PCCM 100: Part 7 on the KPD

 Hello one more time!

This is my final installment of  the King Port Division's participation in our 100th Penn Central Car Movement series which includes John's New York Central Train Layout , Neal's Atlantic Pacific R.R., my own Kings Port Division, and a special welcome back to Brian's Ralson Creek R.R.!

There are still a few more PCCM cars to deliver to consignees.  We'll wrap it up today by starting at Kings Port where a short Turn that was seen dispatched from West Mill in my previous post has arrived at Kings Port.  GP20 #2107 is at the head end.

The Kings Port Turn's first job is to set out empty PC boxcar #77047 which was misdirected to West Mill.  It should have been set out at the KP&W's Williams Yard to be forwarded to Hedberg Aggregates.  Readers familiar with the Kings Port Division might wonder about that but bear with me.  All will be explained soon!

After setting out #77047 on the interchange track for the KP&W the Turn's GP20 backs a 40 foot HRC boxcar toward Battaglia Brothers Warehouse with a load of C&P Restaurant Supplies.

Battaglia Bros. is located just beyond Blue Ribbon Four on this industrial lead that goes under the bridge.

The GP20 then reclaims its caboose and heads back to West Mill.

That completes the brief work of an unusually short Kings Port Turn from West Mill!  Lets go back to Kings Port and see what's happening at the Kings Port & Western's Williams Yard.

PC boxcar #229046 loaded with Berk Enterprises packaging materials and empty Cargill hopper TDLX  #7241 will be forwarded by the KP&W to Blue Ribbon Flour.  

The yard's S12 switcher #34 is assigned to the short KP Yard Local

Watch the local set out the cars for Blue Ribbon Flour, pick up PC boxcar #77047 from the interchange track and begin building a train for Hedberg Aggregates including #77074, two empty PS-2 covered hoppers and four empty open hoppers in the video below.

OK, so what's going on with deliveries to Hedberg Aggregates?   Prior to the major alteration I made to the layout at the end of last year Hedberg's was on the mainline on the upper level of a continuous dogbone styled track plan. The wear and tear on motive power pulling long trains up the steep grade to this level concerned me for a long time.

After removing a large loop from the track plan and replacing it with a yard to create an "out and back" track arrangement, Hedberg Aggregates was cut off from the mainline and sits next to track on the upper level that is now an "out and back" arrangement of its own.  The ends of this track plan hide behind the structures for KP Steel (which is also the setting for Williams Yard, Mayfield Yard, Tri Mount Cement, International Paper, and Corning Glass depending on which building flats I place there! Here are the flats for William Yard in place. 

"Out and back" tracks continue from behind the building flats to pass through upper level KP Station...

..and the bridge over Ulster Ave. before continuing further upgrade to Hedberg Aggregates in Marion.

I've just started experimenting with train runs to Hedberg which I am imagining originate at "the north end of Williams Yard" that can't be seen on the layout.   Short trains serving Hedberg will travel up what will now be known as the "Marion Branch".   PCCM 100 provides the first opportunity to run this train in a blog post as cars are scheduled to be delivered to the aggregate plant this time around.

Working with the grade and strategizing set outs for the "facing" siding at Hedberg the KP&W places a GP9 at either end of the train.   Watch this trial run in the video below:

The lead locomotive moves to the siding to accommodate setting out the open hoppers. 

 I'm pondering expanding Hedberg Aggregates to include additional loading facilities where the hoppers are spotted in the video below.

I think this has potential to be a fun regular operation.

Well, that concludes the delivery of all cars forwarded to the Kings Port Division in this 100th series!   West Mill Yard is pretty clear (for now) after moving all the freight!

Time for a little celebration!  As dusk settles at West Mill fireworks fired from a barge in the river thrill local residents!

Thanks for following along on this milestone PCCM series and have a Great Independence Day!