PASSING TRAINS PT 45; SND40 PT 2

 The America Units have returned to Hillsdale for the 4th of July with SND40, the New York City- Dayton, Oh. Schneider intermodal special.

The three units round the curve on their way out of town.

A three-unit MAXI IV car, with orange and white containers.

The darker top container is one of the ex-Marten boxes.

The bottom container is leased from EMP through the "OPTIMODAL" venture.

Both top containers seen here are rare solid white boxes. Most Schneider equipment is orange, although on occasion, you can see a white trailer or a semi tractor in grey, white, or even black!

Another MAXI IV car, with a variety of container styles. Note the faded paint on the top center box.

More orange! Railfans love these trains, as the (almost) solid orange consist of containers remind them of another orange train of old - the Tropicana Juice Train between Florida and New Jersey!

More Schneider next week.

PASSING TRAINS PT 45; SND40 PT 1

 Last week, the nation celebrated its birthday, on the Fourth of July. And guess who passed through Hillsdale?

1976, as usual in the lead, joins her two sisters in moving SND40 westward from NYC to Dayton, Oh.

The three America Units roll proudly through town.

The first car is a brand-new NSC 53' articulated well car, owned by Canadian National, but sub-lettered GTW (Grand Trunk Western, one of it's American subsidiaries).

The middle well of this three-unit car.

The third well.

DTTX 645211 has a special container in the lower position; a Schneider 30' Anniversary container, celebrating their 30 years on the intermodal scene.

SMW 210810 is owned by St. Mary's West Railway, a small regional based in Waycross, Ga., which specializes in railcar storage and repair. They also have a small fleet of free-running railcars, including well cars.

More of SND40 next week!

TOWN LIFE PT 26; TRUCK PARADE PT 2

 Hillsdale is hosting a truck parade, with a number of regional trucks participating...

Another one of the trucks is this KW K100 Aerodyne, with added sleeper. Yet another one of the local produce haulers.

Another Peterbilt 389 with custom paint on both tractor and trailer.

Another look at the Ford CLT9000.  While cab-overs are rare these days, CLT9000's are even more scarce. Class 8 Fords in general are rare nowadays, since Ford exited the market in 1996, and sold the division to Freightliner, who re-branded it Sterling, which lasted just over a decade before being shut down in 2009. During the 80's, APMT, APRR's trucking affiliate, operated a small fleet of these trucks in this paint scheme; this may well be one of those trucks!

A Pete 389 tows a goose-neck detachable, loaded with a Caterpillar  320D L excavator.

One of a number of cattle trucks found in the region, serving dairy farms, is this KW W900A.

Another spread-axle reefer pulled by a Pete.

A KW pulls this spread-axle reefer.

The last truck is, perhaps, the best one. A KW K100 Aerodyne pulls a specially painted 45' trailer honoring POW's and MIA's.

The final semi also leads us into next week, as we celebrate our nation's birthday. Here's an early Happy Fourth of July!

TOWN LIFE PT 26; TRUCK PARADE PT 1

 A truck show/parade was held in Hillsdale. A number of trucks showed up...

The lead semi was this reefer. with a Peterbilt 579 UltraLoft tractor. Note the parked car's reflection in the side of the trailer!

Next was this Peterbilt 389 with a bulk trailer. It actually visits the city regularly, delivering to Hubbard Mills Bakery.

Another spread-axle reefer, this time pulled by a Kenworth W900A. The trailer has fenders on the axles, but they are hard to see, as they are black.

Another spread-axle reefer, this one with a Peterbilt 389 tractor. This truck is another regular in town, visiting the dairy plant. This truck received a few additions after this photo was taken.

Another local truck is this stretched Peterbilt 362 cabover and reefer -48' instead of 53' like the others. This is a working show truck!

Two more semi's behind the "Flamer."

Another pair, including an older purple KW 900A tractor trailer and a Pete 389 with a grain trailer.

A Ford CLT 9000 and yet another frequent town visitor, a purple KW 900A with "Bug" graphics pulling a 20' container on a chassis. This truck is usually seen pulling containers of one sort or the other. This container will actually be dropped off at KIDCO, Inc. for unloading.

Another look at the "Eagle" semi. There are feathers on the sides of the tractor's hood as well.

The rest of the trucks -with lots of reefers- next week.

PASSING TRAINS PT 44; NP71 PT 4

 A final look at NP71 as it passes through Hillsdale...

The final four cars are empty TTX 68' flats. Built in the late 60's/early 70's, these cars are soon to be retired. They were delivered in the original Trailer Train brown scheme.

TTJX 80720 is a flatcar set up to haul equipment such as farm implements, construction equipment and other large vehicles; note the center tie-down channels.

TTMX 80636 has cross-ways tie-downs, making it useful for hauling machinery, lumber, steel or any other large items.

Another TTJX flatcar, and another TTMX flatcar.

TTJX 80731 shows recent deck work, with new wood planking applied. Note also, the added sheet metal to the side of the car in the center (the small "lip"); this was added in the 70's to accommodate the "TT" logo applied when these cars were repainted into the new yellow scheme.

TTMX 80626 brings up the rear -and the EOT.