PCCM 86: Part 6 on the KPD

Hello and welcome to the conclusion of the Kings ort Division's involvement in this 86th Penn Central Car Movement (AKA "the virtual ops")  with John's New York Central Train Layout.

John's Terminal Yard sent the KPD 32 cars this time around and most have been delivered to their respective consignees.  Crews at the Penn Central's West Mill Yard along with the KP&W's Williams Yard and Mayfield Yard have been keeping up the pace getting those cars moving. 

A KP&W transfer run picked up cars from West Mill yesterday and brought them into Mayfield Yard. Here's a photo from yesterday as the Mayfield Transfer running with pooled LV/KP&W power prepares to leave West Mill.

At Mayfield the cars were put on local run bright and early this morning.  The local drops off  PC/TOC # 350562, KP&W #50335, and NYC #53501, all empty, at ACME Auto Parts.  These cars will be loaded for Ford on John's N.Y.C.T.L.

The second and last stop is Peerless Appliance where PC Hi Cube # 272242, full of electrical components from Bruce Electrical Equipment is set out at loading door #2   The local then pulls some non-player cars back to Mayfield. 

That completes the delivery of all virtual ops cars except for Cargill covered hopper TLDX #7241 that was pulled empty from Blue Ribbon Flour in Kings Port (in part 4 of this series) and needs to be forwarded to Empire Grain in West Mill.  This is an intra-layout move that sets up car forwarding for the next PCCM.

I'm experimenting with a possible operations change that will affect how cars from John's layout are forwarded on mine in future PCCMs.   Up to now cars for customers that are served by the Kings Port & Western (such as ACME and Peerless Appliance seen in photos above) tended to be sent directly to the Penn Central's West Mil Yard where they would later be transferred to the KP&W's yard at Mayfield.  Thinking to make this a purely KP&W operations we're going to try dropping off all cars for the KP&W at Williams Yard and then send out KP&W transfer runs to Mayfield, bypassing West Mill, unless there are cars that need to be dropped off for the Penn Central there.  

Here goes the dry run!  Imagining that I'm running a transfer from Williams Yard to Mayfield Yard, I've placed a number of cars for Mayfield in front of the Cargill covered hopper that is going to West Mill for the Penn Central to deliver to Empire Grain.   I'm also adding a few extra cars for the Penn Central at West Mill behind the Cargill hopper.  The Transfer is seen leaving Williams Yard and passing through Kings Port below:

Watch the Transfer arrive an hour later at West Mill in the video below: 

 After the Transfer arrives at West Mill it continues until its locomotives cross onto the KP&W track off the PC mainline.  

 

This works well on my DC controlled layout as this track is a separate electrical block.   I can cut power to the KP&W consist while the West Mill yard switcher heads out of the yard and runs up behind the train.

The block for West Mill is cut in front of the Cargill hopper.

Watch the switcher run out, grab the cut at the rear of the train for West Mill, bring it into the yard, and then return the KP&W's caboose:

After checking air, the Transfer continues on its way to Mayfield.

 The initial run of this op seemed to go pretty well!  Previous transfers of KP&W bound cars to West Mill required inconvenient back up moves for them to later head out toward Mayfield.  Look for this sort of action in PCCM 87!

That concludes the current PCCM 86!  Thanks for following along! 

 

 

 

 

 

PCCM 86: Part 5 on the KPD

 Greetings!

We're now deep into the "inbounds" part of this virtual ops series between my Kings Port Division and John's New York Central Train Layout .   Cars that were sent on trains dispatched from John's Terminal Yard have been broken up and blocked for delivery to their consignees.

Today we're at West Mill Yard looking at a block of cars for the Kings Port & Western's Mayfield Yard while in the background we can see a KP&W Transfer from Mayfield arriving to pick them up.

The pooled power KP&/LV train is hauling loaded coal hoppers from the KP&W's LV coal connection.   The train backs into West Mill to set out the hoppers for the car float.

Watch the LV/KP&W lashup roll by the cut of cars it will take back to Mayfield in the video below:

The West Mill yard switcher obligingly places the KP&W's caboose on the rear of the cut.

The Mayfield Transfer is now ready to depart.  Watch it back out of West Mill Yard in the video below:

The train continues to back into the tunnel under GERN Industries to crossover tracks and access the main in front of WM Tower.

The transfer quickly receives permission to proceed to Mayfield!

We'll follow the delivery of the cars on this train tomorrow.

Meanwhile SD9 #6922 wastes no time grabbing the cars it needs to load on the car float, including EL boxcar #73510 loaded with bagged iron ore for Port Owen Brick Co.

Watch some railfan edited footage of the float being loaded.

The car float casts off and arrives at Port Owen 45 minutes later.

The float is quickly unloaded and reloaded.  EL boxcar #73510 is set out at Port Owen Brick Co.   KP&W #445052 and PC 883190 are shoved onto the float with some empty hoppers.

 An hour later they are pulled off the float at West Mill

The two PS-2 covered hoppers are included on a cut of cars that will make up today's Northbound Local (WW-1) delivering cars to local industries.

Watch the twin RSD12s assigned to this train approach the cars in the yard and then pull the train out of West Mill Yard.

The first drop off is right outside the yard limit. PC #360063 is set out at Canton Box Co. with a load of bulk cardboard.   The car is cut from the rear of the train...

The pair of Alcos shove the car next to Canton's loading dock.

The NYC Early Bird is then set out at the lower Kings Port team track where a truck from LaRoche Cycle waits for the boxcar load of Prestige Gears.  

Reaching Hedberg Aggregates the Alcos run around their train, pick up three loaded hoppers and set out the two PS-2s at Hedberg.

 Watch the exchange of cars at Hedberg in the video below:

The short train heads back to West Mill and then stops at the Gulf riverside facility.

Four loaded tankers are pulled for West Mill Yard.

...and added to the train (now designated as WW-2 returning to West Mill)

Two empty tankers and TP&W boxcar #627 to be loaded with 55 gallon drums of cutting oil for Walsh Steel Wool are set out.

WW-2 heads back to West Mill.

That is plenty of action for today!  We'll wrap up the KPD's involvement in this series tomorrow!

 

 

 

PCCM 86: Part 4 on the KPD

Welcome back!   Thanks for dropping in again! Last weekend we ran the "outbound" installments of our 86th Penn Central Car Movements, also known as the "virtual ops".  This one is just between my Kings Port Division and John's New York Central Train Layout as Neal's Atlantic Pacific R.R. layout  is undergoing some renovations.

This weekend we've started our "inbound" installments as trains from each other's layouts arrive on our own.  Yesterday the two trains John dispatched from his Terminal Yard arrived on my Kings Port Division and were broken up into blocks for local trains to deliver the cars to their consignees.

The first train to leave Williams Yard with cars to deliver is a local KP&W run powered by S12 #34.

Watch the local run to Battaglia Brother's Warehouse and Blue Ribbon Flour drop off five cars.   The two NYC 50 ft. double door boxcars are loaded with Ideal Toys and PC #360158 is carrying Superior Furniture.  These three cars will be set out at Battaglia Brothers Warehouse.   LV NIRX #41000 has printed cartons for Blue Ribbon Flour from Berk enterprises while P&E #3638 is hauling a milling machine for Blue Ribbon from Reliable Machine works.

The brakeman throws the switch for the industrial lead to Blue Ribbon Flour and Battaglia Brothers Warehouse.

Watch the cars back into the lead for the set outs. A Cargill car is then picked up from Blue Ribbon Flour in the video below:

 Blue Ribbon Flour and Battaglia Brother's Warehouse can be seen in the distance in these photos.

The next train to leave Williams Yard will be WiBi-3, otherwise known as the "WeeBee", between Williams Yard and Binghamton.  Powered by a KP&W F7A/F7B/GP9 lashup, the train will carry three virtual ops cars westward along with several non-player cars. 

Just before the WiBi leaves Williams Yard a KP Steel industrial switcher runs out to the interchange track to grab a pair of gons loaded with scrap that were left by PC train TK-99 in yesterday's installment.

Watch the WiBi slowly leave Kings Port with two empty LV cars (#7120 returning to Frontier Yard in Buffalo and #8427 heading to Delco Batteries in Flint, MI), and a Corning covered hopper loaded with silica sand for Corning Glass Co.

 Shortly after the WiBi passes, the KP Steel switcher pulls the gons into the mill's receiving yard.

Lets head over to West Mill now.    Coincidentally, two gons are being moved there too!  KP&W#2140 and MCRR #350623 are being pulled empty from Sal's Salvage and brought into the yard.

The gons are coupled to an aging Pacemaker at the end of a cut of cars that will form today's Bloomberg Turn.

The yard switcher tacks a caboose on the rear of the cut of cars for Bloomberg.

Watch the power for the Bloomberg Turn, the usual pair of GP20s, pass the cut of cars to get in front of them.

The crew of the Bloomberg Turn boards their lead unit, still in NYC livery.  It will soon back out of the yard to access the main.

Watch the Bloomberg Turn back toward the switch to the main but hold for the WiBi as it passes through West Mill in the background.

The Bloomberg Turn's engineer checks in with WM Tower prior to receiving clearance to proceed.  The billboard to the right of the tower prompts some discussion about the Tower Operator's favorite team.  Things aren't looking great this year but the season's not over yet.  The engineer is a Yankees fan so the banter can get pretty spirited at times!   They do agree on the Schaefer Beer though!  That's a nice new looking Caterpillar excavator digging into the shredded scrap at Sal's Salvage!

Watch the Turn leave West Mill in the video below:

The Turn takes the Bloomberg Branch up the Catskills.

Set outs at Bloomberg include APRR #60327 & 60358 both loaded with pallets, and PC #229046 loaded with printed labels, for Van Winkle Canning.

PC #77047, also loaded with pallets from City Pallet in Empire City, is placed at Woodstock Hills Natural Soda across the tracks from Van Winkle Canning.

PC #104478 full of Drywell Ink is set out for Catskill Mt. Press.

The NYC Pacemaker carrying burlap bags is delivered to Bloomberg's Agway while MCRR gon # 350623 and KP&W gon #2149 in the foreground are set out empty for Bell Pole and Lumber.

Later that day the WiBi reaches Binghamton.  A local run from there to Corning includes the covered hopper loaded with silica sand.

That's it for today.  Check in tomorrow as cars for Mayfield industries and local businesses near West Mill are delivered.