P.C.C.M. #79: Coal ops on the KPD Part 1

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all safe and healthy as the Holiday Season quickly approaches!

This weekend John's New York Central Train Layout , Neal's Atlantic Pacific R.R. , and my own Kings Port Division are presenting a multi-train series of coal operations occurring between the three of us on our layouts.  You will also see some "intra-layout" coal ops on the Kings Port Division.  Coal ops are a popular favorite and account for significant traffic on my layout.  John's Hudson Coal mine will figure prominently and long strings of hoppers will be seen on all three layouts! 

On the KPD the first coal related run-through arrives at Williams Yard as a PC/B&M train of empty hoppers from New Hampshire.  This is a nod to the famous Penn Central Bow Power Plant Train.   On the KPD the PC/B&M train will run through to West Mill where power will be exchanged and the train will become a KP&W/B&O unit train heading to a Pennsylvania coal mine.

Here we see the train arrive at Williams Yard with a set of First Generation power in the form of an F7A-GP9B-GP9-F7A lashup!

After passing through Williams Yard the train continues through Kings Port, crossing Ulster Ave.

Watch the train run through Kings Port on its way to West Mill:

The train later arrives at West Mill where it stops for a power and crew change, and inspection.

A quartet of KP&W and B&O F7A's will take over.

Backing the new power up to the unit train...

West Mill's SW9 switcher removed the train's B&M caboose and will exchange it for a B&O hack for the rest of the trip.

Watch the train head out of West Mill in the video below:

Now that the unit train has cleared West Mill, lets head back over to Kings Port where KP Steel's industrial switcher #2 is pulling some empty hoppers out of the holding yard.    

The switcher crew is mindful to cut the cars on the PC interchange so they don't block Ulster Ave.

The Interchange Job completed, the diminutive switcher heads back to KP Steel.

 A train of empty hoppers will eventually be dispatched from West Mill to Selkirk to be forwarded to Hudson Coal on the N.Y.C.T.L.   The hoppers on the interchange will be picked up along the way. 

Before that happens we'll see a collection of empty coal hoppers gather at West Mill.  The first cut is coming from the Edison Power Plant at Port Owen, pulled out by SD9 #6925, assigned to the area.

The hoppers take the short trip to Port Owen's carfloat.

A little bit of mist comes off the river this morning while the cars are loaded on the float barge.

After the hoppers cars are secured the float is pulled out by tug boat "Robert H." for the 45 minute voyage to West Mill while the SD9's crew takes a break.

The Robert H. arrives at West Mill and  shoves the float into the West Mill slip.

West Mill's SD9 #6922, sister unit of #6925 at Port Owen, uses spacer cars to grab the empty hoppers off the float. 

These cars will be going to Hudson Coal on the N.Y.C.T.L.

One more cut of hoppers will be arriving at West Mill today.  A run from Bloomberg is bringing in a short string of empties from the Tri-Mount Cement Company.  (This is a new industry I've been pondering for a while and plan to feature it in a future blog post.).

Watch the Bloomberg Turn come back to West Mill with the cut of empty hoppers in the video below:

That's plenty of action for today!  Stay tuned tomorrow as string of empties is dispatched toward Hudson Coal, a Mayfield Transfer brings in loaded hoppers for the Port Owen Power Plant, and a unit coal train from Neal's layout runs through West Mill to reach the N.Y.C.T.L.!