New York Central Bee Liner

New York Central Bee Liner
RDC-3 #497 calls at Bedford Station

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Empire Belt Railroad Definitions and Operations Part 1

 Greetings All,

Empire Belt Railroad Definitions and Operations Part 1

As the freelance Empire Belt RR evolves and continues to serve the citizens and industries of the fictitious Empire City I've been working on getting the operations more prototypical where possible. To accomplish this I've been working on defining the railroad's function and how it interacts with the national rail system.

Empire Belt Railroad: A switching district railroad that serves industries in Empire City, New York. The EBRR started as a subsidiary of the New York Central RR and on February 01,1968 became a subsidiary of the Penn Central RR. On April 1st, 1976 Conrail would either take ownership or spin it off. We'll see when we get there!

Switching District Definition: A freight railroad that serves a specific area performing local switching services. 

North Side Yard: The Empire Belt's freight yard in Empire City. Receives interchange traffic from nearby Terminal Yard in East Bedford NY which is the principal freight yard of the New York Central, Penn Central and after April 1st, 1976 Conrail. 
North Side Yard: Also serves as an important interchange point for the Long Island RR. Freight traffic for the LIRR arrives at Terminal Yard and is later transferred to North Side Yard. Union agreements allow for the LIRR to deliver and pick up freight traffic here.
Motive Power 
 NYC and early PC era: Alco FA1-FB-1-FB-1-FA1s rebuilt to m.u. (multiple unit) with EMD products. Two EMD GP18s. Two EMD GP30s. Power can be mixed and matched to meet horsepower needs.
Fan favorites, the Alco A-B-B-A set is one of the last pure sets of Alco FAs and FBs in the Northeast and draws rail fans from near and far.
The GP18s have proven to be popular workhorses with the crew. Nimble with good fuel efficiency they are surprisingly good pullers.
The GP30s maligned buy some railroaders as being slippery have handled the tonnage so far without complaint.  
PC era: Two GE U23Cs and three EMD SDP40s are the newest power for the EBRR joining the Alcos, GP18s and GP30s. The U23Cs and SDP40s are sometimes combined when heavy traffic warrants but most of the time remain as two separate power sets.
The three SDP40s with a New Haven heritage unit are a bit of a stretch when one considers the prototype SDP40s were very few in number and the NH did not roster a single one. However, they make an attractive and muscular three unit lash up so they'll enjoy being part of the EBRR for many years to come.
Empire Belt RR Freight Cars
The EBRR rosters a good number of freight cars including boxcars, flatcars, bulkhead flatcars, covered hoppers and refrigerator cars to name a few that meet the needs of its local customers.

A pre 1968 EBRR boxcar with NYC herald and an ACI label applied post merger. This car is for flour & cereal loading only as noted by the writing in the yellow box to the left of the door.
EBRR 40' boxcars at Neal's Lumber & Hardware.
One of the newer Plate C EBRR boxcars gets spotted at Reliable Machine Company. 
Per Diem: Latin for per day. One way railcars earn revenue when when off their home rails.

Incentive Per Diem Freight Cars: A program created in the 1970s by the US Government to relieve a nationwide boxcar shortage  caused by the US Government. Freight car rates at the time did not cover the costs for RRs to rebuild their aging fleets of boxcars in need of repair which kept them out of service. This created a nationwide boxcar shortage. 

The increased Incentive Per Diem Program gave tax benefits to short lines and investors to purchase new boxcars and make money from these cars with an increased per diem rate as they were loaded and traveled on the rails. This lasted for about ten years and was ultimately a failure as traffic slumps caused most of these cars to remain empty and be returned to their owners. Imagine a mile long short line RR needing to store five miles of empty boxcars that they were still paying for. Pretty much sums up the EBRR!!!

Empire Belt IPD Freight Cars: Like some short lines of this time period the EBRR invested in a few IPD boxcars that served the auto industry. EBRR 86' boxcar in Ford Pool Service brings in some revenue and alleviates chronic car shortages of the parent road.
EBRR 60' boxcar #608279 is one of two specially painted boxcars in the Ford Pool Service. Here it is making its way up the River Line on the Kings Port Division.
Empire Belt Coal Hoppers: The EBRR has a good number of coal hoppers on its roster that are mostly in pool service out of nearby Hudson Coal in East Bedford which is served by parent railroad NYC or PC. 

The EBRR hoppers often haul coal from Hudson Coal to North Side Yard for interchange with the LIRR and movement to Long Island coal dealers and the Empire Power Authority coal fired power plant in East Bedford alleviating chronic car shortages of the parent road.
A Quick Look at Empire Belt Operations 
Reimagined and Enhanced
Now that the EBRR has firmed up its identity its time to improve its railroad operations. The bulk of the work is updating and preparing more plausible waybills for not only the EBRR fleet but the entire freight car fleet except for the coal hoppers.

A big undertaking and not that exciting but it will pay big dividends shortly with improved freight car utilization and the handling of empty cars. Here is a sample of the newer car cards and waybills now in use with the now ever present sharpie fine point marker. 
Sample Empty Car Utilization
Newly repainted, re-lettered and renumbered APRR 40' boxcar #4160 was made empty at an Empire City industry. The 4160 is in assigned service to the EBRR as noted by the "when empty return to EBRR at North Side Yard" in the box adjacent to the door. Upon arriving in North Side Yard the car was used to fulfill a local empty car request from Drywell Ink.
Once loaded at Drywell Ink the 4160 will be forwarded to the Lightning Press in the Terminal Warehouse & Cold Storage Complex in East Bedford, NY.
In a future blog post we'll catch up to the AP 4160 at Lightning Press and take a look at several methods being used to keep the freight tonnage moving across the layout and to and from points beyond the basement.

Final Thoughts and Comments
As my interest in model railroad operations and prototype operations increases some of what I thought was good when I started I now know is wrong. Correcting this and preparing a waybill for each freight car in the fleet with the exception of the coal hoppers is now underway. I'll report back on that in the near future.

Some of the links to websites being used in this undertaking

Thanks for reading!!!!
See you soon!!!
 
 






 


Sunday, February 25, 2024

Working With Wood Loads Part 2

 Greetings All, 

Working With Wood Loads Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of the working with wood loads projects. I've pretty much completed my goal of lumber loads and crated machinery. A tedious process but I think the results were worth it. Lets take a look at some of the completed projects.

A before look at the high & wide crate sitting on this C&NW depressed center flatcar.
The crate has been weathered with wood bracing added. Note the 1/64" strip wood extending below the deck to keep the load in place. This makes it easily removable for other H&W loads while bracing conveys a means to keep the load secure.
Crated diesel engines as built.
Now weathered and layout ready.
The ACL flatcar with crated diesel engines gets spotted at Empire City Caterpillar.
A pair of large as built crates ride on the APRR bulkhead flatcar.
The crates and bracing have been weathered and the load is now layout ready.
The Rock Island 60' bulkhead flatcar gets loaded at reliable Machine Company with crated machinery.
The Rock Island 60' bulkhead flatcar with crated machinery is moved to North Side Yard for movement to its consignee. Note the 1/64th" wood extending just below the cars deck to hold the load in place. The stake pockets on this car and several others are not open and drilling thru them was a no go based on car construction.
The crates and bracing have picked up some road grime during the trip from North Side Yard to Terminal Yard.
On another day the Rock Island 60' bulkhead flatcar arrives in Terminal Yard loaded with lumber.
The ROCK 60'er joins several other bulkhead flats loaded with new lumber loads like this APRR 60'er to serve online industry Neal's Lumber & Hardware.
A 67' MDW bulkhead flatcar arrives in Terminal Yard with a new load of Boise Cascade lumber.
Last but not least are three 50' pulpwood bulkhead flatcars now loaded with timber. Still needs some weathering and maybe some painted ends.
Got wood? A wood products train rolls towards Terminal Yard.
Final Thoughts and Comments
Many of the large lumber loads had to be built car specific so I could add the strip wood that extends below the flatcar decks to sit snugly and keep the loads from shifting. This was the solution that worked for me with the cars that didn't have open stake pockets and were unable to be drilled open.

The loads still need weathering and once I settle on how I want them to look using prototype photos I'll take care of that.

Thanks for reading and watching!!!
See you soon!!!



Sunday, February 18, 2024

Penn Central Car Movements #103 Part 6 / Conclusion of Virtual Operations!!!

 Greetings All,

 Welcome back to Penn Central Car Movements #103!!!
Our first PCCM of 2024 concludes today with PCCM freight cars from Ralph's Kings Port Division and Sir Neal's Atlantic Pacific RR being moved to their intended destinations.

The action starts today at the Empire Belt RRs North Side Yard.
PC Train EC-1 from Terminal Yard delivers PCCM traffic from the KPD and APRR to the Empire Belt RR.
It's none other than Alco Joe and conductor Murray running the pool power consist!! With a four Alco set at Terminal Yard the EBRR trainmen ask why he's running EMDs. The answer, are you kidding, I'm a rock star out here with these engines. You'll see me waving to the cameras for the many rail fans photographing the train.
Alco Joe and conductor Murray head back to Terminal Yard.
The EBRR trainmen get to work building the Belt Job that will service the Empire City industries.
PC boxcar 142772 and four APRR gondolas will be held in North Side Yard until called for due to their intended industries receiving PCCM freight cars that exceeds their siding capacities. 
Empty PC flatcar 766053 and empty NYC Early Bird boxcar get moved into the Belt Job consist to fulfill PCCM empty car requests. 
Two APRR flatcars are placed on the the head end of the Belt Job to be used as a handle at Superior Furniture.*
Well look at that! PC Ralph is working the yard in the SDP40s and Senior Engineer Sir Neal will be running the Belt Job in the U23Cs.
The Belt Job is on the move.
The first move is to shove into the Gervais Pipe and Ralph's Grocery siding. The Belt Job couples up to three non PCCM NYC gondolas loaded with pipe. 
With the siding clear two reefers and one boxcar loaded with PCCM freight get spotted at Ralph's Grocery Warehouse. PC 360063 is loaded with packaged meals from Cavendish Foods & Spirits. BAR 7574 is loaded with baked goods from Freihofers Bakery. BAR 11128 is loaded with frozen foods from C& P Restaurant Supply.
Three Evans coil coaches loaded with steel coils from Kings Port Steel are placed at Gervais Pipe & Fitting.
The Belt Job begins working the mid town industries.
Am empty HRC RBL gets spotted at Empire Produce for its next PCCM load as 1:87 Emery captures the moves.
Empty PC depressed flatcar 766053 gets placed at Empire City Caterpillar for its next PCCM load.
An empty NYC Early Bird boxcar fulfills a PCCM empty car request at Prestage Gear.
The Belt Job heads to the Hohman Ave Industrial Park.
PC boxcar 360158 loaded with console TVs from Zenith gets placed at Superior Furniture with the assistance of two APRR gondolas.
The Belt Job is back together and preparing to head back to North Side Yard.
The Belt Job is on the move.
Sir Neal and the Belt Job are back at North Side Yard and he thanks PC Ralph for the two gondolas he placed on the head end of the train. The yard however is reaching capacity and an LIRR Extra has been requested to relieve some of the congestion.
A short time later LIRR Extra 1556 arrives in North Side yard caboose lite.
LIRR caboose 12 is coupled onto the tail end of a non PCCM block of cars heading to Fresh Pond Yard to clear out the yard.
LIRR Extra 468 prepares to depart North Side Yard.
LIRR Extra 468 departs North Side Yard.
Not long after Penn Central Train EC-3 is ready to depart Terminal Yard with PCCM traffic for the LIRR to be interchanged at North Side Yard.
Train EC-3 rolls out of Terminal Yard.
The EC-3 arrives in North Side Yard.
The 1:87 world is back on its axis as it's none other than Alco Joe running the four Alco set. Just as it should be.
Alco Joe and conductor Murray head back to Terminal Yard. I don't know about you but that is one good looking consist! 
As the day winds down LIRR Train MA-3 has been cleared onto the Bedford Main.
LIRR Train MA-3 rolls thru Bedford to North Side Yard.
LIRR engineer Jimmy Alco checks in with the EBRR trainmen. The guys all agree this has been another fine virtual op and are happy it is coming to a close.
LIRR Train MA-4 departs North Side Yard.
The MA-4 heads thru Bedford back to Fresh Pond Yard.
Put it in the books!!!
Be sure to catch all the action on PC Ralph's Kings Port Division and Sir Neal's Atlantic Pacific RR

* For seven years I've used the EBRR U23Cs and SDP40s to power the Belt Job but it wasn't until an op session just before the PCCM ops that I found out neither locomotive fit into the Superior Furniture siding. 

Did I not work the Superior Siding in all that time with these engines? Or did the Belt Job consist have several cars between the big engines and the first car going into the siding? I don't know the answer here.

What I know is the six axle power is just a bit too long to get into the siding while coming off the curve causing it to strike one of the pillars. Solution; four axle power that I know fits or the use of a "handle" like the APRR gondolas. 
 
Thanks for reading and watching!!!
See you soon!!!