Hi all!
More Kings Port & Western Railroad action on this Penn Central Car Movement series as the Mayfield Run is assembled and dispatched from West Mill.
It all starts as just another trick on switcher #8951, still in its NYC livery. Its crew of old heads from the "Central" secretly hopes the diminutive loco won't have PC mating worms applied to to it. They fire up their beloved SW9 and head into the yard to pick up the string of cars for Mayfield.
An overly excited railfan can't keep his camera still while recording the action as the SW9 grabs the cut of cars.
Better shots as the string of cars for Mayfield is pulled from West Mill Yard.
and backed into a departure track for KP&W power to pick up. Looks like West Mill P.D. wants to have another chat with Sal Monella!
The cut is set out with the huge NYC auto parts car looming behind the locomotive that will haul it to Mayfield Yard..
The SW9 leaves the cut of cars and returns to the yard.
Meanwhile, freshly serviced KP&W RS-3 #566 is fired up by a new crew. In typical Alco fashion, it belches out black smoke when the engineer notches up the throttle to move its caboose for later coupling to the rear of the Mayfield cut. (This is a little bit of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery in response to John's recent pics including loco exhaust).
Moving the caboose...
The caboose in place, the RS-3 moves forward to access a runaround to get in front of the cut of cars.
Pausing at Cappy Foster's palace, West Mill's modern Yard Tower, the RS-3 waits for the switch to be realigned so it can back into the Mayfield cut.
Backing into the cut and coupling up with the caboose, officially making this the Mayfield Run.
The train backs up to access the switch to the Mayfield Branch. Meanwhile, the W.M.P.D., apparently finished talking to Sal, leaves the Salvage Yard. He's always one of the "usual suspects" but they can never pin anything on him.
The RS-3's engineer shifts the reverser into "Forward" and the Mayfield Run heads out of town with cars for Peerless Appliance, Cavendish Foods, and ACME Auto Parts.
That's it for now! Next Up: The Kings Port Turn serves actual industries on the layout!
Hello!
A quick follow up to yesterday's action. The Williams Yard Transfer has left West Mill and is later seen drifting down grade after having reached the summit of the Kings Port Division at Marion.
On the high line above Kings Port, crossing over Ulster Ave.
And finally approaching Kings Port and Williams Yard.
The train passes by KP Tower...
And crosses Ulster Ave. at grade.
The cars for Battaglia Bros Warehouse roll by...
...followed by the B&M RBL car that probably could have been blocked with the other B&M cars heading home on the interchange with the B&M at Williams Yard! The PC gon loaded with pipe for the Hudson Valley Ag. coop will be unloaded at Williams Yard.
The transfer run disappears under the over pass and enters Williams Yard.
Williams Yard is actually a staging track that follows the layout around and reappears at West mill in a continuous loop. I can stage trains "coming out of Williams Yard" by setting them up at West Mill and sending them back on the staging track in the other direction.
Such is the case with a short local run by a pair of KP&W switchers "leaving Williams Yard" to set out cars at Battaglia Bros. Warehouse.
The short train passes PC U33C #6554 on a caboose hop to West Mill.
...and continues beyond the switch for the industrial lead to Battaglia Bros. and Blue Ribbon Flour.
...encountering a "partially" PC GP35 working an interchange with the KP&W.
..and then backs into the industrial lead to set out the cars.
The industrial lead is a staging track as well, but I like to provide images of cars at industries that aren't actually modeled on the layout, like Battaglia Bros. Warehouse, so I've created some backdrop facades like this.
The TOFCs are shown "at Williams Yard" in a similar manner.
I'm still pondering ideas for improving these sorts of presentations of industries that aren't really modeled on the layout since the current backdrops were somewhat hastily made. Confidentially I'm thinking about creating a 1 X 4 foot layout with a drop down staging track that could be mounted on top of a rolling storage cabinet I already have in the layout room. I could wheel it into the center of the layout room for pics like this. The drop down section could allow for showing the cars approaching their loading docks on videos...I'll keep you posted as this idea develops. .
Anyway, that's it for the Williams Yard Transfer.
Thanks for taking a look!
Hi all,
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.
Cars from the second cut from Terminal Yard are added to those from the previous day's cut for the transfer run to KP&W's Williams Yard in Kings Port. Two 50' foot boxcars loaded with cabinets for Battaglia Bros. Warehouse and an empty B&M car returning to its home road via the Williams Yard connection with the B&M are seen joining the first set of cars.
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...
The situation at West Mill Yard after receiving the two cuts of cars from Terminal Yard: The Mayfield Run is on the left, cars for a Kings Port Turn are in the center, and the Williams Yard Transfer is on the right. Crews better take a look at that TOFC trailer that appears to have shifted and is in danger of rolling into the river! Sharp eyes might notice the P.R.R. Doodlebug in the background at the West Mill commuter station.
Their yard work completed, Tommy and Wil tie up SD9 #6925 and go to beans. Its been a busy shift!
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!
