P.C.C.M. 45I

Greetings All,

Welcome back to the P.C.C.M. 45 series! Yesterday we saw the arrival of PC Train VN-4 bringing in freight cars from the three participating layouts and the Terminal Yard crew breaking VN-4 into local trains. Today we'll take a look at Penn Central local action originating from Terminal Yard and pay a little tribute to the Baldwin Locomotive Works.

The Bedford Local and Bedford Park Turn have been combined today under Bedford Park Turn ID BP-41 / BP-12. Power will be three Baldwin S-12s that need to get out on the road to clear the soot from their stacks.

The Baldwin S-12 was a 1,200 hp switcher produced between 1951 and 1956 had a reputation as being a lugger and sometimes being a bit temperamental. The Penn Central had 108 S-12s on their opening day roster. The NYC contributed twenty one units and the ever loyal Pennsylvania eighty eight units. Originally numbered by the PC 8092-8199 the PC later renumbered them to the 8300 series to make room for the new GP38-2s. By 1973 only thirty S-12s were still active. 

A pair of ex NYC S-12s with an ex PRR S-12 team up for today's BP-41. The models are Athearn BB, the middle unit is not powered and was modified to be a track cleaner.

BP-41 is underway with three mammoth 86' boxcars from Ideal Auto Parts bringing up the rear.

BP-41's first stop is Hostess where that Hostess/Wonder Bread covered hopper loaded with flower from the big Cargill plant on the A.P.R.R. needs to be spotted. 

The work at Hostess is done and BP-41 heads out towards Empire City to turn the train around for an easy back up move into the Bedford Park Ford Plant.

Coming back over the High Line the lead S-12 is passing Bedford Tower.

BP-41 has crossed over to track #3 and enters the Bedford Park branch line shoving towards the Ford Plant

Pulling out a quartet of empty 60' cars to make room for the loaded 86' cars.

The three 86' auto parts cars are now spotted at the Ford plant.

With BP-41 now having 'turned' it's new designation is BP-12. The next move is to switch the empty PC and TPFX cars from Battaglia Bros. Warehouse onto the University Millwork siding for loading. 

BP-12's switch work is complete and it now waits for a Bulk Mail Train to clear the mainline towards Terminal Yard. PC Chairman Saunders refused to spend another nickel on the money losing passenger trains reducing services, driving away passengers and putting the remaining bulk mail into unit trains further increasing the passenger loses. Surplus E8's lead the mail train west.

BP-12 returns to Terminal Yard while Extra 9314 on track 6 gets ready to head out to Hudson Coal & T&R Gravel.

Powered NYC Athearn BB S-12 #9314 with non powered NYC BB 'calf' unit 8842 that's been converted to a track cleaner will be  lugging four PS-2 covered hoppers to T&R Gravel and two 34' coal hoppers to Hudson Coal.  

Extra 9314 comes around the T&R Gravel curve.

The four PC PS-2 covered hoppers are shoved into place at T&R Gravel. They will be loaded with sand for the A.P.R.R.'s Rock Ridge Yard locomotive terminal.

Next stop Hudson Coal where Extra 9314 has left these two open hoppers to be loaded with coal for Corning Glass in Corning NY. The Coal Job will place the cars under the tipple for loading later in the day when they pull the loads and exchange them for empties.

That wraps up Extra 9314's work for today and the crew heads back to Terminal Yard with the 'calf' leading the way.

The Extra heads into track 8 and that concludes the Penn Central local action for this series.
Tomorrow the Empire Belt will take center stage and we'll wrap up the series.

Thanks for reading!