PCCM 109: Part 1 on the KPD

Hello and welcome to our 109th Penn Central Car Movement (PCCM) series!   

This multi-installment "virtual ops" involves an exchange of freight traffic between John's New York Central Train Layout and my own Kings Port Division.

The action on the Kings Port Division begins at the Kings Port & Western Railroad's Mayfield Yard where a crew is about to board RS3 #566 to run a transfer over to the Penn Central's West Mill Yard.

The transfer's manifest includes this aging former NYC Pacemaker boxcar loaded with new ACCO 55 gallon drums for Drywell Ink...

...along with a string of coal hoppers from the KP&W's connection with the Lehigh Valley's coal region.

After the KP&W brakeman checks all of the couplings and the air is up, the transfer is cleared to leave Mayfield Yard for West Mill.

Meanwhile over at West Mill all is quiet except for...

...this morning's carfloat arrival with a string of empty hoppers from the Port Owen Con Ed plant and EL Boxcar #73510 loaded with Port Owen Brick Company bricks for Gotham Builders Supply.

SD9 #6922 pulls the cars off of the float with the help of three spacer cars, a pair of flats and an old Pennsy gondola.

The EL boxcar is set out separately in the yard while the string of empty hoppers is put aside for the Mayfield Transfer which is expected to arrive within the hour.

 The Mayfield Transfer's RS3 rumbles out of the South side tunnel and later backs its train into the yard.

West Mill's switcher #8951 moves the transfer's caboose to assist the KP&W crew with the exchange of coal loads and empties

The KP&W crew then performs a runaround move with their #566  to get behind the string of empty hoppers and then pushes them out of West Mill for the return trip to Mayfield.

The Mayfield Transfer receives permission to access the mainline from the Dispatcher's Office in King Port.

The train leaves West Mill for Mayfield Yard.

 That was a lot of work for two PCCM cars!  :)

There is only a brief lull at West Mill to contemplate this further before the Bloomberg Turn arrives after having served the industrial park up in the Catskills.   The Turn gets a red signal to hold for a KP&W transfer from Binghamton to Williams Yard in Kings Port, the BiWi-3 running with two leased B&O F7As in the consist.

 

The Bloomberg Turn continues to hold while the BiWi-3 prepares to drop off six empty coal hoppers from Corning Glass.  They will later be forwarded to Hudson Coal by the Penn Central.

A KP&W crewman makes the cut to set out the six coal hoppers

The BiWi-3 makes the set out and then continues on to Kings Port.

The two PCCM cars delivered to Kings Port are PS2 empty covered hoppers for the KP&W to forward to Hedberg Aggregates.

The last railroad action for today will be the dispatch of two locals from Williams Yard to gather PCCM cars to transfer to West Mill.   A KP&W GP9 assigned to the "Steel Job" will pick up coil cars, gondolas, and empty coal hoppers from KP Steel.   Another GP9 ready to depart will collect cars from nearby businesses as the "Yard Local". 

 Watch the two locomotives depart with their cabooses from the Williams Yard Engine Facility in the video below:

 The Yard Local will be picking up three tankers loaded with diesel fuel for the LIRR Morris Park Engine Terminal...

...a former Early Bird Service boxcar now empty at the Team Track to be delivered to REVCO in Bloomberg...

 ...and two NYC double door boxcars loaded with Peerless Appliances for All City Storage and one of the company's special large cooling units for Suffolk County Community College.

 The Yard Local reaches Ulster Ave. where Gulf and the Team Track are located.

After making the pick ups there the Local heads to Peerless Appliance.

 The Yard Local makes its last pick up.

The two trains return to Williams Yard.  First the Yard Local which is then followed by a lengthy Steel Job.

That's it for today!  Check back tomorrow when a transfer frm Williams Yard to West Mill sets the stage for the dispatch of a train to Selkirk with cars for the N.Y.C.T.L.