FALL EXCURSIONS PT2

More on last week's fall special...the cars!

The first two cars are fluted-side stainless steel dome cars, built by Budd in the mid-50's for the APRR's Alton Limited. This train ran from Chicago to St. Louis, and was inherited in 1947 when the APRR bought the Alton RR from the B&O RR. The train was upgraded big-time during the 50's when two new train sets were purchased from Budd, consisting entirely of stainless steel cars -including several domes per train. While most went to Amtrak in 1971, several were retained for company use, including business trains.

The other two cars are also nearing 50 years of existence. Built for the Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha service between Chicago and the Twin Cities, this Pullman-Standard 'Super Dome' was one of six built; today it is one five that survive. With the exception of the upper maroon band, this is close to how the car originally appeared.

Also built for the Hiawatha, this car was also unique to the Milwaukee Road; it was constructed in their shops! Called a Skytop Lounge, the windowed rear-end both gave it its name and provided great views of the scenery. The comments about the Super Dome's paint scheme apply here as well.

A fall excursion of a different kind! Norman talks with Bill Johnson about yet another museum piece -an old Dodge Power Wagon rail truck! About the same age as the above passenger cars, it's a railroad version of a truck that Dodge built for nearly 20 years! It was used by track gangs to inspect the rails, and sometimes make minor repairs such as tightening loose bolts on rail plates or correcting slightly mis-aligned rails. Now, it's used for "show and tell" for school kids and historical groups. It is also available for renting out, should you have a rail spur or branchline available for use!

FALL EXCURSIONS, PT1

It's fall, time for weekend excursion trains!

Norman looks over a VERY old steamer sitting in Hillsdale Yard. This 1890 vintage 4-4-0 American type locomotive has not only been fully restored, but runs throughout the year on various excursion runs up and down the east coast. After a brief stop, the engine will continue on to Cumberland, Md. for fall trips throughout Virginia and West Virginia.

Another locomotive used on excursion runs is SD40 3174. No longer used for freight service, she now spends her time pulling business trains and weekend excursions not handled by steamers. As the gang waits on standby, Mark Davis goes to meet with the engineer of the train.

Today's train, WPFSP4 (Washington, D.C.-Pittsburgh Fall Special, Passenger), is a short, four-car special, three of which are domes.

The train pulls into the yard. The domes allow for excellent viewing of the fall foliage between Washington, D.C. and Pittsburgh.

The first two cars are ex-APRR domes; the other two are ex-Milwaukee Road cars, which travel the country in excursion service, and have been leased for this train. With their orange and maroon colors, they fit right in with the fall theme!

PASSING TRAINS PT5

Some shots of trains passing through town, taken before the backdrop was extended.

Missouri Pacific -painted UP 1982 leads another UP unit on a west-bound unit ethanol train past an east-bound merchandise train just outside of town.

Another pair of merchandise trains pass each other outside of town.

The EOT (End Of Train device) flashes on the last car of the departing train.

One of the many international container stack trains heads for the Midwest with a variety of containers from different companies.

More containers on the train, from Europe, Asia, and the U.S. Meanwhile, the yard is empty!

IN THE YARDS PT10

Another look at life in Hillsdale Yard...

Jake arrives at work for the start of the day.

A gang of workers gather by the line truck to get the day's work assignments. The railroad is currently replacing its grade crossing signals in this region, so the crane on the truck will come in handy.

Halloween is on the way! A local farmer has stopped by to give the guys first crack at his pumpkins before he heads to the local farmers market. Life in a small town!

Another day, another 'tagged' (vandalized) freight car.

Sd40 3163 occupies her usual spot in the yard when not busy. Reportedly, the AP&W is looking at NRE (National Railway Equipment) genset locomotives to handle switching duties on smaller yards like Hillsdale in order to reduce emisions and fuel consumption. Either way, at 45 years old, 3163 is a relic ready for either rebuilding or retirement -and probable scrapping.

LOCAL DCL8

DCL8 (Dale City Local) is the daily train to the food processor plant in Dale City.

Norman looks at the vandalism on the side of a reefer parked in the yard. Given the large, white canvas these cars provide -plus the fact that they are often set out in urban areas- it's not surprising to find graffiti on these cars.

The car above is the first in the departing train, as 3163 gets ready to leave for Dale City.

The train is a solid string of big UP reefers, loaded with perishables from the west coast.

Normally, these cars run through to New York, but the plant in Dale City often receives several of them directly from west coast distributors. During the busy fall and holiday season, the plant may need to be switched twice a day at times!

Caboose 4312 brings up the rear, as the train departs. It will return as DHL8 (Dale City-Hillsdale Local) with empties, probably including the tank cars for corn syrup and/or vegetable oil that are missing from this train.