Penn Central Car Movements #98 / Part 1/ The Eighth Year of PCCMs begins

 Greetings All,

Welcome to Penn Central Car Movements #98!!!

Today starts our eighth year of virtual operations with my New York Central Layout interchanging HO scale freight traffic with Ralph's Kings Port Division and Sir Neal's Atlantic Pacific RR.

It was this day in 2016 that Ralph launched the very first virtual operation between our layouts. Here is the first PCCM Train that arrived on the NYCTL, KT-1 from Kings Port to Terminal Yard,  passing Bedford Station.

PCCM 98 will be a two layout virtual op between my layout and the KPD with the APRR currently on winter hiatus but expected to return to action by the Spring.

The 2023 PCCM action starts at Bedford Park Yard with Penn Central engineer Robert R still protecting this job.

The Bedford Park Yard Job (BPY) gets right to work pulling PC boxcar #160502 and Rock Island boxcar #35062 from yard track #1. Both cars were loaded at American Hardware with bulk hardware for IBM in Binghamton, NY.

Next out of the yard are three empty Gulf tank cars from the Ford Plant that are heading back to the Gulf Facility in West Mill, NY.

The BPY job works the American Hardware siding pulling P&LE boxcar #35892 loaded with bulk hardware for Peerless Appliance in Mayfield, NY along with an empty non PCCM CN boxcar.

The BPY job couples up to its caboose and prepares to depart Bedford Park Yard for Terminal Yard located in East Bedford as PC Train BP-12.

Train BP-12 is cleared past Bedford Tower.

Train BP-12 on the move thru Bedford.

The BP-12 rolls into Terminal Yard.

After a quick turnaround Robert R heads back to Bedford Park Yard with non PCCM traffic as PC Train BP-41.

With Bedford Park in order we'll turn our attention over to Terminal Yard for more PCCM action.

Over at Terminal Yard we catch Big Mike working the yard job and Kar Knocker getting ready to blue flag the BP-12 freight consist on track #9. Over on track #3 the three PC GP7s are ready to depart with Train MR-1, a turnaround mine run to T&R Gravel and Hudson Coal.

The MR-1 engines have cut off from the train passing T&R Gravel and EB Tower and are entering track #1. 

The MR-1 pulls AP hopper car #9416 loaded with ballast for the Kings Port Division and four AP ballast hoppers in the process of receiving their PCCM loads.

Two empty non PCCM PRR ballast hoppers and the four partially loaded AP hoppers are shoved back into T&R Gravel.

The AP 9416 is placed at Hudson Coal for the engines to couple onto the MR-1 and get to work pulling the loaded hoppers.

The MR-1 caboose and consist are shoved into Hudson Coal to pull the AP 9416 and the loaded coal hoppers. Six of these hoppers will be heading to Tri-Mount Cement in South West Mill, NY.

Train MR-1 makes the long pull from Hudson Coal.

A gratuitous photo of the empty hoppers with the new retaining wall in the background and newly painted fascia in the foreground.

Now back to our virtual op... The empties are in place for their next loads.

The GP7s are coupled on to the loads and preparing to head back to Terminal Yard as Train MR-2. We've seen this before and know the yard master and dispatcher like to hold the MR-2 on the Bedford Secondary to allow more prioritized traffic to enter and exit Terminal Yard. Such is the life of a coal train!

True to form a pair of Alco Centuries are on the yard lead heading for track #2 to couple onto the long freight consist headed by the RDG and MILW boxcars. 

Alco C424 #2415 (the one and only on the roster) leads sister C425 #2417 and Train EC-1 out of Terminal Yard.

Train EC-1 passes the MR-2 at Bedford.

The Mine Run, Train MR-2 arrives back in Terminal Yard.

The GP7s head into the sand rack.

We'll cut it here for today with Big Mike coupling onto the caboose and Kar Knocker ready to blue flag and inspect the MR-2 hoppers. Todays yard power is PC FM H24-66 Trainmaster #6702, formerly PRR #8702. The 6702 is working out its final years in Terminal Yard where "oddball" locomotives are always welcome.  

We'll pick it up tomorrow with Train EC-1 arriving at the Empire Belt RRs North Side Yard in Empire City, NY

Be sure to catch the action on PC Ralph's Kings Port Division!!!

Our first postcard from 1:87 Scale Senior Engineer Sir Neal!!

"02_Grand Central 1920s - vintage postcard" by meduza23 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. 

Thanks for reading and watching!!!

See you tomorrow!!!