Monday, November 18, 2024

PCCM 108: Part 6 on the KPD

 Hello again! 

If you're reading this you know that we are running Penn Central Car Movement Series 108,  a  three layout "virtual ops" exchange of freight cars between John's New York Central Train Layout , Neal's Atlantic Pacific RR, and my own Kings Port Division. 

This is the final installment from the Kings Port Division for this series.

After previous installments in which several trains were dispatched from West Mill Yard to deliver cars to their respective consignees its time to head over to the Kings Port & Western's Williams Yard where a sizeable "Steel Job" is being prepared for nearby KP Steel.  The train includes a number of gondolas loaded with scrap metal, a group of Evans coil coach cars, and a string of hoppers loaded with coal. 

The Steel Job is ready to depart Williams Yard and arrive at KP Steel

The Steel job arrives at KP Steel where industrial switcher #3 moves cars around at the steel complex.

And that concludes the PCCM 108 ops...sort of....

And now for the OOPS! part of our program.  I tend make at least one error per series while managing the movement of so many freight cars.  This seems almost prototypical when modeling the Penn Central railroad!  :)

 No Way to Run A Railroad: The Untold Story of the Penn Central Crisis:  Salsbury, Stephen: 9780070544833: Amazon.com: Books

In any case, back at West Mill, Yardmaster Cappy Foster ain't happy.  

He's staring at two MEC bulkhead flats that were supposed to have been directed to Mechanicville from Selkirk Yard.  Instead, they ended up being included on a VW-1 transfer and set out here by mistake.

The old NYC Pacemaker car was supposed to have been included in a cut of cars for a Kings Port & Western transfer to take back with them to Mayfield Yard but it was missed in the yard.

The red and gray NYC boxcar is included on the next West Mill transfer run to the KP&W's Mayfield Yard in a relatively humble move compared to its glory days in Pacemaker unit train service!

The KP&W later spots the car at Amalgamated Container Co.

The two errant MEC bulkhead flats are set on a siding for the next WV-2 to pick up and take to Selkirk for forwarding to Mechanicville.

And THAT concludes the involvement of the Kings Port Division in PCCM 108.  Please direct any complaints to the Division Supervisor!   Thanks for following along!


Sunday, November 17, 2024

PCCM 108: Part 5 on the KPD

Hello! 

We are continuing Penn Central Car Movement Series 108,  a three layout "virtual ops" exchange of freight cars between John's New York Central Train Layout , Neal's Atlantic Pacific RR, and my own Kings Port Division.  

At the end of the last installment West Mill Yard sent a long transfer to the KP&W's Williams Yard.   This freed up a lot of space at West Mill but there are still several PCCM cars to move.

The next train out of West Mill will be a Kings Port Turn that will deliver cars to local industries.  The train will be powered by a pair of RSD12s.

Two cars have been placed in front of the locomotives to facilitate easy set outs at Sal's Salvage and Empire Grain, just outside of the yard. 

The rest that will be going to Kings Port trail the locomotives as usual.

The Kings Port Turn departs under the watchful eyes of  Yardmaster Cappy Foster and "old head" brakeman Swede Torkelton.  It sets out a new Caterpillar excavator at Sal's Salvage.      


After dropping off the excavator at Sal's the Turn backs up on the mainline to access Empire Grain.

The RSD12s are uncoupled from the rest of the train so it can push the Cargill hopper into Empire Grain's loading track.


The Cargill hopper is set out and the Turn heads to Kings Port.


The first task at Kings Port is to set out former Early Bird service boxcar #90718 at the Team Track platform.   It is carrying Prestige Gears for LaRoche Cycle.    The bicycle manufacturer does not have direct access to a rail siding so it sends a truck to the team track to pick up the delivery.


The Early Bird is set out for LaRoche Cycle.


The RSD12s return to the train and pull forward while the power that took the long transfer to Williams Yard yesterday returns caboose lite to West Mill.   The Turn then performs runaround moves to set out three tankers at Gulf.


The Turn then gains permission to cross the main to work Blue Ribbon Flour and Battaglia Brother's Warehouse.


Watch the Turn drop off PC #360152 at Battaglia Brother's Warehouse and NYC covered hopper #892010 at Blue Ribbon Flour while a KP&W RDC from Marion arrives at the upper level Kings Port Station.  


The Kings Port Turn's work is done and it returns to West Mill caboose lite

West Mill crews continue to be busy assembling trains to clear the yard.  The next train is today's Bloomberg Turn that heads up the Catskills to work an industrial park.


The PCCM cars on this train are the three B&M RBLs loaded with Yankee veneers for Zenith TV in Bloomberg's industrial park.


Watch the Bloomberg Turn back out of West Mill Yard, stop for orders at WM Tower and then proceed on the branch line up to the Catskills.


The three B&M RBLs are later set out at Zenith TVs


That will do for today.  We'll wrap up the Kings Port Division's involvement in this series tomorrow!


Saturday, November 16, 2024

PCCM 108: Part 4 on the KPD

Welcome back to Penn Central Car Movement Series 108,  a  three layout "virtual ops" exchange of freight cars between John's New York Central Train Layout , Neal's Atlantic Pacific RR, and my own Kings Port Division.   

West Mill Yard's switcher begins this installment by setting out a pair of 38 foot hoppers for the Kings Port & Western to pick up when their next scheduled transfer from Mayfield Yard arrives later this morning.



The expected transfer arrives with an RS3/ F7A consist pulling some coal hoppers from the Lehigh Valley Connection and a pair of NYC double door box cars it picked up from Williams Yard that it will take back to Mayfield for later delivery to Peerless Appliance.

After setting out the coal hoppers that will be delivered to the Port Owen Con Ed power plant the transfer's consist performs runaround moves and gets ready to return to Mayfield.

The Transfer leaves West Mill

Later in the afternoon the KP&W sets out the two NYC double door boxcars at Peerless Appliance near Mayfield Yard.

Shortly after the Mayfield Transfer dropped off the coal hoppers SD9 #6922 shoves them onto the car float.   EL boxcar #73510, loaded with iron ore from T&R Gravel, will ride the car float to Port Owen Brick Co. while the hoppers will be delivered to the Con Ed plant. 



SD9 #6922 carefully loads the car float.


After the car flat docks at Port Owen EL #73501 is set out at Port Owen Brick Co.

West Mill is anticipating the arrival of a KP&W WiBi-4 (Williams Yard to Binghamton transfer) that will pick up two Lehigh Valley boxcars.  SW9 #8951 sets the cars out for easy pick up.



Meanwhile over at Williams Yard the WiBi-4 is preparing to depart


Watch the WiBi-4's consist roll by, couple up to the train, and take it out of Williams Yard to West Mill.

The Wibi-4's consist cuts off from the train and picks up the two LV cars.  The #7120 is returning empty to Buffalo's Frontier Yard while the also empty #8247 is returning to Flint, MI.


 Watch the pick up in the video below:


The pick up completed, all connections checked, and the air up; the WiBi-4 calls the Kings Port dispatcher for permission to proceed toward Binghamton and then heads out of West Mill.


 Its time to clear more yard space!   The next train to be dispatched from West Mill will be a transfer to the KP&W's Williams Yard in Kings Port.  It will be a good sized train with several coal hoppers, steel coil coaches, and gondolas loaded with scrap metal, all for KP Steel, and a gondola load of pipe for the Hudson Valley Co-op that receives shipments at Williams Yard.

The yard switcher assembles the transfer.



A GP9m/GP20/GP20 combo is called to power the transfer to Williams Yard.  Watch it leave the engine service tracks, pick up orders at WM Tower, and then lead the transfer out of West Mill for Williams Yard.


After the transfer arrives KP&W switcher #24 breaks down the train and takes the EBRR gon loaded with pipe for the Hudson Valley Co-Op to the unloading dock.


 

That's a wrap for today!  Come back tomorrow for more action at both West Mil and Williams Yard!


Friday, November 15, 2024

PCCM 108: Part 3 on the KPD

Welcome back to Penn Central Car Movement Series 108!   

Its a full two weekend, three layout operation between John's New York Central Train Layout , Neal's Atlantic Pacific RR, and my own Kings Port Division.   

This weekend we're focusing on the inbound portion of the current series.  Trains with freight cars from the APRR and the N.Y.C.T.L. are scheduled to arrive at West Mill Yard today.

We'll start our "virtual ops" railfanning at Selkirk where SK-7, a manifest train John dispatched from his Terminal Yard, is now arriving.


Cars from SK-7 for the Kings Port Division will be put on the next VW-1 transfer to Weehawken which will make an intermediate stop at West Mill.  These three B&M RBLs (seen below) recently arrived from Mechanicville will also ride to West Mill.  They are loaded with Yankee Veneers for Zenith TVs in Bloomberg.


The three RBLs and the rest of train that will be designated as VW-1 are coupled to their assigned Penn Central Power, pair of GE U Boats sandwiching an EMD GP30.


The train receives permission to leave Selkirk.  Its a long one so our railfan videographer didn't film the entire length.

The Dresser Magcobar car bound for Houston, TX awaits dispatch on a train to St. Louis.  The GP40 seen behind the orange and white car is leading train NY-20, a transfer run to Rotterdam Jct. that will interchange with the B&M there.

The three auto parts cars that arrived at Selkirk on train WmV-6 in my previous PCCM installment last weekend (shown below at West Mill prior to dispatch to Selkirk on Wm-V-6)  are now being included on the NY-20 to Rotterdam Jct.   At Rotterdam Jct. they will be added to train NY-10 (that originated at Dewitt Yard in East Syracuse) and run to Mechanicville for eventual delivery to the Ford plant in Somerville, MA.



As Mechanicville waits for the arrival of NY-10, the D&H locomotive's crew in the background is getting orders from their company's XO Tower.

 

NY-20, hauling the three auto parts cars, is seen leaving Selkirk behind a pair of GP40s.  A B&M crew will take over the train at Rotterdam Jct. and run to it Mechanicville as  NY-10 with an F7A/F7B/FP7 consist.

Meanwhile train VW-1, the transfer from Selkirk to Weehawken makes its intermediate stop at West Mill.

After dropping off a large cut of cars the VW-1 continues south to Weehawken.

 It will take a few moves to pull sections of the long cut from VW-1 into the yard.  GP9 #7175 is assigned the task



West Mill is filling up! (again!)



Fortunately there is just enough room to receive cars forwarded from Neal's APRR.  They arrive on train WV-2, one of the five daily transfers from Weehawken to Selkirk.   The train will make an intermediate stop at West Mill to set out six cars.  It is seen arriving behind two GP38-2s.  One of the cylindrical hoppers the APRR is sending to Terminal Yard can just be seen in the tunnel portal.

As WV-2 rolls by we can see some of the PCCM cars being forwarded from Rock Ridge Yard.  They include LV boxcars #7120 and #8247 which will both be forwarded to Western destinations and NYC covered hopper #892010 for Blue Ribbon Flour in Kings Port.   One of the red TP&W boxcars the APRR is forwarding to Terminal Yard can barely be seen on the right in front of LV# 7120 as it goes by.

Empire Belt gon #509823 is loaded with Shapeless Steel pipes for the Hudson Valley CO-OP.

The two PC corrugated gons are loaded with scrap for KP Steel.

After WV-2 comes to a stop its caboose is cut so the six cars on the rear of the train can be set out.

 The cars for West Mill are set out by WV-2.


After the set out we manage to catch a last minute photo of WV-2 leaving West Mill for Selkirk!

Switcher #8951 starts assembling the cars in the yard into blocks for future dispatch.


We'll see trains dispatched from West Mill in tomorrow's installment.  Stay tuned!