Penn Central Car Movement Series #14

Greetings All,

During the ops session with 1:1 Engineer Ed last week we set up some of the next virtual ops session between the N.Y.C.T.L. and Ralph V's Kings Port Division. This, the 14th installment of Penn Central Car Movement Series has taken on a special meaning. Last week the Kings Port Division formally opened the newly expanded and improved West Mill Float Yard. This important railroad hub needed a train from the N.Y.C.T.L. worthy of all the work that was performed. With that in mind the 14 series will feature the largest amount of cars virtually forwarded layout to layout. A total of 27 cars will be making the trek from Terminal Yard to the West Mill Float Yard.

For more on the West Mill Float Yard expansion see here
 http://kingsportdivision.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-one-yard-gain.html

So with the K.P.D. milestone in the books I also turned my attention once again to naming the shelf portion of the N.Y.C.T.L. I received some great suggestions from fellow modeler and blogger John Bruce who pointed out the Ford Plant and some creative names using that and some others from the PRR, PC and CR. After mulling those over I thought the name Bedford would work. It has a NY feel, There is a main artery in Brooklyn known as Bedford Ave. There is a town of about 17,000 people called Bedford about 48 miles north of NYC located within Westchester County. So with this information my fictitious industrial town was born. Thanks John!

For more on John B's model railroading click here;
 http://modelrrmisc.blogspot.com/  

So let's take a look at what transpired on the N.Y.C.T.L. after the actual ops session with Engineer Ed to put together this outbound train:

The L.I.R.R. FA units ran very nicely during the ops session with E.E. and they have been rewarded as power for today's train, EC-1, the Empire City Turn. EC turn arrives in...get ready for it...Bedford an industrial town on the outskirts of Empire City. 

Making the long pull

Most but not all of these cars will be headed out to industries on the Kings Port Division

Picking up iron ore loads at T&R Gravel

Over in Empire City at the North Side Yard the Empire Belt Railroad is using PC U30B #2875 as today's power

The 2875 leaves North Side yard to attend to today's switching assignments. The five covered hoppers on the industrial lead were placed there as the last car movement by E.E. and I will attend to those today.

An A.P.R.R. 50' combo door boxcar is shoved into Neal's Lumber and Hardware. The crew will pull the PC boxcar and spot the A.P.R.R. car. The crew is being extra careful as 1/87th Scale Sir Neal Himself  stands on the sidewalk admiring one of his vast fleet of freight cars.

The Empire Belt crew has switched out Cargill, Neal's Lumber and Caterpillar.Here they are shoving those cars into track 3 of North Side yard for pick up by the Empire City Turn due in this afternoon. 

The EC Turn has arrived and the EB power idles out of the way on track 2.

Normally foreign road power like the L.I.R.R. units can be found leased to the Empire Belt and utilized in North Side Yard. Today's heavy rail traffic going back to Terminal Yard will be too much for the U30B so  the FA units will be working out of Terminal Yard for at least another day before being transferred to the Empire Belt. The FAs will run around their train, enter the yard from the east side and pull track 1. They'll couple up their train, add the caboose conduct a terminal air test and then head out. 

Heading over the High Line and Cornelius Vanderbilt Memorial Bridge (Thanks John B!)

Yes, this train would have been too much for the single U30B

The L.I.R.R. FAs will uncouple for their train here at Bedford Tower and then work the Ford Plant and local industries.

Three empty 50' double door boxcars being pulled from All City Storage. The boxcars are specially equipped for shipping appliances and assigned to Peerless Appliance.

The empty KP&W and NYC cars are in pool service assigned to ACME Auto Parts -Ford service

The length of the train overwhelms the available track lengths in Terminal Yard. The train has been cut and doubled into the yard starting on track 4.  

The second half of the EC Turn arrives and heads into track 3

After some serious switching and blocking train WM-2 (Terminal Yard to West Mill Float Yard) has received it power and it almost ready for departure 

Block with cars for West Mill Float Yard

Block 1 will be cut after the Rock Island car and have 10 empty covered hoppers cut in as block 2. Both of these blocks will be worked at West Mill Float Yard

Block 3 consist of cars going beyond West Mill to the Williams Yard on the K.P.D.

The end of block 3

Sample car cards being used for this series

WM-2 has left Terminal Yard and head thru Bedford on it's way to West Mill

WM-2 is now on the main line

Heading over the High Line

Block 2 on the High Line

Block 3 rolling across the High Line

And finally caboose 18401 brings up the rear

And there it is. The longest train ever sent out in the virtual ops is now on it's way. Let's see if Ralph V is still talking with me when he sees this! 

Thanks for Reading!