New Years Layout Resolutions

Hello and Happy New Year!  

This is traditionally the time for resolutions so I've decided to make some regarding my layout as a way of creating a little accountability and motivation for myself.

Among the layout improvements I wish to complete this year is adding more details to my various shelf layout components that I use for photographing "off-layout" scenes such as The Kings Port & Western's Mountain Branch industries seen below.  Right now they have just enough structures and scenery to convey the idea but I'd like to make them look better.

Here is another one that I place in front of some industries in the Mayfield Area such as Cavendish Foods, Peerless Appliance, and ACME Auto Parts.  Its simply a ballasted track that could benefit from more scenic treatments.

Another project involves finishing the least completed section of my layout, a little corner near K.P. Steel.   I made the traveling crane a long time ago and always intended to add track to create a coal unloading scene.  Time to get that done!  

While I've started adding new metal wheels to several of my vintage Tyco, Bachmann, and Athearn Blue Box cars I'd like to focus on these hoppers that roll poorly.  

They all have talgo tucks or horn hook couplers.  Eventually 'd like to change them all out for magnetic couplers but I've found that in the mean time new metal wheels greatly improve performance, even when the cars back up though several switches.  So far I've added new wheels to eight hoppers.

Below is a video of a  KP&W op I developed in which coal hoppers from Mayfield run to the West Mill car float.    The new wheels make it possible for these old cars to negotiate being pushed through several turnouts and the incline down to the barge without derailing.  I'm looking forward to making the same improved performance possible for the rest of the hoppers shown in the box above. 

Additional resolutions include further reinforcing the idea that the Kings Port & Western as well as the PC have connections to the B&M...

...and the Lehigh Valley

One last resolution is to finally get around to ballasting the staging track leading off layout to the KP&W's Mountain And Mayfield Branches!

I imagine I may come up with more projects but this seems like a good start.  Posting about them should help me be mindful of them and start ticking them off the list!  Thanks for taking a look!

P.C.C.M. #54: Mail and Express Ops!

Hello everyone!

Continuing the recent theme of portraying special operations in our blog posts, (we recently covered intermodal and auto industry car movements) our virtual ops community of five layouts is now taking a look at Mail and Express operations!  Admittedly the extent of M&E ops on the Kings Port Division is small to pretty much nonexistent so I had to get creative and pull out some vintage equipment to get involved.  It was fun to come up with something to post and I greatly appreciate conversations I had with fellow modeler John R. regarding these operations which are much more extensive on his New York Central Train Layout. 

To get things started I looked in my box of hardly used rolling stock and pulled out my Mantua PRR baggage car and some Tyco PC passenger cars I painted  to make them look more accurate than their original green striped livery.  

John R. helped validate the decision to employ the PRR baggage car by sending me this quote:

From the Express, Mail and Merchandise Service book Page 38:  "The term baggage car is a bit of a misnomer because, although such cars were certainly used for passenger baggage, their primary use was to carry bags of US Mail and parcels for the Railway Express Agency(REA). They are more accurately called baggage express cars and the AAR classified them as BE."

Here then is a baggage express car on the Kings Port Division having just been loaded.

The car is later seen rolling through Kings Port as part of the "Dewitt Clinton", headed by FP7 #4369

Watch the train cross Ulster Ave at speed in the video below.

Sometime after the dust cleared from the Dewitt Clinton's passing a switcher pulls out an old wood sided REA car for interchange.  This car has been sitting idle in a box for years!  Nice to run it!

Later that afternoon a classic PC oddball consist of GP30 #2228 and GP9B #3836 pulls a short train of TOFCs loaded with mail.  This is my best effort at simulating mail trains composed of Flexi-vans like those featured in Green Frog's PC Volume 4.  The GP30 is one of my recently completed painting projects; a Bachmann shell provided by John R. that was originally decorated as a C&O loco.

Prototype Penn Central GP30/GP9B lashups are featured in JPM's "Railfanning with the Bednars Vol.6 " DVD and are the inspiration for this grouping. 

Mail's here!

But its not only the Penn Central getting involved in M&E operations today.  The freelanced Kings Port & Western gets in the act with its Budd RDC-3 that includes a Railway Post Office compartment along with its 48 passenger seats.  Here the RDC is being loaded at Williams Yard for a daily run up the Mountain Branch to Bloomberg.

The Budd Car later arrives at Bloomberg Station near the Agway elevator. 

John R. mentioned that some of my custom painted KP&W plug door boxcars resemble reefers. Below is a comparison of a photo of a reefer he sent with a pic of one of my cars.  Notice the stirrup near the door on both cars.   John informed me that sometimes after reefers were emptied of their perishable loads they would be cleaned and so called "dry" or non-refrigerated loads would be placed inside, utilizing the refer as a boxcar for commodities that could include mail.

With that possibility in mind I'll end this blog post with KP&W S-12 switcher #34 pulling a string of KP&W reefers to a loading platform at Williams Yard so they can be loaded with mail and sent out on the next KP&W hot shot to its western terminus of Salamanca, NY.

That's it for M&E ops on the Kings Port Division but check the other layout blogs to see what they come up with this time around!

John R.'s New York Central Train Layout 

Neal's Atlantic Pacific R.R. 

John B.'s LF&NW

Brian's Ralston Creek R.R. 

P.C.C.M. #53: Unexpected Epilogue!

 Hello all,

Well, the Kings Port Division thought it had completed this last series of car forwarding without a hitch..that is until this communique reached the desk of West Mill Freight Agent "Tweed" Simpson.

 

"To:       Freight Agent, West Mill

From:    Freight Agent, Terminal Yard

Subject: Inquiry from shipper American Hardware Supply re; loaded PC boxcar 272242.

1. American Hardware Supply in Bedford Park NY has made a freight claim to this office after being notified by consignee Peerless Appliance in Mayfield NY that freight loaded into Penn Central boxcar 272242 has failed to reach its destination.

2. Investigation in this matter reveals the following;

A. December 08th: PC boxcar 272242 is picked up loaded at American Hardware Supply by Bedford Park Yard Job. PC 272242 is then forwarded to Terminal Yard in PC train Extra 2857.

B. December 09th: PC 272242 is recorded as leaving Terminal Yard for Selkirk in Train NG-3

C. December 11th: PC 272242 is recorded as an arriving empty for Peerless Appliance upon arriving at West Mill.

D. December 12th: PC 272242 is delivered to ACME Auto Parts in Mayfield NY.

E. Company records (attached) indicate that the car in question, PC 272242 , is last reported as loaded from American Hardware Supply consigned to Peerless Appliance.

Please make all available inquiries to determine the status of the load and freight car so that we may report back to American Hardware Supply.

Submitted for your information;

Terminal Yard Freight Agent."

 

 

 ***********************************************************

The car in question, Penn Central Hi Cube #272242, was last seen being set out at ACME Auto Parts and identified as Empty!

 

Tweed gets on the horn to his KP&W counterpart, the Freight Agent in Mayfield, Mick Micklin.

"Hey Mick, don't you guys on that little railroad like your jobs?

"What's up Tweed?"

"Mick, I got the Terminal Yard Freight Agent on my back about a load of missing hardware...supposed to go to Peerless?"

"Oh yeah!  The PC Hi Cube!  I was just gonna call ya about that.  We set it out as an empty at ACME according to your waybill but its actually loaded for Peerless Appliance.  A kid filling in at the ACME loading dock during the lunch hour signed for it.  We got an earful from the ACME dock foreman about a half hour later."

"Aw geez.  OK, can you help me out here and forward the car to Peerless ASAP?"

"Sure!  Its being done as we speak.  A crew is heading over there now.  Your Hi Cube should be delivered by 3PM."

"That's great Mick!  Thanks.  I owe you a six pack of Heileman's."

"Throw in a pint of Cavendish and ya got a deal!  So, what happened?"

"Best we can tell the ACI scanner at WM Tower didn't pick the car up because of excessive dirt on the plaque.  Great system except when it ain't!"

 

"It sat dark in the yard until the crew wanted to move it." 

 

"Then someone pulled last week's waybill and didn't notice the date so it got sent to its prior destination...ACME as an empty." 

"We shoulda caught that one too Tweed.  Oh well.  At least its not a  perishable load!   Good luck with the Terminal Yard Agent."

"Aw, he's a good guy.  I'll tell him what happened so he can put the customer's mind to rest.  Catch ya later Mick!"

Shortly after this call was concluded a KP&W S-12 approaches the Hi Cube while ACME employees hang around to watch.

A short time later PC #272242 is set out at its proper location and Peerless Appliance gets its hardware!

NOW, the King Port Division's role in this series is completed!  Remember...ship by rail!  :)

P.C.C.M. #53 Auto Parts/Auto Racks Time Travler Op: Part 2 on the KPD

Hi everyone!

P.C.C.M. #53, a virtual op between five layouts featuring rolling stock supporting the auto industry across five to six decades has turned out to present a great selection of auto racks and auto parts cars along with other freight being forwarded from one layout to the next.  

In the previous installment from the Kings Port Division cars were forwarded to Terminal Yard on John R.'s New York Central Train Layout to serve his Ford Motor Company.   Since then cars from John B.'s, Neal's, Brian's and John R.'s layouts have been forwarded, some either running through or arriving at West Mill Yard on my layout.  We'll follow that second part of the series action here.

We find West Mill looking pretty quiet this morning.  A cut of Lehigh Valley cars destined for Mayfield where the KP&W has a connection with the LV waits for the next train out.  

 Its so quiet around the yard that its easy to focus more on the screeching of the raucous seagulls along the river.... 

...and the mechanical sounds of Empire Grain's conveyor system as it dumps grain into a barge.

Finally, railroading sounds are added to the scene as SD9 #6925 fires up for pull-out duty.

The yard loco is assigned to move the cut of LV cars to the pick-up track for a run to Mayfield.

Backing up, the hearty SD9 shoves the cut for Mayfield in place...

...and returns to its engine pocket.

#6925's crew timed their work well as KP&W Extra #566, a transfer FROM Mayfield is arriving at West Mill.

This train hauls loaded coal cars from the LV connection to West Mill's car float where they will be ferried across the river to Port Owen's Electric Company.

Extra #566 backs into the yard...

...and the crew of the RS3 gets a chance to take a break while they wait for their chance to pick up the cut of cars set out for them earlier by SD9 #6925.  The distinctive white LV boxcars can be seen in the distance behind the caboose and engine tracks.

I beg the indulgence of virtual ops fans who may be wondering about not seeing any auto industry related freight cars yet.   The moves documented up to now are a bit of a preamble for things to come!

While RS3 #566 idles at West Mill, red signals warn of the approach of the latest train from Weehawken to Selkirk headed today by a GP40/GP30/GP38-2 consist.

Aha!  This train is carrying auto parts cars that were forwarded by Neal's A.P.R.R. from Rock Ridge!

The train rolls at speed through West Mill...

Heads turn to observe the enormous 86 foot long auto parts cars.   Even the Kings Port Railfan Society has made it in time to see the train go by for this op!

The two impressive cars in their pre-merger schemes together seem to convey a hopeful sense of team work.

The train leaves West Mill...

Meanwhile, over at Kings Port, Train VWM-4, a short transfer from Selkirk to West Mill has come to a stop to wait for the hot shot from Weehawken.

It isn't long before the train for Selkirk approaches Ulster Ave.

...and passes by the waiting VWM-4.

The conductor in VWM-4's caboose waves at the passing locomotive crew.

The auto parts cars for Ford on are their way via Selkirk as the train leaves Kings Port!

Shortly after the dust settles from the hotshot's passing, VWM-4's engine crew leaves Dave's diner where they got a quick bite and board their train.  

VWM-4 is underway with its FP7/ GP38 lashup.  

Why is this train important?  Its carrying some cars forwarded by Brian (Elkhart to Selkirk) and John R. (Terminal Yard to Selkirk) that are destined for West Mill.  These include a pair of empty steel coil cars for KP Steel...

An empty PC Hi Cube for Peerless Appliance near Mayfield, a company car for GERN, and a PC covered hopper for Agway in Bloomberg.

VWM-4 arrives at West Mill.

The cut of cars for Mayfield waits for the PC Hi Cube on VWM-4 which will be included in the run back to the KP&W yard..

The FP7/GP38 consist slows to a stop in the yard.  The RS3's crew has finished lunch and is ready to get back to work. 

First things first.  West Mill's SD9 yard switcher will pull the Hi Cub off of VWM-4 and couple it up with the Mayfield cut.

Starting with pulling the Northeastern styled caboose...

...and then shifting a couple of cars to the next track...

The Hi Cube is pulled and set out.

Finally a KP&W caboose is tacked onto the end of the cut.  All this group of cars need now is some power!

A KP&W crewman uncouples #566 from the coal cars and it moves on its way to the head end of the next train for Mayfield.

An easy run around move gets the loco in front of the train.

#566 pushes hard to back the train up past WM Tower and the switch over to the mainline. 

The train leaves West Mill for Mayfield Yard.

Arriving at Mayfield.

The Hi Cube can be seen at the end of the train...

...and is later delivered by a local to ACME Auto Parts.

The next morning KP&W GP8 #769 is fired up for the run up the Mountain Branch, serving several industries.  

This train includes the PC covered hopper from Elkhart for Agway.

...which is later seen set out at the Bloomberg elevator.

While the Mountain Branch Run is being taken care of, a quick single car move from West Mill serves GERN with one of its own cars...

As the covered hopper is shoved toward its home a Penn Central empty coal car train passes on the main.

These 100 ton H43D hoppers are a recent decal project I've been trying to accomplish for over a year after John R. brought the appropriate Highball Graphics decal set to my attention.  The trick was finding the right hoppers!

I'm very glad to have finally completed these classic PC cars!

One final move in this unusually long post!:  The Kings Port Turn delivers the two empty coil cars to KP Steel.   While coal cars are prepared for loading on the car float...

The pair of RSD12's that often pulls the Turn approaches a cut of cars led by two coil cars for KP Steel.

The two coil cars are spotted at KP Steel later that afternoon.

That finally concludes the Kings Port Divisions role in this current virtual op!  Thanks for taking a long look!  :)