Greetings All,
Another Ops Session with Engineer Ed is in the books! With both of us having tight schedules this summer we were very happy to get in a nice train running afternoon.
Over the summer E.E. got bit by the New Haven RR bug and the coal hopper operations bug( thanks to Ralph!). So being the good train buddy I am we started the day working Hudson Coal with two New Haven H16-44s.
We pulled the loads and shoved in the empties. After this double ran the train up to Terminal Yard where the newly loaded cars were weighed and eventually dispatched to a power plant in Connecticut behind a pair New Haven F7As and an SDP40. Sadly I was to busy yakking with E.E. and missed that photo op. Oh the shame!
That's E.E. himself working the Empire Belt's North Side Yard. He's set the yard up so that the Empire Belt GP9ms are on track 3 and a block of cars for the L.I.R.R. on track 2.
The Long Island Railroad (another E.E. favorite) runs over the High Line with a transfer freight to North Side Yard.
Double E has the long L.I.R.R. train well in hand
The L.I.R.R. has dropped their freight cars on track #1 and left with the freight cars that were waiting for them on track 2. A pair of Empire Belt GP30s are now arriving on track 2 with a steel products train from Kings Port Steel consigned to NYS DOT region 10 as part of the ongoing Long Island Expressway extension.
Double E brings the steel train thru the yard with a steady hand. Note the buffer boxcar behind the locomotive protecting the crew and two idler flats protecting the over sized girder in the gondola and distributing the weight of the girder.
It's time to switch out the Empire City industries and Double E has tacked the caboose onto the rear and pulled the required cars from the yard. That's 1/87th scale Larry D on duty at the Hohman Ave tower waving to 1:1 scale Engineer Ed.
We're shoving a block of cars led by an E.B.R.R. flatcar loaded with pipe past Gervais Pipe & Fitting and towards Ralph's Grocery Warehouse.
A pair of white A.P.R.R. cars are are in the mix as well as a trio of E.B.R.R. cars. The pipe loads are 1/2" CPVC pipe that was left over from my house re-plumbing project a couple of months ago.
We've completed the work on Empire City's North Side and the outbound train sits on the main behind the E.B.R.R. GP9ms. The steel train sits in the yard waiting for the L.I.R.R. to pick it up tomorrow on their next trip to interchange cars at North Side Yard.
That's it for this ops session!!!
Thanks for reading
Looks like a great time running trains! Good to see you Ed! Keep up the good work! I like the big pipe loads. Nice way to recycle and re-use!
ReplyDeleteWe had a great time Ralph! Ed touts himself to be "Supreme Engineer Ed for Life" and he certainly lived up to the billing.
DeleteGlad to see you and Ed spend some quality time with the NYCTL. The EBRR locos and rolling stock looking good along with the NH and LIRR trains and equipment. Agree with Ralph, nice use of the leftover plumbing project pipe. Looks like the perfect size for HO. My 1/87th counterpart is informing me that some HRC rolling stock was also included in the session.
ReplyDeleteThanks Brian! Good eye on catching the HRC boxcar! All four freelance roads, the A.P.R.R., E.B.R.R., H.R.C. and K.P.& W. can be seen throughout the photos. Gotta give the guys their props! The 1/2 pipe is OK for flats but just a tad to big for gondolas.
DeleteAll I can say is that some days are just fun, but then there are days that are super fun! Yesterday was just such a day for what was an impromptu operating session. Even with such short notice of the visit, John not only had a plan going but afforded me multiple operating and running opportunities. Getting to run trains on the NYCTL is more fun than I deserve.
ReplyDeleteOne of my operating options and of course my first choice was the coal train. Couple that with some New Haven power and bonus points for getting to see the King's Port, Empire Belt, A.P.R.R and Hoschton cars all generating revenue on NYCTL home rails.
Also got to see first hand the greatly expanded terminal yard still under construction. All very impressive and a totally fun afternoon - Thank you Sir John
You are welcome Ed! Glad you had a good time! I had a great time as well and look forward to our next get together. See ya soon!
DeleteSounds like exactly what the doctor ordered for EE! As always, the photos and captions are superb, and I can tell by all of the train movement that a fun time was had by all!
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head 1:1 sir Neal!
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