Blog Roll

Monday, October 22, 2018

P.C.C.M. 51A

Greetings All,

At the end of P.C.C.M. 50 Terminal Yard ended up with a dozen cars that had cycled thru their N.Y.C.T.L. routes and were ready for dispatch back to some of the participating virtual ops layouts. So instead of putting them into my virtual ops box the guys agreed to this quick virtual op that should help us in setting up P.C.C.M. 52. 

To:        West Mill / Rock Ridge / Elkhart / Zenith Yards
From:    Terminal Yard
Subject: Dispatch of Train SLX-1

Engines: 1049, 116, 1012, 1020
Total Cars: 12
Blocks: 5
Loads / Empties 1 / 11
Caboose: 21505

The yard job is blocking train SLX-1 that will leave the yard for Selkirk, Detroit and Avon Yards at 8:00 PM. Block 1 consists of empty 86' NYC auto parts boxcar #67086 heading to IDEAL Auto Parts in Rock Ridge NJ.
Block 2 consists of two T.O.F.C. cars for Williams Yard. Block 3 has B&M RBLs 109 & 110 loaded with cases of beer for Reynolds Beverage in Kings Port NY. 
Block 4 has these three empty 60' auto parts boxcars heading back to ACME Auto Parts in Mayfield NY and the old NYC Pacemaker car loaded with muffler mesh from Walsh Steel Wool also going to ACME . Blocks 2, 3 and 4 will all go to West Mill on the K.P.D.
Block 5 has these three empty 40' reefers heading back west for reloading possibly on the L.F.&N.W. or R.C.R. layouts.
Uh oh, a recurring draft gear problem that has plagued these prototype oversized boxcars has been noted by the 1/87th scale car knocker. The cars have become notorious for not mating and damaged draft gear caused by the couplers riding over one another. 1/87th scale AT Joe has changed the coupler while the car knocker straightens out the draft gear. 
Meanwhile over at the engine terminal the 1/87th scale road foreman and Big Mike break the news to Alco Joe that the FAs and CB&Q F3 have got to go back into the power pool.
CB&Q F3A #116  has drawn the attention of employees and rail fans alike. 1/87th scale Alco Joe did his best to hide the unit in the engine terminal to use it on a few more local runs but as you can see it kind of stands out from the rest of the fleet.
CB&Q #116 with it's NYC Alco FAs is definitely something you could only have seen during the NYC era. The 116 had been traded in to GE for a U28B in December 1966 thirteen months before the merger. Don't tell anyone!
NYC 1049, an Alco FA-2, leads the consist toward Terminal Yard. The 1049 was one of eighty such units on the NYC roster. The 1:1 1049 made it to the Penn Central was renumbered to 1349 and received a PC paint job according to the Penn Central Bi-Annual.
With the coupler and draft gear issue fixed the power for SLX-1 couples on under the supervision of various Terminal Yard employees who want to catch this lash up one last time as it heads out of town. 
SLX-1 has left Terminal Yard and is running thru Bedford NY where it meets Empire Belt train EB-2 headed for Terminal Yard.
The conductors give each other a thumbs up during the rolling meet
Bedford Tower operator 1/87th scale John B, barely recovered from P.C.C.M. 50, gives a half hearted wave from his chaise lounge.
SLX-1 is now on the High Line. The FA2-F3A-FA1-FA1 consist will hopefully return to the N.Y.C.T.L. in future P.C.C.M.s. A shout to Brian (1:1 ATJOE) for his suggestion on using this lash up.
SLX-1 heading thru Empire City. Next stop Selkirk!
Be sure to follow the action as it continues on Ralph's Kings Port Division layout, 1:1 Sir Neal's Atlantic Pacific RR layout, Brian's Ralston Creek RR and John B's L.F. &N.W. RR layout. 

Thanks for reading!!!


9 comments:

  1. To: Terminal Yard
    To: West Mill
    To: Elkhart
    To: Zenith Yard
    From: Rock Ridge Yard

    Acknowledgement Dispatch of Train SLX-1

    Rock Ridge Yard Out!

    I've alerted the crew at Rock Ridge Yard about the possible issue with the NYC 86' Auto Box car. We appreciate the crew on the N.Y.C.T.L. taking care of the repair on the spot. This car will be inspected when it arrives in the yard prior to being sent over to Ideal Auto Parts.

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    Replies
    1. 10-4 Rock Ridge....

      Glad the A.P.R.R. car inspectors will be diligent in their inspection of the big 86'er. Gotta keep the shippers happy with cars that will remain in service once loaded!

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  2. To: Terminal Yard, Rock Ridge
    From: West Mill
    Acknowledge dispatch of Train SLX-1 with cars for West Mill and Rock Ridge.
    West Mill out.

    Good plan to get those cars out of Terminal Yard so efficiently! Kings Port and West Mill will, along with Rock Ridge, keep an eye on the couplers on the NYC 86 footer. Fans all over will miss seeing CB&Q F3A #116 in consists of NYC FAs! A railfan dream! Glad to see that Bedford Tower operator 1/87th scale John B. is taking advantage of the gift chaise lounge!

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    1. 10-4 West Mill...

      Thanks Ralph!! 1/87th scale John B has definitely been overworked and underpaid but he keeps showing up and doing his job even if it looks like he's loafing on his chaise lounge. So far we've noted no funny drinks with umbrellas in them!

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  3. To: Terminal Yard,West Mill,Rock Ridge
    From: Galesburg

    Acknowledge the arrival of PC SLX-1 with cars for West Mill, Rock Ridge and points West.

    Galesburg out!

    Great looking start to P.C.C.M 51! I'm with Ralph, the Alco FA and Q F3 combo is a classic line up and fan favorite! I have a feeling we may see that combo again in a future P.C.C.M.Good to know about 86ft boxcar coupler issue. Glad to see 1/87th Alco Joe and I believe a P.C.C.M first appearance Car Knocker getting the coupler repaired before departure. Glad to see 1/87th John B getting some well deserved rest from his marathon stair climbing in P.C.C.M.50 Looking forward to some cross-country transfer of locomotives and rolling stock.

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    Replies
    1. 10-4 Galesburg...

      Thanks for the compliments Brian!! Good eye as the Car Knocker made his 1/87th scale debut. He was formerly 1/87th scale Alco Joe's road foreman nemesis but is better suited for his new role. I'm hoping 1:1 Kar Knockr sees it.

      The 1:1 86'ers were problematic according to my PC Bi-Annual book which is where I took that info from. Always good to try and work some of the 1:1 stuff into our 1/87th scale ops.

      Hoping the CB&Q F3A makes it out to you OK. It was last seen in Chicagoland in P.C.C.M. 51C! Looking forward to the western action!

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  4. Another fun segment! I'm happy to see the work of a 'yard grunt' acknowledged in the form of a 1/87 crew member. I hope he's not over worked, unlike my road where every ops session seems end with a screwdriver in hand! ( That wasn't much of an exaggeration, but it's getting better.) For a couple years now, I've been recording my ops on several albums in google photos. I'd like to share them but being a computer idio...I mean novice, I can't seem to figure it out. If anyone has suggestions I'll take them at mbross6068@gmail.com ..,Keep up the good work!

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    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed the segment K.K. and being immortalized in 1/87th scale! I really needed someone to keep the motive power and rolling stock running and am glad you've accepted this responsibility.😊 As Ralph and I both found out when we started the virtual ops these ops are tough on the equipment with constant tweaking needed. The non Kadee couplers seemed to be the biggest casualties as they did not stand up to the shove moves.Coupler heights and truck adjustments were also very common.

      I'm going to send you an email about sharing your ops.

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    2. Thank you much. Hopefully I'll get it. Thanks for the employment opportunity. Be advised, my hands were gifted with 10 thumbs and I'm really good at taking things apart. Getting them back together is entirely another matter! As a side note: My layout has 18" & 20" Radius's and a lot of snap switches; most cars have coupler box's I installed myself. Heights are not perfect, but I had good luck with Mc Henry couplers. Bachman couplers work well too.

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