Friday, April 24, 2009

LOCAL HLP20

An AP&W M.O.W. truck waits for train HLP20 (Hillsdale Local, Pete's Plastics). Pete's Plastics is a major customer for the railroad, receiving 3-5 car loads of plastic pellets every 2-3 days, along with a weekly tank car of solvent. They also receive an occasional boxcar of supplies and even send out a boxcar of products every now and then. They make plastic drink bottles and flatware- including the infamous 'spork'.

Crew chief Mark Davis waits by the truck while Earl stands on the 'front porch' of SD40 3163, ready to call it a day.


The two maintenance trucks sit parked on the dirt acess road waiting on HLP20. Note the EOT rack on the back of the pick-up, with an EOT ready to go.

Like many railyards, Hillsdale gets its fuel from local suppliers. Here, the delivery driver talks with Sam while waiting for the yard job to get back. Since Hillsdale only has one permanently assigned locomotive, there are no fueling facilities. Unit 3163 will receive it's fuel directly from the tanker!

Delivery completed, the driver pulls out of the lot and heads for the highway. This is a daily trip for him- twice on real busy days.

Friday, April 10, 2009

CHANGES TO THE CITY

I've recently made some changes to the layout.


This is an "under-construction" view of the new Delta building in downtown Hillsdale.




These photos show the completed building, after painting and installation of the windows. The Delta building is ten stories tall and holds office spaces for numerous area businesses.


At the far end of the layout, I put in a row of houses to fill in the area. These will probably be temporary; then again, who knows?