PCCM 99: Part 6 on the KPD

Gretings virtual ops fans!

We are continuing to follow the action on John's New York Central Train Layout, Neal's Atlantic Pacific R.R., and my own Kings Port Division in this 99th Penn Central Car Movement series!

We're in West Mill again taking an inventory of the remaining PCCM cars in the yard.  In the foreground we can see a string of cars that will  make up the Bloomberg Turn serving an industrial park in the Catskills.   The three cars in the background will be delivered by the Kings Port Turn, a northbound local.

Local railfans have noticed lately that a GP38-2 is being assigned to the Bloomberg Turn, replacing the two GP20s that used to handle the job.  

PC #8150 has been coupled to the front of the string for Bloomberg by the yard hostler.  We can see the Turn's crew getting ready to board.

Fingers O'Malley's transfer caboose is tacked onto the rear.

The Bloomberg Turn backs out of the yard to the mainline, 

The train pauses on the main near WM Tower waiting for permission to proceed...

...and then heads out on the branch to the Catskills.  Just as it leaves West Mill today's transfer from the KP&W's Mayfield Yard arrives with RS3 #566 at the head end.  The KP&W train is hauling half a dozen coal hoppers for Port Owen's Con Ed power plant.   Its a short train so no extra units are required.

Weren't we just here?   WM tower is a great place to watch trains enter and leave West Mill Yard!   The Mayfield Transfer's caboose is just beyond the yard entrance.  A KP&W crewman bends the iron to align the switch and the Transfer backs into the yard.

The Transfer's coal hoppers will be placed on the car float immediately after coupling them to three other cars ready for the river crossing to Port Owen; two PS2 covered hoppers loaded with lime and a KP&W boxcar carrying steel banding for Port Owen Brick Co..  

Watch switcher #8951 complete this task.

The actual loading of the carfloat will be done by SD9 #6922 as usual.

The SD9 and its spacer cars grab the string of nine cars and gets them ready for loading on the carfloat lead track.

Directing the action from his tower perch by the float apron is West Mill Carfloat Foreman "Maritime" Marty Manson (also known by the yard crew as "3M").   Let's roll those cars!

Watch the careful loading process in the video below.

All of the cars have been secured.  The barge has been disconnected from the apron.  The tugboat Robert H. has tied on.  The loaded carfloat is ready to shove off toward Port Owen.

You can see a cut of cars with two bulkhead flats in the background above.  This is a short South Local serving Half Moon Wholesale Lumber. 

The bulkheads will be loaded with lumber for Gotham Building Supply via the LIRR on John's layout. 

The GT and CN boxcars are non-PCCM cars filling out the manifest.

The South Local's power today is RSD12 #6865.   Watch it couple up to the cut of cars for Half Moon Wholesale Lumber.

Switcher #8951 adds a caboose to the short train.

The South Local leaves West Mill.

So, the Bloomberg Turn and the South Local are out on the rails heading toward their destinations, and the car float is bound for Port Owen.  We'll check on the progress of all of those movements tomorrow and follow an unusually short Kings Port Turn to wrap things up for this series on the KPD!