Empire Belt GP30s

Empire Belt GP30s
The EBRR GP30s round a curve on the Empire City Belt Line.

Saturday, July 26, 2025

Penn Central Car Movements #112 Part 2 / Trains, Trains and More Trains

 Greetings All,

Welcome Back to PCCM #112
Our three layout virtual op with my layout interchanging freight traffic with Ralph's Kings Port Division and Sir Neal's Atlantic Pacific Railroad continues today with more PCCM freight traffic being moved around the layout and dispatched to Selkirk.

The action starts today in the Terminal Yard Shop with the Penn Central NW-2 8807 working the shop switcher job and pulling two loaded PC gondolas of scrap steel for movement to Kings Port Steel in Kings Port, NY.
Watch the shop switcher deliver the gondolas to Terminal Yard and return to the shop.
The 8807 ties down in the shop.
Over in Terminal Yard the Yard Job is putting together PC Train TKW-01 that will take PCCM traffic for the Kings Port & Western RR and the PC Kings Port Division to Selkirk. The KPW & PC PS 2 hoppers are loaded with lime for the Port Owen Brick Co.
The two loaded PC gondolas are coupled onto five empty coil coaches and six loaded coal hoppers all heading to Kings Port Steel.
PC FP7s 4269 & 4348 couple onto the TKW-01 freight consist.
Train TKW-01 is on the move.
Next stop Selkirk!!
Back at the engine terminal Alco Joe is picking up today's MR-1 power, a pair of GP7s.
The GP7s are coupled onto the MR-1 freight train consisting of non PCCM traffic for T&R Gravel and Hudson Coal. 
The MR-1 departs Terminal Yard.

The first stop is T&R Gravel to pull four Penn Central PS2 covered hoppers loaded with locomotive sand for the APRR's Richmond Hill Engine Terminal (RHET).
Also being pulled from T&R Gravel are four APRR ballast hoppers loaded with....You guessed it!! Ballast for the APRR MOW department.
The ballast hoppers and PS2 covered are hoppers are temporarily placed at T&R Gravel while the MR-1 delivers cars to T&R Gravel.
After delivering the freight cars to T&R Gravel it's time to start pulling the loads out of Hudson Coal.
The MR-1 caboose is coupled on and the loaded hoppers from T&R Gravel and Hudson Coal start getting pulled.
The last of the coal hoppers are pulled out. All twelve are heading to the APRR's Rock Ridge Yard for delivery to RMO Electric and the M&E interchange track.
The MR-1 makes the very long pull out of Hudson Coal.
The dispatcher holds Train MR-1 on the secondary track at Bedford Station.
Back at Pier 16 the B&O Empire Power Switcher is pulling empty coal hoppers to be returned to the B&O. 
The caboose is coupled onto the hind end of the twenty car train of empty coal hoppers.
B&O F7As with PC trainmen head to Terminal Yard to couple onto the empty hopper train in the background.
The engines are coupled on and the air test is underway. Once done the train will depart for Selkirk as Extra 251. The B&O has been contracted to provide bituminous coal to the Empire Power Authority so we may see this train in one form or another going forward. 
Extra 251 departs Terminal Yard.
Next Stop Selkirk!!!
With Extra 251 now gone the MR-1 is cleared to enter the mainline to start delivering empty hoppers to Hudson Coal.
The MR-1 makes its moves.
Empty hoppers get shoved into Hudson Coal.
The last of the empties are placed.
Alco Joe (GP Joe today) couples onto the loaded hoppers and prepares to head back to Terminal Yard as Train MR-2. 
The MR-2 is cleared back to Terminal Yard.
Alco Joe calls it a day as he tis down his GP7s back in the engine terminal.
Back in Terminal Yard the Bedford Turn, Train BT-27 / BT-28 is ready to depart behind a pair of GP20s.
The Bedford Turn departs Terminal Yard.
PCCM freight traffic gets pulled from Hostess. EBRR boxcar 360158 is loaded with baked goods for.... Empty Cargill and Rock Island covered hoppers will be heading back to Empire Grain for their next PCCM loads.
More PCCM traffic is pulled from Ralph's Grocery Warehouse. EBRR boxcar......., PC boxcar 229046 and Rock Island boxcar 35062
We'll close it here for today with the dispatcher once again holding a local train on the Bedford Secondary in order to keep the traffic moving and the yard fluid.
The reason for the hold is for Extra 3175 which was quickly made ready to go with a consist of all PCCM traffic for the Atlantic Pacific Railroad that was collected by the MR-1 / MR-2 which we'll pick up tomorrow.
This closes out Part 2 on the NYCTL. Be sure to catch the PCCM action on PC Ralph's Kings Port Division and Sir Neal's Atlantic Pacific Railroad.

Thanks for reading and watching!!!
See you tomorrow!!!







Friday, July 25, 2025

Penn Central Car Movements #112 Part 1 / The Gathering Begins

 Greetings All,

Welcome to PCCM #112
The boys are back in town and another three layout virtual op is underway with my layout interchanging freight traffic with Ralph's Kings Port Division and Sir Neal's Atlantic Pacific Railroad.

The key number for the outbound portion of PCCM 112 on the NYCTL is number 99. No, not for Barbara Feldon, not for the amount of beer bottles on the wall, the number red balloons or Wayne Gretzky but for the number of PCCM freight cars I will need to move this weekend.

To accomplish this in a timely manner a new yardmaster has relieved the beleaguered yardmaster from PCCM 111 that needed eight inbound installments to get the PCCM traffic to its correct destinations. New strategies are now in place to keep the PCCM traffic flowing and not cause a meltdown at Terminal Yard. With all that said let's get to it!!!

The Outbound action opens up today at Bedford Park Yard with PC engineer Robert R reporting for duty and preparing to mount the two Alco RS11s assigned to Bedford Park today due to heavy tonnage moving to and from the Ford Plant in the background.
A loaded non PCCM Southern auto rack makes its PCCM debut as it gets pulled from the Ford Plant.
Empty auto parts cars from the Lehigh Valley, Atlantic Pacific and Empire Belt Railroads get pulled from Ford siding #3.
Empty New York Central, Pennsylvania and Atlantic Pacific 86' boxcars get pulled from Bedford Park Yard.
A pre merger empty Empire Belt 86' boxcar  brings up the hind end with a New York Central bay window caboose carrying the markers. Both are sporting the NYC "Road to the Future" heralds
Train BP-12 heads out of Bedford Park towards Terminal Yard as two local Bedford PD officers keep an eye on the train and look out for vandals.
The BP-12 is on the move!!!
After uncoupling from the BP-12 engineer Robert R has coupled his RS11s onto a non PCCM freight consist going to the Bedford Park Ford Plant. Kar Knocker has the train ready to go as soon as a terminal air test is completed.
Train BP-41departs Terminal Yard for Bedford Park Yard.
Train BP-41 has arrived in Bedford Park and gets busy working the Ford Plant.
Three boxcars of auto parts are placed in the yard until needed. The boxcars sitting at American Hardware Supply and All-City Storage will get pulled next.
After dropping the auto parts cars on track 3 the boxcars from American Hardware Supply and All City Storage are placed on track 1. Empty PC boxcar 160502 will be held and cleaned to await movement to American Hardware Supply for its next PCCM load.
Engineer Robert R ties down the RS11s in the yard to await their next call.
Over in Terminal Yard the Yard Job gets busy pulling four TOFC flats from the TOFC ramp.
The Yard Job begins building Train APR-25 (Auto Parts Return) that includes empty auto parts cars and TOFC traffic tonnage permitting. The PC TOFC flats are destined to be interchanged with the B&M at Mechanicville, NY.
The Yard Job has coupled onto the BP-12 freight consist and we catch Big Mike and Kar Knocker talking things over.
The hind end of the APR-25 gets an LV boxcar heading to Flint, MI for its next PCCM load and NYC & PRR 86'ers heading to ACME Auto Parts in Mayfield, NY for their next PCCM loads.
The headend of the APR-25 is shoved into track #1. The empty APRR and EBRR boxcars are going to IDEAL Auto Parts in Rock Ridge, NJ for their next PCCM loads.
A road crew has been called for the APR-25 and the engineer confers with engine hostler Wet Willie.
The power is coupled on.
Train APR-25 departs Terminal Yard.
The Bedford Tower operator gives the APR-25 a highball as it heads to Selkirk.
Meanwhile work continues in Terminal Yard with the yard job setting up the freight traffic for their next movements.
With the workday done Big Mike ties down the RS32s in the engine terminal.
It's time for the B&O 16th Street Yard crew to get to work. The H16-44s will handle the transfer and switching work while the F7As have laid over to await the running of an extra empty hopper train.
The B&O crew pulls five empty coil coaches from Pier 16.
The B&O couples up to the freight traffic in 16th Street Yard for movement to Terminal Yard and industries in the Terminal Warehouse & Cold Storage Complex.
The 16th Street Transfer heads to Terminal Yard.
The five empty coil coaches are placed in Terminal Yard for movement to Kings Port Steel and their next PCCM loads.
The 16th Street Yard traffic is placed in track 8A.
Freight traffic going back to 16th Street Yard is pulled out of Terminal Yard.
The 16th Street bound freight cars are coupled onto the B&O caboose.
The H16-44s pull a long cut of PCCM freight cars from the Terminal Warehouse & Cold Storage siding. 
The PCCM freight traffic is pulled to Terminal Yard.
The non PCCM traffic is placed on the TW&CS siding.
The B&O crew prepares to head back to their 16th Street Yard.
The B&O transfer run is on the move.
We'll cut it here for today with the transfer train back in 16th Street Yard.
We'll pick it up tomorrow at the Terminal Yard engine terminal with the shop switcher moving a pair of PC gondolas from the shop to Terminal Yard.
This wraps up part one on the NYCTL. Be sure to catch the PCCM action on PC Ralph's Kings Port Division and Sir Neal's Atlantic Pacific Railroad.

Thanks for reading and watching!!!
See you tomorrow!!!