MMEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND PT 3

 During Memorial Day weekend, ET44AC 530 rolled through Hillsdale with a short military train. The rest of the train...

Behind the tanks and Bradley's are several TPDX 89' flatcars, designated "MILITARY USE ONLY." These are brand-new 110T flatcars, built by Greenbriar, for transporting military equipment, such as these Army containers. Seen here, from left-to-right are; a Quadcon, a 20' Conex, a Tricon, and another Quadcon. The Tricons and Quadcons are versatile mini-containers which can be joined together into a single 20' unit for shipping as seen here.

This car has all 20' Conex's, in three different colors! The TPDX flats also have chain slots in the deck for vehicle loads, as well as stack pockets on the sides, making them useful for a variety of loads. They are NOT used, however, for tracked vehicles -only DODX flats are used for those.

Bringing up the rear is a special Tribute car.

The full-dome is a fitting end to this Memorial Day Weekend train.

Final Tribute; a new KW T880 pulls the POW-MIA trailer through town.

Again, thanks to all those who have served our Great Nation and continue to do so.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND PT 2

 

ET44AC 530, the POW/MIA unit, leads a short military train east through Hillsdale Yard during the Memorial Day weekend.

The head end is loaded with M1A2 Abrams tanks. These six-axle trucked flatcars are the only ones capable of carrying a pair of these massive tanks; all other flats are limited to one tank, as they weigh 73.6 tons each!

More tanks on DODX flatcars.

A lone M3 Bradley rides a DODX flat behind the tanks.

More Bradleys follow.

530 shows off her rear POW/MIA decal, while rolling past a waiving track worker.

After the DODX flats with tracked equipment, follow TTX flatcars with a variety of military containers. There is also a special car at the end of the train. All for next week!

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND PT 1`

 Memorial Day Weekend in Hillsdale...

A Hamm's Beer semi rolls into town in this 80's photo.

Another Mack truck pulls a Pabst Blue Ribbon trailer in this "today" photo. Memorial Day and beer are a popular combination!

Another staple of Memorial Day is grilling; a reefer semi leaves town after dropping off a load of beef products at the distribution warehouse. Steaks, ribs, and hamburgers are now in stock! 

A local trucker headed home is this guy, with his Ford CL9000. His truck is 40 years old and still going strong!

Finally, ET44AC 530 is in town with a short military train. More on this train next week!

Remember, Memorial Day is for those who lost their lives for our nation -honor them well!

TEMPORARY BREAK

Right now, I'm taking a temporary break from the blog. While my health has been good overall, I still haven't able to make it into the basement on a regular basis recently due to a combination of poor leg circulation and bad knees. This is also keeping me from going upstairs to work on models for the layout. I do hope to make posts again soon, so stay tuned. And thank you for your readership!

Luis May
 

RAIL TRAIN

 At the start of "MOW Season", the rail train has been pulled out of storage...

Leased Scale Trains unit 2022 leads the rail train westbound to the loading facility, just outside of Cleveland, Oh.

The head car, with a bulkhead to prevent the rails from shifting forward, leads the support cars.

Passing through the yard.

The train. The symbol number is E2022W.

E2022W continues west for re-loading. Once loaded, the train will need two engines to pull it.

A final look at E2022W. Like CSX, NS, and other railroads in the Southeast, last year's hurricanes caused plenty of damage to the AP&W's rail lines -especially in North Carolina and Tennessee. Once loaded, this train will head south to Tennessee for a line upgrade on the former MC&K's main between its namesake cities; Memphis, Chattanooga and Knoxville. The line will be upgraded with heavier rail and concrete ties for faster transit times, allowing better competition with trucks across the state -and eventually on to Oklahoma City.  

TOWN LIFE PT 30

 

A Kenworth T600A, with matching red trailer, heads for the downtown warehouses. 

Another visitor to the warehouses is this Saia semi. Between Kidco, Inc. and Ten Mile Hike, a lot of truck traffic passes through town.

Another source of truck traffic is Hubbard Mills Inc., where this load of flour is headed.

On the way to a convention in New Jersey, the Awesome Diecast IconiCruiser bus leaves town. A refurbished 2001 MCI D4000 coach, owned and operated by Awesome Diecast, the IconiCruiser travels the country visiting conventions and collector shows.

Another bus traveling to the same convention is this restored 1969 Golden Eagle coach. And yes, the original Golden Eagles did, indeed, have "gold-chrome" sides!

Several men talk with the IT security guy. Nowadays, security is about more than just physical security, but also cybersecurity as well, and Hillsdale Yard has hired an outside firm to help protect against hackers and cyber attacks.

A MOW truck sits in the new storage shed. While not completely protected from the elements, it will help keep the equipment a bit cleaner -and drier!

PASSING TRAINS PT 48; MCP91 PT 3

 The conclusion of MCP91...

A string of brand-new Agrium Wholesale covered hoppers. They are leased from First Union, hence the FURX reporting marks.

A close-up of one of the hoppers. Agrium is a Texas-based agricultural company.

The pink "On Track For A Cure" boxcar, FBOX 504927.

HPJX 90229 is a second-hand car, while MEC 32132 is wearing a new paint scheme -the colorful "Pan Am" scheme. Unfortunately, Pan Am is now a fallen flag; it became part of CSX in 2023.

TTJX 81977 is a "finger-rack" car for transporting rebar.

Another carbon black car, and a pair of empty bulkhead flatcars.

A pair of grimy RBOX cars, showing their age.

A more recent repaint. This is a "combo-door" ABOX car, so named because it has both a sliding door and a plug door.

Another "combo-door" ABOX, this one with a replacement plug door.

The final two RBOX cars, both trashed with graffiti..

PASSING TRAINS PT 48; MCP-91 PT 2

 Train MCP-91 (Manifest, Cumberland - Pittsburgh) is passing through Hillsdale...

ET44AC 500 and AC4400 8900 pass the city and head west to Pittsburgh.

A pair of VTTX converted 60' flatcars doing what they were converted for -carrying containers.

A pair of 60' CN boxcars, with yet another TBOX behind them.

CGFX 992121 is ex-CEFX reefer 992121. Look closely, and you can see the "G" is a different font from the other three letters.

CGFX 992114 is another ex-CEFX reefer.

A brand-new 68' GNTX RailGon gondola and yet another CN car, this time a WC marked gondola.

UTLX 300315 is leased to Specialty Minerals. It is followed by a potash hopper.

Yet another TBOX, but this time a "grid-side" car, with a BNSF box behind it.

A pair of FBOX 50' high cube "grid-side" boxcars.

Another look at the VTTX converted flatcars. During the late 80's, TTX converted over a thousand 60' general service flatcars into container-only VTTX cars, removing the decks and adding container pedestals. They can carry either one 40' and one 20' container or three 20' containers, as seen here. With a pair of loaded tank containers, the first car is probably carrying its max load capacity.
The rest of the train nest week.