Saturday, October 10, 2020

P.C.C.M. 77: Part 2 on the KPD

 Greetings railfans!

Yesterday a slew of cars arrived at West Mill Yard.  Some were forwarded to the Kings Port & Western's Mayfield Yard while others remained to be assembled into trains for John's New York Central Train Layout  and Neal's Atlanta Pacific R.R. .

Lets turn our attention over to Kings Port where the KP&W is busy working the Steel Job.   S-12 switcher #34 is pushing P&LE drop end mill gon #40331 toward the KP Steel complex.


After it sets out the P&LE gon it picks up a pair of PC G43a gons, now empty for Shapeless Steel.

The PC gons are brought back to Williams Yard

In addition to the return of the Steel Job we see the arrival of Extra #4233 from East Deerfield, a B&M/PC train.

The train includes three B&M RBLs shipped from Habitant Soup in Merrimack , NH for Shop Rite

Swift SRLX #4244is loaded with frozen meets for Cavendish Foods

The rest of the train enters Williams Yard



Some of the cars currently at Williams Yard will be forwarded to Neal's APRR while others are destined for consignees on the Kings Port Division.   The two NYC 50 foot double door boxcars are going empty to Peerless Appliance.

EBRR drop end mill gon #509623 will be forwarded to Amalgamated Container.

The two PC gons are going to Shapeless Steel via the APRR


It won't be long before a transfer run from Williams Yard to West Mill is dispatched, but lets go back to West Mill to see the dispatch of a train to Selkirk with cars that will eventually reach Terminal Yard on John's N.Y.C.T.L.  Cars have been assembled into a train for Selkirk including PC Hi Cube #272242 loaded with kitchen appliances for Gimbel's warehouse,  LV #7120 loaded with produce from James Desiderio Wholesale Produce for Jamaica Foods.


NAHX #90404 (Corning) empty for West Hills Silica Sand Mining...

...four TOFCs for Terminal Yard...


P&E boxcar #3638 loaded with Port Owen Bricks for Neal's Lumber and Hardware, and EBRR #360279 returning to North Side Yard.

The train will be powered by SD35 #6017 and GP40 #3007

The consist is seen backing into its train.

...and heads out of the yard as Extra #3007.





 As we wait for Extra #3007 to arrive at West Mill we can see the two strings of cars it will pick up on the way to Selkirk; four coil coaches and a collection of six empty coal hoppers.  The coil cars are for Ford and Gervais Pipe while the empty hoppers are heading to Hudson Coal for a refill.


Extra #307 arrives at Kings Port

The train stops and the GP40/SD35 consist uncouples to pick up the coil coaches and hoppers from KP Steel.

Watch the action in the video below:


After picking up the cars the train couples up, checks the air, and leaves after getting permission from the Dispatcher at King Port.


I was going to say that concludes the outbound moves to the N.Y.C.T.L., but wait!   Two cars missed the train due to a switch point malfunction on the industry lead to Blue Ribbon Flour and Battaglia Brothers Warehouse.

Once the repair was completed the KP&W sent out #34 again to pick up the two cars...

...and set them out on the interchange track.  The HRC boxcar is loaded with racks from Battaglia Bros. Wharehouse for Terminal Warehouse.  The Cargill covered hopper is full of flour for Ronzoni.

Three hours later the next northbound to Selkirk, PC Extra #6115 arrives and picks up the cars.





Now THAT concludes the outbound to the N.Y.C.T.L.!  (Shhhh...don't tell anyone that it wasn't the KP&W switch point that delayed the two cars but my own lack of attention to them!)

Stay tuned tomorrow as a train is dispatched to the A.P.R.R.!



Friday, October 9, 2020

P.C.C.M. #77: Part 1 on the KPD

 Hello again!

We're starting out 77th virtual ops series featuring the movement  of freight cars between three layouts across the country,  John's New York Central Train Layout , Neal's Atlantic Pacific R.R. , and my own King Port Division.

We're focusing on building and dispatching outbound trains to each other's layouts in the first series of posts this weekend.  Cars on the KPD are starting to come in from various locations to West Mill Yard and Williams Yard.

The first moves are at Port Owen, across the river from West Mill.   Two 38 foot coal hoppers, one in pre-merger NYC and one in PRR livery, along with P&E boxcar #3638, are being loaded onto the car float.

The P&E car has been loaded with bricks at the Port Owen Brick Company for Neal's Lumber and Hardware in Empire City.

The hoppers are being shipped empty to Hedberg Aggregates from the Edison Power Plant at Port Owen.

After casting off and eventually docking at West Mill the cars are off-loaded.

They will be added to trains heading to their respective consignees.  


Meanwhile, over at Mechanicville, a PC/B&M freight arrives with a string of TOFCs


Stopping near the famed XO tower, they will be placed on a D&H train to Binghamton and then forwarded to West Mill by the KP&W.

Another car heading to Binghamton is this Corning covered hopper (now empty).   It will be forwarded from Binghamton to West Mill by the KPD before being shipped to West Hills Silica Sand Mining.

Moving over to Bloomberg, a pair of A.P.R.R. RBLs (#60382 & 60327) are loaded with canned food from Van Winkle Canning.   They will be forwarded to Shop Rite on the A.P.R.R.

PC boxcar #104478 will be forwarded empty to GERN Industries near West Mill.

The cars from Bloomberg will be the first to arrive at West Mill today.  They are being pulled into town by the usual GP20/ GP30 power assigned to this train, BWM-2, the Bloomberg Turn.

Watch the train slowly arrive off the Mountain Branch in the video below:

BWM-2 holds before accessing the main, waiting for a KP&W train from Binghamton.  The two APRR RBLs from Van Winkle Canning are visible in the background.

It isn't long before KP&W Extra #160 from Binghamton arrives with several cars for West Mill including the Corning car, and the four TOFCs we saw at Mechanicville.  Watch the train arrive in the video below:


The Extra cuts its caboose and then backs the cars into West Mill.



In addition to the virtual ops cars we already noted, LV #7120 loaded with produce from James Desiderio Produce in Buffalo, is shoved into the yard.  It will be shipped to Jamaica Food in Jamaica, NY via the LIRR after it reaches Empire City.

The KP&W power, and F&A/GP9 lashup rests at the West Mill engine service track.  It will run light to Williams Yard later.


BWM-2 has been cleared to take the main and then access the entrance to West Mill Yard.  Watch the action in the video below:


One more train brings cars into West Mill today:  A transfer run from the KP&W's Mayfield Yard.  KP&W RS3 #566 hauls a short manifest into West Mill.  

 

After this train drops off cars at West Mill it will pick up others for the return trip to Mayfield.  SW9 #8951 has been assembling the cut of cars the KP&W crew will take back with them

Incoming cars include  IC #30130, empty from Cavendish Foods for Van Winkle Canning.

Two KP&W hoppers loaded with coal from the LV connection for RMO Electric...

...and two PC Hi Cubes from Peerless Appliance.  #272742 is loaded with kitchen appliances for Gimbels Warehouse while #272747 carries refrigeration equipment for Shop Rite.

Watch the train arrive at West Mill in the video below.



RS3 #566 backs the cut into the yard

The caboose is set aside

The cars for Mayfield await pick up



Watch the KP&W tack their transfer caboose onto what will be the rear of the train heading back to Mayfield, and then shove the cars it is setting out at West Mill onto Track #3

After placing the caboose #566 runs around the cut of  cars to couple up to the front of the train.


The West Mill Yard crew gets a kick out of the sign the KP&W guys have attached to their transfer caboose whose spartan accommodations as a metal box on a former flat car have earned it the nickname "The Spam Can".


Watch the train for Mayfield back out of West Mill Yard in the video below:

The transfer to Mayfield leaves West Mill


Now the only cars remaining in the yard are for trains going to the N.Y.C.T.L. and the A.P.R.R.  



Stay tuned for tomorrow when a train to the N.Y.C.T.L. will be dispatched, action at Kings Port prepares cars for that train to pick up on the way to Selkirk, and a transfer run to West Mill brings more cars for the train going to the A.P.R.R.