as many as six cycles. Some of these are "intra-layout" moves, i.e. they will occur on my Kings Port Division before eventually heading to John's New York Central Train Layout. More on that later.
In the meantime, these cars are set out at West Mill Yard.
In addition to the P.C.C.M. "virtual ops" cars, Extra #566 also brought in a number of B&M cars that will added to the soon-to-be-dispatched Williams Yard Transfer.
All of the cars from Extra $566 have been set out. The crew parks its RS-3 and caboose, awaiting a return trip to Mayfield.
Meanwhile KP&W F7A #160, which came in as part of the pooled power for Unit Coal Train URN-4 previously, as been serviced and is ready to assume the head end of the Williams Yard Transfer.
Coupled onto the cars for the Williams Yard Transfer, #160 notches up to pull the cut out of the yard under the watchful gaze of Yardmaster Cappy Foster.
The transfer run ends with this TOCF car.
The train backs up to grab a KP&W transfer caboose.
Now that's done I'm wondering about prototype safety procedures and whether a buffer car might have been placed between the TOFC and the caboose? I'd be leery of riding behind it, especially after the shifted load noted earlier!
The train pulls out of West Mill for Williams Yard. Since this post is getting rather long I'll chronicle the train's journey in another post tomorrow.
Thanks for taking a look!
Really sharp looking transfer run to Williams Yard. The McGinnis inspired B&M cars look great. The paint scheme almost makes it look like the B&M and NH had some kind of family connection. I like your use of the Doodlebug on the Mountain Branch for the weekends. It gives you a reason to run vintage equipment and add a special run to your operations. I'm not aware of any special requirements for containers and TOFC loaded cars. The Rio Grande ran dedicated TOFC trains with cabooses hooked to the last car with trailers. I don't think they had much of a view with the trailer blocking their vision. They at least did it with their trains. I was not aware of this until today, the railroads East and West of the Mississippi had a different set of rules to follow. They were very similar but had some operating differences. I figured the FRA and DOT would have a universal set of rules. There is a chance that the Northeastern railroads may have handled TOFC cars differently.
ReplyDeleteThanks Brian! I appreciate your information about safety rules. I didn't know there were different rules on different sides of the country! You'd think standardization would have been the law. The point about the caboose crew not being able to see much because of the TOFc is worth thinking about I might make it a Kings Port Division rule that a TOFC cannot be immediately in fronf of the caboose.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a fun wrinkle to the SOP to have a buffer car for KP&W trains with trailers on the end ahead of a caboose. Or maybe with trains using a transfer caboose on the end of a train with trailers on the end. To my knowledge, we never had dedicated open platform transfer cabooses out in this part of the country. I know the Rock Island and Mopac had that style of caboose. But I only recall seeing just regular cabooses being used on hops between yards. It could be fun creating a whole SOP on KP&W caboose protocol.
DeleteTo: West Mill / Rock Ridge
ReplyDeleteFrom: Terminal Yard
Acknowledge yard work at West Mill and preparation of a Williams Yard Transfer run.
Terminal Yard out...
Another great day rail fanning the action at the busy West Mill Rail Hub! The Doodlebug fan trip was a nice touch as were the string of B&M cars going north to Williams Yard. Interesting topic on placement of caboose behind T.O.F.C. car. Thinking specifically on the T.O.F.C. caboose question I too remember seeing in video and still photos T.O.F.C. trains with a caboose and no buffer. However I do not recall seeing a transfer caboose on the rear of a T.O.F.C. train. Perhaps a bay window caboose or extended vision caboose would be better suited to be right behind the T.O.F.C. car? Good stuff from Brian on the different sent of rules governing operations for Northeastern railroads and the rest of the country. Interesting topics courtesy of the virtual ops!!!!
ReplyDeleteI had just read an article about the different operating rules governing train movements and the use of flags and markers. Also the fact the different regions had different rules. Not having any real knowledge of the dedicated transfer cabooses used in the East. Weren't they pretty much rolling offices for the "old" man on the back of the train? I don't know if they even had a rear brakeman assigned to them? So my thoughts are visibility may not matter using a open platform transfer caboose. Again not an expert on such matters.
DeleteFrom what I read it looks like the KP&W is operating it's transfer caboose for the purpose it was intended for. To Ralph's eye the trailer looks to pose a safety hazard and a visibility limitation that is something I think KP&W management will consider going forward. The transfer caboose was ideally suited for long reverse moves so maybe that's why it's placement behind the T.O.F.C. car caught his eye. I'm thinking the restricted speed of the train would not be an issue for crew safety. But like you noted establishing an SOP for this type of train movement would be fun.
DeleteTo: West Mill
ReplyDeleteTo: Terminal Yard
From: Rock Ridge yard
Acknowledge yard work at West Mill and preparation of a Williams Yard Transfer run
Rock Ridge Yard Out!
Ralph, Buffer cars go back at least 20 years, just not sure if longer than that. As far as rules of the railroads, while there are 'standards' some trackage has restrictions. For example, the Northeast Corridor could never handle TOFC cars as some spots have overhead wires that come very close to the tops of trains. I do like the Doodlebug making a trip. Nice to break up the running of freight trains.
ReplyDeleteJam packed day on the KP&W. Good thing Cappy Foster had control of that dislodged TOFC trailer. Cannot imagine what the EPA would have to say about it getting dumped in the river. Some sharp looking KP&W motive power and cars. Taking a ride up to the Catskills in that PRR doodlebug on a sunny weekend day in the fall would be fantastic excursion.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for a well planned and executed operating session.