September 2024 Layout Operations Part 2

 Greetings All,

September 2024 Layout Operations Part 2

Day 3

September 14, 2024

Welcome back to the September 2024 Layout Operations series. As a reminder the focus of this series of op sessions is based on the baseball strategy above. Get the rolling stock and trains on the layout, move them as needed to their intended industry or interchange and them get them moving back off layout and into their boxes (staging) so other rolling stock and locomotives can be added to the operations on a recurring basis.

Beginning on September 12, 2024 I embarked on and documented a series of model railroad operations to focus on train sequences and cycling rolling stock and motive power on and off the layout. The goal is to improve the overall operational continuity of the layout by determining what works well, what needs improvement, what needs to be discarded, what could be added and what should be added.

Day 3 

The day started out with a review of the four freight yards currently being used in this op. 

Terminal Yard: 50 freight cars

B&O 16th Street Yard: 12 freight cars

EBRR North Side Yard: 23 freight cars

Bedford Park Yard: 2 freight cars

Train BP-12

The action starts at Bedford Park Yard with RS1 9909 getting ready to work the yard and local industries. When the switching work is done the 9909 will lead Train BP12 with 7 freight cars from Bedford Park to Terminal Yard .

Train BP-41

After delivering the BP12 to Terminal Yard the 9909 makes a quick turn and heads back to Bedford Park Yard as Train BP-41 with 6 cars. Four of these cars are delivered to local industries and 2 are placed in the yard for later delivery when sidings are clear.

Terminal Yard Yard Job

The yard job still powered by SD40s 6282 and 6102 took care of classifying the 7 freight cars brought into the yard by Train BP-12.

Train BT-27 / MR-1

The Bedford Turn

Train BT 27 was our next local train of the day that departed from Terminal Yard. It was combined with Train MR-1 to deliver 6 PS2 covered hoppers to T&R Gravel and 6 cars to Bedford industries. 

Train BT-28 / MR-2

The Bedford Turn

Upon completion of the above work the Turn is ready to go back to Terminal Yard with 11 freight cars as Train BT-28 pictured below.

Terminal Yard Yard Job

The SD40s took care of the inbound cars from Train BT-28/MR-2 and have the yard in order for the next operating session.

Empire Belt RR Belt Job

Our last train of day 3 is the Empire Belt RR's Belt Job that works their North Side Yard, services Empire City industries and a Team Track in North Side Yard.

The Belt job was quite busy this day blocking and classifying 23 freight cars in North Side Yard 16 of which came in on LIRR Train MA-3 on Day 2 and picking up 3 cars from the Hohman Ave Industrial Park Storage Track (below). 

When the smoke cleared 14 freight cars had been placed at local industries, 3 cars were placed at the Hohman Ave Storage track to await cleared sidings, 12 cars were delivered back to North Side Yard where they were blocked for movement or interchange. 

The final yard tally was 2 cars for local placement, 2 cars for the LIRR and 21 cars for Terminal Yard.

Freight Yard Status

North Side Yard: 25 freight cars

Terminal Yard: 50 freight cars and 6 passenger cars at E. Bedford Station on track 1.

16th Street Yard: 12 freight cars

Total time: 3:15

End of Day 3

September 15, 2024

Day 4

Day 4 started at Terminal Yard with the dispatch of Train SK-9 with 27 freight cars for Selkirk and powered by four GP38s. These freight cars and locomotives will be cycled off the layout and stored back in their boxes later in the op. 

Train SK-9 

The SK-9 heads to Selkirk.

New Haven Train HN-2 / NH-2

During this op session I experimented with making the HN-2 / NH-2 a turn job with it delivering freight cars to Terminal Yard from Cedar Hill Yard that includes a block of cars from the New Haven's Maybrook Gateway. The NH-2 would then shortly thereafter depart Terminal Yard for Cedar Hill Yard with a block of cars for delivery to the NH's Maybrook Yard if present in Terminal Yard. The idea of adding Maybrook Yard traffic to the ops was interesting to me and I'll cover this in a future blog post.

New Haven Train HN-2

Train HN-2 from Cedar Hill Yard in New Haven, CT passes RA Tower as it heads to Terminal Yard.

The HN-2 is powered by four H16-44s to get the 19 car train up the ruling grade of 2.5% from RA Tower on the lower level, up the slide which is track 1 (shown below) and into Terminal Yard. 

Terminal Yard Yard Job

The SD40s continued to work the yard and classified the 19 cars brought in on Train NH-2.

Pier 16 Switcher

B&O SW7 9552 pulled one loaded car from the Empire Power Authority, two loaded cars from Bruce Electric Equipment and delivered them to the 16th Street Yard.

B&O 16th Street Yard Transfer

B&O 6954-7071 & C&O 8238 continue to work 16th Street Yard and remained idling away in the yard.

Train NH-2

Below the NH-2 departs Terminal Yard with 11 freight cars, 10 TOFC and 1 boxcar. No Maybrook traffic today.

Shop Switcher

A nice little move that I rarely if ever run is the shop switcher delivering cars between the shop and Terminal Yard. Here it with a HD flatcar with a large crankshaft and two flatcars containing EMD prime movers going to the big shop at Selkirk, NY.

Pier 16 Switcher

B&O 9552 from Pier 16 picks up the HD flatcar with crankshaft at Terminal Yard for delivery to Pier 16 to be exported by ship. The car has had some wheel work done and this is a "hot move" as the ship loading is drawing to a close.

End of Day 4

Day 5 thru 12 coming tomorrow

which will conclude this series

Thanks for reading and watching

See you tomorrow