Thursday, August 13, 2020

P.C.C.M. 75: Part 4 on the KPD


Well hello again!

We're continuing our 75th Penn Central Car Movements (P.C.C.M.s) series by looking at inbound trains coming from John's  New York Central Train Layout  and Neal's  Atlantic Pacific R.R. .

Over at Kings Port we see the arrival of a train that was originally designated SK-7 when dispatched from Terminal Yard for Selkirk.  After arriving at Selkirk, undergoing a crew change and inspection, the train continued south to Kings Port and will eventually stop at West Mill Yard.   It is now designated VWM-5 (Selkirk to West Mill).

Watch the train arrive and stop to set out five cars at the interchange with the King Port & Western R.R. in the video below.  Note the "very Penn Central" lashup of two F7As, F7B, GP30 selected by the Terminal Yard power superintendent!

LV boxcar #8247 and four TOFCs are being dropped off for the KP&W's Williams Yard.  The LV car will eventually be heading to Flint Michigan and the Delco Battery plant via a KP&W "WiBi" (Williams Yard to Binghamton).  VWM-5 is cut behind the TOFCs for the set out.

Watch the set out at the interchange in the video below (Keep your eyes open for the amazing disappearing brakeman!):


VWM-5 arrives at West Mill, showing off its eclectic consist while taking the big curve into the yard.

Stopping in West Mill with a long string of Terminal Yard cars.

 A number of cars on VWM-5 are going to be transferred by the Penn Central to the KP&W's Mayfield Yard; mostly auto parts cars for ACME Auto Parts.   Among those bound for other destinations include A.P.R.R. hopper #9416 which is staying right here at West Mill to provide some ballast for an MOW crew to drop at locations in the yard.

PC boxcar #360158 is loaded with cabinets from Universal Mill Work for Zenith TVs in Bloomberg

EL boxcar #73510, loaded with bagged iron ore for Port Own Brick is swiftly loaded on the car float for the next run over to Port Owen

The car is later seen at Port Owen Brick Company

 

Two empty Gulf tank cars from Terminal Yard are headed to their home company facility on the river in Kings Port.

 Cars that are going to Mayfield include five empty auto parts cars for from Ford for ACME, an LV boxcar loaded with paint and associated products from American Hardware for Amalgamated Container, and an IC boxcar from Neubaum's loaded with imported tea for Cavendish Foods.

 This cut of cars is organized into the next Mayfield Transfer and receives it Northeastern style caboose #18421

 Watch the Mayfield Transfer back out of West Mill Yard in the video below.  Local railfans enjoy watching those long auto pats cars roll by and the eye catching blue E.B.R.R. car is a popular favorite.

...and observe it leave for Mayfield powered by three First Generation Geeps in the video below.

Next Stop:  Mayfield Yard!

We'll close for today but stay tuned for more tomorrow!


Saturday, August 8, 2020

P.C.C.M. 75 Installment 3 from the KPD

Greetings!

Yesterday Extra 4348 was dispatched to John's  New York Central Train Layout .    Today we're at West Mill Yard waiting for the dispatch of a short train of cars for Neal's Atlantic Pacific R.R.

Before dispatching the southbound cars to Weehawken for the A.P.R.R. to pick up, however, an MOW train is being sent down there to assist with storm damage between Weehawken and Rock Ridge Yard.


Today's southbound for Weehawken is powered by two GP9s.   Their crew is seen boarding the lead engine below.


The Yard's SW9 #8951 tacks a caboose onto the rear of the cut of cars for the A.P.R.R., officially making this a train, Extra #7175.

Watch a video of the action as Extra 7175 backs out of West Mill Yard and then pulls forward past WM Tower and later burrows into the tunnel south of town as it heads toward Weehawken.


The manifest for Extra #7175 includes:

NAHX Corning  90404  For Pennsylvania Glass Sand, Millville Plant (Empty) from Corning Glass co.

PC gons 576104 & 576123  For Shapeless Steel from KP Steel  (coils)


HRC black 40 ft boxcar  For C&P Restaurant Supply from Reynolds Beverage Distributors  (beer, wine. liquor)

SLRX Swift 4244  For Shop Rite from Swift & Co Lawrence MA.  (frozen meat)

E.B.R.R.  360279  For Marcal  from International Paper  (bulk paper)

Hopefully track between Weehawken and Rock Ridge will be cleared soon to allow these cars to continue their journey south on the A.P.R.R.!


And now, some intra-layout action on the KPD before signing off.    TP&W boxcar  #627 is being delivered to the Gulf Facility.


 
Arriving at Gulf

 
Watch the single car delivery leave West Mill in the video below


After setting out the TP&W car, SW9 8951 pulls a string of oil tankers back to West Mill


Other intra-layout moves that followers of the Rail Traffic Management Form will want to note:

KP&W 644450 and 644455 are moved empty from Cavendish Foods to Peerless Appliance.

After the KP&W cars are spotted, NYC boxcar #80755 is pulled empty from Peerless....
...and later forwarded empty to Amalgamated Container Co.

Meanwhile, back at West Mill a run to Bloomberg (WMB-1) heads out to deliver....
KP&W and MRCC gons to Bell Pole...
...and NH boxcar #36116 loaded with new cans to Van Winkle Canning
After the hour long trip up the Catskills the gons are spotted at Bell Pole across from the Agway elevator
...while NH 36116 is set out at Van Winkle.
While the Bloomberg Turn is at this industrial park it also pulls the old NYC Pacemaker from Catskill Mt. Press.
The car is later forwarded to Quality Fabrications
Another day, in action happening closer to Binghamton, three PC RBLs and NYC Hi-Cube 173861 are pulled from IBM.
The Hi-Cube later ends up spotted at Corning Glass Co.
...while the RBLs are delivered to International Paper Co.

That concludes the inter and intra layout moves on the KPD in this "outbound" part of the 75th series.  Keep an eye open for next week as the "inbounds" arrive from John's and Neal's layouts and need to be delivered to their consignees!





Friday, August 7, 2020

P.C.C.M. 75 KPD Installment #2

Hello!

This is the second installment
of our landmark 75th virtual ops series from the Kings Port Division!

Freight cars are being gathered at West Mill Yard in anticipation of assembling and dispatching outgoing trains for John's New York Central Train Layout  and Neal's  Atlantic Pacific R.R..  The action includes West Mill Yard's SW9 #8951 performing a local pick up at Canton Box Co.   P&LE boxcar #35892 is loaded with packaging for Sunshine Biscuits



The SW9 also picks up two empty gons from Sal's Savage that will be forwarded to Bell Pole as an intra-layout move.

The switcher pulls the three cars back into the yard.

As the P&LE boxcar and the gons are dropped off at West Mill Yard, a returning Bloomberg Branch Run (BWM-4) brings TP&W boxcar #627 into the yard as an empty from Van Winkle Canning


The empty car is set out on a West Mill yard track.  It will eventually be forwarded to the Gulf Oil facility.

West Mill is starting to fill up.   Yardmaster Cappy Foster is making agitated calls from the tower to motivate his crews to get things moving!  He picked a bad day to stop smoking!

The following videos cover the action as an FP7/ GP38 consist get the call to haul the next train to Selkirk with cars for Terminal Yard on the N.Y.C.T.L.

The train (Extra #4348)  is seen on the high line over Kings Port while another Penn Central freight composed of empty hoppers rolls by on the lower level.  It then slows to stop at Kings Port.

The Extra stops at Kings Port to pick up two steel coil cars from the interchange with the Kings Port & Western.  The train is cut behind the string of eight cars bound for Hudson Coal.   The two steel coil cars from KP Steel are for Gervais Pipe and Fittings.

The train pulls ahead to back into the interchange track.

Crossing Ulster Ave and entering the interchange.


After coupling up, the train pulls the two covered coil coaches out of the interchange track...

...and backs them into the rest of the waiting cars.

Now a complete train for Selkirk,  Extra 4348 pumps up the air, checks all connections, and waits for the green indication that it can head north.


Watch Extra 4348 leave for Selkirk in the video below:

The manifest for Extra 4348 includes:

Two Southern bulkhead flat cars  for City Pallet from Half Moon Wholesale Lumber   (Lumber loads)

Six coal hoppers for Hudson Coal from the Port Owen Power Plant (Empty)

NYC & PRR 38 foot hoppers  from Corning Glass for Hudson Coal  (Empty)

Two coil cars for Gervais Pipe and Fitting from KP Steel  (coils)

LV NIRX  41000 for Berk Enterprises from International Paper  (adhesive backed paper)

PC 77047  For Neal’s Lumber & Hardware from Hedberg Aggregates  (bagged landscape rock)

KP&W 445052 and PC 883190 (PS-2)  for Lombo Concrete from Hedberg Aggregates (aggregate)

P&LE 35892  for Sunshine Biscuits from Canton Box  (cartons)

That's it for today.  Tomorrow's action will include the dispatch of a train southbound from West Mill to Weehawken where cars will be interchanged with the A.P.R.R. for a run to Rock Ridge Yard.





Thursday, August 6, 2020

P.C.C.M. 75: KPD Installment #1

Hi everybody!

It is with great pleasure and some some surprise that I post the first installment of our SEVENTY FIFTH virtual ops series!   It seems remarkable to me that we've enjoyed so many of these car forwarding sessions already!   You can tell that we must enjoy them...and we do!  We hope you will as well while following along.

This installment will feature a gathering of cars for intra-layout moves on the KPD and also for out-going trains that will later be dispatched to John's New York Central Train Layout  and Neal's  Atlantic Pacific R.R.

Starting at the newest industry on the layout, Half Moon Wholesale Lumber, two Southern Pacific bulkhead flat cars have been loaded with lumber for City Pallet on John's layout.  Care has been taken to strap these loads down securely.   

GP7 #5688 pulls them from Half Moon...

...and brings them to West Mill Yard.

Meanwhile at another new industry, the Port Owen Power Plant, a string of empty coal hoppers is being picked up by SD9 #6925 for a ride on the car float to West Mill



Arriving at the car float the SD9 couples up to the NYC gondola serving as a spacer car to shove the hoppers onto the float barge.



The car float shoves off and the empties later arrive at West Mill. 

SD9 #6922, the sister unit of the loco at Port Owen, gets ready to pull the hoppers off the float.

A pair of flat cars and an old PRR gon are the spacers at West Mill

The cars are set out in the yard....

...and coupled to the two bulkhead flats from Half Moon Wholesale Lumber.


More cars coming into West Mill:  A Kings Port & Western BiWi (Binghamton to Williams Yard) will be making an intermediate stop at West Mill.  Motive power choices must have been limited in Binghamton this morning as an aged Fairbanks Morse locomotive wearing the original KP&W gray-blue is on the point of this train.

A better looking F7B unit follows in the fresher KP&W blue.

The BiWi is hauling a number of cars to Williams Yard but the cut of five right behind the consist is for West Mill.  The Corning hopper is headed to Pennsylvania Glass Sand via the A.P.R.R., the two 38 foot hoppers are going to Hudson Coal on the N.Y.C.T.L., and the E.B.R.R. 50 foot plug door boxcar is loaded with IBM business machines for Nassau Community College.

LV (NIRX) 41000, making its virtual ops debut,  is loaded with bulk paper from International Paper for Berk Enterprises.

 The cars are dropped off at the yard.

 
The Corning covered hopper is set aside from the Terminal Yard cars as it'll soon headed in the opposite direction to Rock Ridge.

The BiWi continues on its way to Williams Yard near Kings Port.  Sal's Salvage Yard in the foreground with its metal shredder is an ominous sign for the FM unit nearly at the end of its time!

After the BiWi is well clear, a Penn Central Northbound Turn leaves West Mill to pick up cars.  First up is the Hoschton Railway 40 boxcar at Reynolds Beverage Distributors now loaded with beer, wine, and liquor for C&P Restaurant Supply on the A.P.R.R.


A little farther down the line at Hedberg, the Turn picks up two PS-2 covered hoppers loaded with aggregate for Lombo Concrete.   PC boxcar #77047 is loaded with bagged landscape rock for Neal's Lumber and Hardware on the N.Y.C.T.L.

The Turn will soon reach Kings Port where these two PC corrugated gondolas loaded with coils for Shapeless Steel on the A.P.R.R. are being set out on the interchange by KP Steel's shifter.

The Turn arrives in the early afternoon to pick up the gons and then heads for home.

After returning to West Mill the cars are are separated into a block for the N.Y.C.T.L....


..while the PC gons and the Hoschton boxcar join the Corning covered hopper headed for the A.P.R.R.

Later in the day a B&M freight arrives at Williams Yard carrying cars for West Mill.  

These include NH boxcar #36116  loaded with new cans for Van Winkle Canning from the American Can Co. of  Deering Jct, ME

...and SLRX (Swift) reefer #4244 loaded with frozen meat from Swift & Co. of Lawrence MA. for Shop Rite on the A.P.R.R. This car is also making its first appearance in a P.C.C.M.!

 After a crew change and the addition of more cars from Williams Yard for West Mill, including P&E #3638 recently unloaded at Blue Ribbon Flour...

...and brought into Williams Yard....

...the train continues on its way with the Bluebird power still at the head end as KP&W Extra 4233.



 Cars are set out at West Mill and the crew ties up the B&M units that will likely deadhead to Binghamton on the next KP&W WiBi.

That's probably enough for today.  Stay tuned tomorrow as more cars arrive at West Mill and a train is dispatched for Selkirk and eventually for Terminal Yard on the N.Y.C.T.L.