Penn Central Car Movements 7C, 7D and 7E

Greetings All,

The virtual ops ball has landed in the New York Central Train Layout court after being passed from the Kings Port Division.  http://kingsportdivision.blogspot.com/2016/04/latest-virtual-ops.html
In order to catalog the movements generated by PC Train KV-5 (Kings Port NY to Selkirk NY) and move cars on my own layout to accommodate the newly arriving rail traffic I'll classify the Penn Central Car Movements as 7C , 7D  and 7E. The Kings Port & Western and Kings Port Division car movements are known as 7A and 7B respectively. So here we go on another virtual ops session. Hang on!
 

Penn Central Car Movement 7C

To:      Williams Yard

From:  Terminal Yard

Reported arrival of scheduled freight train;

Train: VN-4 (Selkirk NY to Empire City NY)

Engines: SD35 #6024, SD9 #6922

Caboose: 23045

Total Cars: 25

Loaded / Empty: 16 / 9 

Note: 8 cars from PC Train KV-5

Penn Central Train VN-4 (Selkirk NY to Empire City NY) rolls through Empire City on it's way to Terminal Yard behind EMD SD35 #6024 and EMD SD9 #6922. Both are Atlas yellow box units that I painted for the PC last year. 

Empty E.L. gondolas destined for Gervais Pipe and Fitting lead the block of cars from PC train KV-5

PC 106502 started out on the Kings Port Division in train KV-5
This is an empty car consigned to Heileman Brewery  

NYC Early Bird car and PC 40' box are destined for Ralph's Grocery Warehouse and Distribution Center 

A KP&W gondola with steel coils for Ford, two empty hoppers for Hudson Coal and one empty hopper for T&R Gravel. Those are the best steel coils I've ever seen!

NYC 50' boxcar 80779 loaded with prepared boxes from Canton Box and consigned to Hostess / Wonder Bread rounds out the block of cars from KV-5
This boxcar represents the first rail shipment of Canton Box and it's first shipment on it's new contract with Hostess / Wonder Bread.

Penn Central Car Movement 7D

The cars from VN-4 have been sorted at Terminal Yard and the hoppers for Hudson Coal and T&R Gravel are on the move to their intended destinations. Fairbanks Morse H24-66 Trainmaster #8704 has been assigned to Unit Ore Train ZM-1 (Empire City NY to Alcoa in Massena NY) . The 8704 would be renumbered into the PC as 6704. All Trainmasters were retired by the end of 1970. 8704 will be pulling the loads from T&R Gravel and spotting empties here and at Hudson Coal before leaving town. 

The powerful FM unit has pulled the empties from T&R Gravel. Every bit of this behemoth's 94,000 pounds of tractive effort will be needed to shove the loaded ore cars back up the grade. 

The NYC hopper from KV-5 is spotted under the T&R Gravel Tipple

Empty hoppers from KV-5 get shoved into Hudson Coal

A panoramic shot of the ore train rolling above the REA facility on the left and the NYC Water Street Freight Terminal on the right

The Trainmaster gets ready to cross the Commodore Vanderbilt Memorial Bridge
on it's way to Massena NY

Penn Central Car Movement 7E

To:      Williams Yard

From:  Terminal Yard

Disposition of cars forwarded to Terminal Yard via PC Train KV-5 from Williams Yard.

                       North Side Yard power for this week are PC FM H16-44s #1604 and

                       1605 that came over in the 1969 forced inclusion of the NH into the 

PC. Both units would be renumbered to 5164 and 5165

PC #10478 and NYC Early Bird car gets shoved towards Ralph's

Grocery Warehouse and Distribution Center

 PC and NYC cars ready for unloading at Ralph's G.W & D.C.

But first the guys take a break looking to quench their thirst with a 

Woodstock Hills Natural Soda. Skunked again! The much sought

after soda is not yet available. Maybe they should have checked the loading of that

NYC Early Bird boxcar! 

Over at Hostess / Wonder Bread NYC boxcar with packaging materials

from Canton box has been spotted. Power for the Industry City Turn is 

PC RS1 9921. The unit still in PRR paint was formerly numbered 5621. 

 Empty PC 106502 is spotted at Heileman Brewery
Once loaded with Heilemans Old Style Ale it will be off to
Reynolds Beverage Distributors in Kings Port NY

KP&W gondola #2140 is spotted at Ford

Penn Central Car Movement Cards from Williams Yard

 

All cars forwarded to Terminal Yard from Williams Yard have arrived at their intended consignees.  

Empty cars forwarded for loading will be documented in next PC Car Movement

Terminal Yard Out...

Here is a video link to VN-4 and ZM-1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2313OcPw3y8&feature=youtu.be

Thanks for reading and watching!

Switching the North Side

Greetings All,

I've just received notification from the Kings Port Division that Penn Central Train KV-5 has left Williams Yard on the Kings Port Division  and is on it's way to Selkirk with a block of cars destined for my Terminal Yard and industries on my model railroad. This is part of the virtual ops described by Ralph V in his latest blog entry: http://kingsportdivision.blogspot.com/2016/04/virtual-ops.html

To: Terminal Yard
From: Williams Yard  
Dispatch of Train KV-5 (Williams Yard to Selkirk) with Block 1 for transfer to Terminal Yard.
Engines:  GP38-2s #8038/8045
Number of cars:  19
Number of cars in Block 1:  8

The above notification also included pictures of the cars being picked up at their respective shippers and train KV-5. My job now is to prepare my layout for my part in the virtual ops. The first thing I do is make sure I have sufficient capacity to receive the inbound cars and get them to their ultimate destinations. This can be as simple as just picking up a bunch of cars and putting them away. But that's too easy and not as fun as putting together my own mini ops session and running the railroad. So while I wait for KV-5 Block 1 to arrive from Selkirk I've enjoyed my own mini ops session, photographed it, made a few videos and then added some music as well. A lot more fun than just putting the cars in the box!

And the best part is another Ops Session is right around the corner thanks to the Virtual Ops.

Here's a look at the prep work for the North Side 

PC 9942 spots a Thrall All Door Boxcar at Neal's Lumber and Hardware.
9942 is a P-1000 unit that I painted for the PC
That KP&W gondola and pole load are new arrivals from the Kings Port & Western RR.

PC FP7A #4348 and C424 #2415 lead ML-9 through Empire City on this day.

Both units are Atlas yellow box that I painted for the PC.

PC SD40 6282 leads two other SD units with a manifest freight through Empire City and PC ML-9 rolls towards Detroit on track 2.
Motive power is Athearn BB that I painted for the PC

With the mainline clear PC 9942 pulls a cut of modern (1970's) reefers from 

Ralph's Grocery Warehouse and Distribution Center.

A damaged Front End Loader that was involved in a derailment from Extra 3007 has returned to Empire City Caterpillar. Railroad, Caterpillar and Insurance Company representatives were notified and responded.

 And at what was possibly the worst possible moment a trio of colorful detoured Chessie System EMDs lead a train of covered hoppers through Empire City just when the PC people were trying to keep Caterpillar shipping with their bankrupt railroad. Scene inspired by Chessie System office car specials at Michigan Central Station in the Green Frog video Penn Central volume 6

1/87th scale Sir Neal Himself has come out his office to see the detoured train and proudly notes an A.P.R.R. covered hopper rolling by while an Imperial Walker lurks in the alley.
I forgot I put that there.

The Chessie conductor enjoys the views and gets an earful from 1/87th scale Sir Neal to take care of his car.

The photogenic Chessie System lash up crosses the Empire City viaduct on their way out of town.

SD40-2 and GP35  are BB units, F7A is a Bachmann unit. All are factory painted..

Here are two videos of the action. One with a music soundtrack;

And one with just the train sounds. Action is the same on both

Thanks for reading and watching!

A Doodlebug Fan Trip

Greetings All,

This week the N.Y.C.T.L. Purchasing Department authorized a few acquisitions and the Empire City Railway Historical Society hosted a rail fan Doodlebug Special. Let's take a look at some of the new stuff.

First up is this new Roundhouse 40' C&O / REA boxcar. Anyone who follows this blog knows of my infatuation with mail and express trains. This was a must have. 

 Next is this Athearn 40' pulpwood load for this 40' Athearn BB pulpwood car that I bought a while back. 

The Erie Lackawanna gondola on the left was a nice used Athearn Blue Box model that was easily converted to knuckle couplers. The new car is # 15487. The car to the right, EL 15478, has been with us for many moons 

Both EL gondolas received some Doc O'Brien's weathering powders after the 15487 got a coat of dullcote

At Empire City Station a Bachmann Doodlebug idles on track 2. Chartered by as a rail fan special sponsored by the Empire City Railway Historical Society. Due to high ticket sales a trailing coach will be added. The Doodlebug has been on the roster for a very long time.

The rail fan special rounds the curve while Railway Express Train # 139 rolls towards Chicago

Here's a short video of the Rail Fan Special and REA Train 139

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky7aEJC86Os&feature=youtu.be

Thanks for reading and Watching!

Sunday Afternoon at Empire Station

Greetings All,

This past Sunday I put together one of those trains you won't see every day. The Crane Train. Over the years we've accumulated several railroad cranes from various manufacturers and in various road names. Admittedly I don't run MOW trains on a regular basis but every now and then they do make a guest appearance. This week I had the urge to run some of my crane trains in a single train. Here is the 1/87th scale back story.

Empire Crane and Shovel is located on the outskirts of Empire City. E.C.& S. repairs, rebuilds and refurbishes all types of cranes and heavy lift equipment. With the 5th season (mud season) fast approaching in certain parts of the country the demand for railroads having all their MOW equipment ready and able is a high priority. With the demand for a quick turn around E.C.&S. has been working a 24 hour schedule to get the cranes back to their respective customers. Having several cranes and tenders ready to go E.C.&S. contacted the N.Y.C.T.L. Movement Bureau and requested a priority move from Empire City to interchange locations with the concerned railroads. The N.Y.C.T.L.'s Terminal Yard ran the train on a Sunday afternoon to minimize delays on the system due to the slow speed of this train.

A review of the cranes on the roster revealed that this entry could also be called "Cranes from Around the World". Let's take a look;

Rock Island Crane and Tender a Tyco product made in Hong Kong

A generic gray MOW crane and tender are from Mehano and made in Yugoslavia

PRR Crane and Tender are from Athearn and were made in the USA.

Erie Lackawanna Crane and Tender are from Bachmann and made in China

This NYC crane is from Life Like. Unknown place of manufacture.
A gift from my buddy Engineer Ed

This PRR crane is from Liliput and made in Austria

A video of the action

Thanks for reading and watching!

  

Extra 3007

Greetings All,

A home remodel that went two weeks past it's anticipated completion date allowed rail traffic on the N.Y.C.T.L. to come to a complete halt. Frustrated over the slow going of the remodel and the need to get trains rolling prior to April 1st the Terminal Yard yard master put together Train Extra 3007 to clear out some yard space and open up some industrial sidings. Here is a copy of the message sent from Terminal Yard on March 31st .

TRAIN: Extra 3007
ORIGINATION: Terminal Yard
TERMINATES: Selkirk Yard
ENGINES: GP40 #3007, GP30 #2218, U33B 3893, F7A 1602
CABOOSE: 23045
TOTAL CARS: 25
LOADED / EMPTY: 18 / 7
TOTAL BLOCKS: 4. Note: Block 1, 4 cars for Hoschton Railway.
                                             Block 2, 6 cars for Williams Yard.
                                             Block 3, 9 cars for Rock Ridge Yard
                                             Block 4, 6 cars for Selkirk Yard.

Penn Central Alco C424 2415 picks up an empty NYC 40' hi cube boxcar from Hudson Coal.

The temporary shut down of the N.Y.C.T.L. had a ripple effect on adjoining systems and

caused some car shortages.

2415 pulls a string of cars from the Industry City siding. Six NYC / PC cars, four different manufacturers and six different shades of jade green or mercury green.  

PC 104478 recently out of the Kings Port Division shops after having it's roof walk removed.
The 104478 is on it's way to Cavendish Fine Foods and Spirits with a load of food containers
from Berk Enterprises.

PC RS2 9942 is assigned to the Empire Belt this week. Here we see it pulling two empty 50' double door boxcars from Prestage Gear. With empties in short supply system wide due to the temporary N.Y.C.T.L. shutdown these two are headed off to the Kings Port Division along with the NYC 40' Hi Cube car from Hudson Coal. All three are consigned to the Peerless Appliance Company who are having fits trying to get their merchandise shipped.

A front end loader is out bound from Caterpillar to Hedberg Aggregate in Kings Port NY.

A PC 40' gondola with a load of pipe consigned to the Gulf River Facility.

The Empire Belt transfer run to Terminal Yard

An aerial view of the transfer run.

A four unit lash up headed by PC GP40 3007 known to rail fans as "the Growler"
This diesel was purchased in June 2013 using the contract services of the N.M.D.C.

A NH 40' track cleaning boxcar is coupled to the engines. Two new Bachmann 50' boxcars follow. The RI 40' boxcar marks the end of block 1. Block 1 will be sent off to the Hoschton Railway Company.
On the siding we can see a Missouri, Kansas & Quincy (MKQ) 50' plug door boxcar with a load of paper for Berk Enterprises. Modelers will recognize the MKQ as the road of model railroader Gary Hoover. The MKQ car is from Accurail. 

PC 40' boxcar 104478 marks the beginning of block 2 on Extra 3007. The Thrall All-Door boxcars are being spotted at University Lumber and Mill work.

Block 3 starting at the TOFC cars is destined for the Atlantic Pacific RR's Rock Ridge Yard in New Jersey

CB&Q cement hoppers, two empty PC auto racks and two pipe loads round out block 3

Block 4 comes into view being lead by the Rock Island 50' boxcar 

PC 23045 brings up the markers.

Extra 3007 in action on the N.Y.C.T.L.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEiW9bm9QzM&feature=youtu.be

Thanks for reading and watching!