P.C.C.M. 62 / NYCTL Part 1

Greetings All,

Welcome to the Penn Central Car Movement #62 Series!!

The NYCTL is shaking off the rust and it's time to get back into the virtual ops groove. P.C.C.M. 62 will be a three layout virtual op as the NYCTL exchanges freight cars with 1:1 Sir Neal's APRR and PC Ralph's KPD. Let's get right to it;

A pair of Penn Central GP7s have been called to power today's Bedford Turn, Train BT-27, which is ready to depart from Terminal Yard.

 BT-27 heads into Bedford NY.

 Bringing up the rear on BT-27 is new PC transfer caboose #18227.

BT-27 shoves this trio of empty AP covered hoppers and a PRR boxcar from Hostess towards Berk Enterprises.

PC 160502 is picked up from Berk Enterprises loaded with printed packaging for Freihofer's Bakery in Rock Ridge NJ. 

Empty B&M RBL #105 is spotted at Berk Enterprises for it's next PCCM load.

Next stop is Heilemann Brewery to pick up a trio of loaded 40' boxcars including HRC #954367 loaded with beer for Reynolds Beverage Distributors in Kings Port NY.

The switch work complete the GP7s make a runaround move.

BT-27 heads back to Terminal Yard.

Ex PRR H16-44s and an S12 are today's yard power and the Yard Job gets to work on the newly arrived BT-27.

Outbound cars for PCCM 62 are getting blocked on yard track #7. PC 360158 is a "Hot" car in every sense of the word. The car is consigned to the Battaglia Bros Warehouse in Kings Port NY but missed the train out in PCCM 61. There has been a lot of strange calls and visits looking to expedite this car.

A shady looking character has taken up station at the stop sign keeping watch on the PC 360158 while pretending to read the paper. Most likely another Battaglia Brothers operative.

Over at the Terminal Yard office a group representing the Battaglia Brothers have arrived in several Cadillacs and are making it clear that PC 360158 must go out in PCCM 62. Or else....

Back to more routine operations PC 360508 loaded with bulk paper for Marcal in Rock Ridge NJ makes it's virtual ops debut as the yard job pulls it out of the Terminal Warehouse & Cold Storage Building 3 siding.

 Uh-oh... 1/87th scale Alco Joe has been called for the Bedford Park Turn, Train BP-41, and there are no Alcos assigned! As usual 1/87th scale Kar Knocker brokers the peace between hostler Wet Willie and Alco Joe assuring the latter that the ex NH FMs are kind of like midwestern Alcos. They pull well and smoke a lot!

BP-41 heads towards Bedford Tower and gets the green signal from 1/87th scale John B to head into Empire City. 

BP-41 comes thru the west side reverse curve and passes the Hohman Ave Tower.

The 86' behemoths with flanges squealing come thru the west side of Empire City.

Back at Bedford Tower the caboose has been dropped and Alco Joe shoves BP-41 back thru the Bedford Park lead.

Three empty EBRR auto parts cars in two liveries and three sizes along with PC 272747 are pulled from the Bedford Park Ford Plant. The EBRR cars will head back to IDEAL Auto Parts in Rock Ridge NJ and the PC 272747 will go back to Gates Rubber in Denver, CO for reloading.

An empty PRR 86' boxcar is pulled from Ford track #2. This car will be heading to ACME Auto Parts in Mayfield NY.

BP-41 has exchanged the loads for the empties and pulls out of Bedford Park.

 BP-41 reclaims it's caboose.

1/87th scale Alco Joe brings BP-41 back thru Bedford NY towards Terminal Yard. Alco Joe has enjoyed the trip in the F-M units and there will be no static at all between him and hostler Wet Willie.

We'll cut the action here for today at the newly relocated and mocked up Pier 16 Grain Silos. We'll pick it up tomorrow with car movements to and from the Pier 16 Grain Silos and then check in with the Empire Belt RR working the Empire City industries.

Be sure to follow the action on 

Sir Neal's APRR and PC Ralph's KPD.

Thanks for reading!!

See ya Tomorrow!!

Sprucing Up The Engine Terminal With Junk

Greetings All,

I recently undertook adding a scrap yard scene to the NYCTL Engine Terminal. This project came about when one of the boxes sent my way by 1:1 Sir Neal for our last joint painting project included this Piko scrap kit. 

I thought this would look good on the edge of the Terminal Yard engine terminal so I started building the kit with that in mind.

The Piko kit comes with a lot of steam era scrap parts and I've painted them flat black.

I added some scrap wheels and diesel cabs to the mix as I mocked out the scene.

Some storage sheds and other junk decorate the layout edge.

This looked good to me as the scrap yard added visual interest at the layouts edge. 

And it was not too high to interfere with the uncoupling of engines or cars or throwing of turnout controls.

Some Matchbox construction equipment was put in place ala the famous  Sal's Scrap Metal in the Bronx . 

New ballast has been added and the scene is looking better. 1/87th scale Kar Knocker is checking on his new used parts supply.

A mini dozer works the scrap pile.

1/87th scale Kar Knocker has come over to request some parts needed for a repair.

Looking at the scene from the other edge of the engine terminal.

1/87th scale Sir Neal has stopped by to check the new scrap yard. It's only junk until you need it says 1/87th scale Kar Knocker.

A newly placed storage trailer has 1/87th scale AT Joe wrestling with another coupler. The 9999 puts a crane and gondola in place to relieve the scrap yard of some of it's scrap metal.

The addition of the scrap yard led to the ballasting of that area and that carried over to the engine shop as seen below. PC 9999 shoves the 6324 into the shop for service joining the 6500. 

The good looking tanks are courtesy of 1:1 PC Ralph.

U25C 6500 and C630 6324 are courtesy of 1:1 John Bruce. The 9999 looks very cool shoving them around the yard.
A helicopter shot of the Engine Terminal with the new additions and scenery work. 

The engine terminal is pretty much done now. I still need to add some Caboose Industries 202S ground throws but struck out on my last trip to my LHS. 
   
Thanks go to 1:1 Sir Neal, PC Ralph and John Bruce for their contributions in making the NYCTL a much better layout to view and operate. Thanks Guys!!!

The NYCTL will be participating in PCCM 62 this weekend. I'll start posting my outbound installments on Saturday. So far PC Ralph's KPD and Sir Neal's APRR will be participating. We're hoping Brian and his RCR can join us.

Thanks for reading!!!

See ya soon!!

Two New Cabooses Join the Fleet

Greetings All,

The NYCTL recently put two new cabooses into service. The first is a Penn Central N9 transfer caboose from Bluford Shops. The second is my poor man's version of a Penn Central N5G caboose.

New caboose number one, Penn Central N9 caboose #18227, arrives at Terminal Yard. The PC N9 caboose was part of a 160 car order built by Despatch Shops at East Rochester NY from June 1968 thru November 1968. The N9s used the underframes of retired 40' boxcars. 

The 18227 was built in July 1968 and assigned to East Columbus, Ohio. The N9s and the 18227 came with propane tanks for heat as seen here. They were reportedly later removed in favor of kerosene fueled heating. Like most cars that came out of the Despatch Shops these cabooses utilized NYC style numbers and reporting marks.

PC #18227 joins NYC transfer caboose #18087, also from Bluford Shops, bringing my transfer caboose total to two. Both of these models were truly ready to run out of the box. Both came equipped with Kadee couplers at the proper height and metal wheels. They ain't cheap but they are well made and I like them both .

The new N9 is on the caboose track and getting the once over from some 1/87th scale NYCTL trainmen. They might not be as cozy as our other cabooses but they are solid, clean and better than a FRED! (Flashing Rear End Device).

Caboose number two, PC #18417, is my version of a poor man's N5G. This is an old Life Like product that was originally painted in D&H locomotive colors and came my way in a box of train goodies from 1:1 Sir Neal. 

The caboose has been stripped and rattle can painted with Krylon sea glass green and flat black. The decals are a combination of Microscale and K4 Pacific Products.The large off center Penn Central lettering, PC herald placement and yellow stripe on the lower step are taken from this prototype photo. The reporting marks and numbers are slightly larger than the prototype.

PC #18417 joins three other home built PC N5Gs. All cars are old Life Like products and have received body mounted Kadee couplers and Intermountain metal wheels. The varying paint jobs are not far from their 1:1 counterparts. From left to right 18423, 18418, 18417 and 18401.

The Penn Central N5G class consisted of  sixteen cabooses purchased in 1968 from subsidiary Lehigh Valley mostly likely to relieve a caboose shortage. The cabooses were lettered and painted in three batches 18400 - 18405 and 18417 - 18426 and assigned to yard service

Penn Central N5G #18417 was built by the Lehigh Valley May 10, 1941 as LV #95001. This caboose along with four others were sold to the PC on May 19, 1968 and it was renumbered to PC 18417.

''They're torturing me this week'' laments 1/87th scale Big Mike. First a new transfer caboose and now another ex Lehigh Valley caboose painted into PC colors! Ugh...I'm taking back all the nice things I said about working on this layout!

The 18417 made it to the Conrail roster being renumbered to CR 18607. No further information other than it was retired by Conrail.

Some of the above information was gathered from Hebner's Caboose Archive and Morning Suns books Penn Central Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment by James Kinkaid which is now available in digital form from Morning Sun Books. 

Thanks for reading!!!

See ya Soon!!!

B&O GP35 #3508 Joins The Fleet

Greetings All,

As seen in a previous post this recently purchased Athearn BB B&O GP35 from ebay has arrived at the NYCTL. The engine has been taken apart, cleaned up and is being tested with a B&O Athearn BB SDP40.

The GP35 was given to my youngest son, now a US Marine, who has been a BINO desul man since he was little. This framed report graces the walls of Terminal Yard.

Coming out of the shop the 3508 has received numberboards cut from a Microscale decal sheet and a spraying of Testor's Dullcote. I recommend applying the dullcote prior to painting the handrails so the metal is protected with a laquer.

The handrails are painted blue and yellow like the 1:1 B&O 3508

 I popped off the trucks and painted them with rattle can flat black. After cleaning the wheels I brush painted the wheel faces with burnt umber acrylic hobby paint. 

With the shell pretty much done I turned my attention to the drivetrain removing the Athearn metal strip and soldering a thin flexible wire in it's place.

Make sure the wire is flexible enough so the trucks swivel freely. While I was cleaning and prepping the parts for soldering I also cleaned the armature with an alcohol prep pad. For us DC guys that's pretty much all the electrical work that's needed to make this a very reliable running engine.

The B&O had a total of 41 GP35s according to this GP35 roster. The 3508 was part of their first batch of 20 built in March and April 1964 that were numbered 3500-3519. A second batch of 20 numbered 3540-3559 arrived on the B&O between July and September 1964. A lone GP35, #3581 arrived in December 1965.

The BB 3508 joins my son's expanding B&O fleet and is one of about a half dozen Athearn BB GP35s on the overall NYCTL roster.

Here it is with another Athearn BB B&O GP35 in Chessie System paint.

Over the years the Athearn BB GP35 has been referred to as a fat body or wide body as the long hood is wider than the prototype to accommodate the Athearn motor. 

On the NYCTL the Athearn BB GP35s have proven to be fine running engines. Their short wheel base works well on the small radius curves and their hood unit style gives them a modern look for a mid 1960s thru 1980s layouts. 

Thanks for reading!!!

See ya  Soon!!!