Penn Central Car Movement #35E / Terminal Yard Action

Greetings All,

It's good to have the layout up and running after the plumbing job hiatus. Getting the layout operations back together has been a bit more challenging. I must admit the two week layoff has left me a bit rusty and the flow of the action may be a bit cumbersome at times so please bear with me on that.

Readers will recall that the P.C.C.M. 35 Series originated on Ralph's Kings Port Division layout. 
 
Click here to see the start of the action or if you just want to rail fan Ralph's layout again. Can't blame you for that and I highly recommend it!  http://kingsportdivision.blogspot.com/

Part of the Terminal Yard cut at West Mill getting ready to be picked up by Train WV-2 (Weehawken - Selkirk) on Ralph's layout. B.T.W. I think that's Fingers O'Malley on the Transfer Caboose checking out the new B&M RBL

Last installment VN-4 was recorded as in the yard by the KarTrak A.C.I. reader. We'll pick up the action from there.

The Terminal Yard switch crew conductor has received the Dispatch Sheet from the yard office and prepared his switch list. The Dispatch Sheet accompanies every train that travels from one layout to another in any given P.C.C.M. to keep track of the common cars in play for the current round and tell the layout owners the status of all the common cars.

The crew heads out onto the the yard lead and using the flat car as a shoving platform or handle couples onto the caboose of VN-4. The caboose will be shoved into the caboose track at the rear of track#2

With the caboose out of the way the cars have been cut at the white AP RBL under the pedestrian bridge. PC 16052 and TPFX 5510 will be blocked at the rear of train EC-1(Morning Empire City Turn) being built on track #7. These two empty boxcars will be delivered to Universal Milling in Bedford on the return leg of the Empire City Turn which will be known as EC-3.

Two empty T.O.F.C. Flatcars are spotted for loading on track#9. The crane is an old Cox product that I found in the used section of an old L.H.S.

The Bedford Park block has been cut off of VN-4 and shoved into track#8. Careful attention to car blocking at West Mill has made today's VN-4 a pleasure to work. We'll be sending Cappy Foster a thank you note and a bottle of Cavendish for sure.

The NYC hi cube and B&M RBL will be at the front of the EC-1 as they will be the first cars worked when they are delivered to Heileman's Brewery in Bedford on the way to Empire City. The crew temporarily sets them on track 8. 

Cars from VN-4 that will be part of train EC-1 on track 7 are shoved into place. Again the cars were lined up perfectly by the West Mill crew.

The crew finishes building EC-1 with the placement of these two hopper cars right behind the NYC and B&M cars. The hoppers will be interchanged with the L.I.R.R. at North Side Yard. Placing them here will keep them out of the way of the cars that need to be delivered to Empire City industries. (I think)

The two GP30s from VN-4 have been serviced and fueled and will be the power for EC-1 due to motive power shortages at Terminal Yard. The hostler has coupled the engines to the train and the train is building up air pressure.

1/87th scale Engineer Ed and Conductor John are ready to get back behind the throttle and back in the saddle after the hiatus. The Terminal Yard switch crew in the rear are gabbing about the good ol days before the hiatus as they await their next assignment
1/87th Scale Sir Neal and his conductor are on duty at North Side Yard and ready to get down to business.

1/87th Scale PC Ralph and his brakeman are ready at Bedford Park Yard as a fuel contractor tops of their FM H16-44.

The trains are on the layout, the players are on the field and we'll get down to some good old fashioned model railroading operations over the next few days. The next installments will feature 1:1 Scale Engineer Ed who will be stopping by to run trains and work on the virtual ops. So stay tuned...

Thanks for reading!!