A FALL DAY

On a fall day in Hillsdale...

The annual pumpkin sale goes on in Hillsdale Yard. It looks like Sam has already picked out his two. And from the size of them, his wife may be busy making pumpkin pies soon -a lot of pies!

With cold weather approaching, now is the time to get utility work done. Luckily, the work does not effect traffic flow a whole lot. 

The local car club has staged a photo-op in front of the convenience store. From left to right: a '58 Ford Edsel, a customized '50 Buick sedan (with proud owner Tony Moltello posing beside it), Ricardo's '57 Chevy hot rod, a '72 Chevy Chevelle SS (with the 454 option under the hood!), a '67 Chevy Malibu, and a '74 Chevy Camaro.

After running out of space in the parking lot, this '48 Mercury coupe has to park on the street in front of the Perfect Perk Cafe. Seven classic cars, seven works of art!

At the opposite end of the "wow" factor, but still a classic nonetheless, is this Chrysler Town and Country station wagon. Given the 40 year age of this car, someone obviously took care not only of the car itself, but also the wood paneling on the sides!

IN THE YARDS PT15

A string of  bulkhead flatcars sit in Hillsdale Yard, with pipe loads from Wilson Steel Works. Note that the car above has the new TTX logo.

The repair shop is empty, allowing a look at some of the interior details. Since there is no inspection pit, most under body repairs are done at the Cumberland Shops, along with major repairs.

Another string of bulkhead flats, this time in MOW service. With winter on the way, these cars will be handling replaced ties as the summer track work season comes to a close.

And to assist in removing those ties is this piece of equipment, a Gallmac RMW 115. The articulated arm has a grasping attachment for handling ties.

PASSING TRAINS PT17

Last time we saw another incoming train. What train was it?

Two leased CEFX SD70M-2's roll train IC49 westward from Baltimore to Chicago.

Here is a sharp contrast between an older, dirty stack car and a clean, freshly re-painted car.

While IC49 normally carries the shorter 40'-45' containers, 53' domestic units will show up on occasion, as this Matson box will attest.

IC49 carries international traffic between the Port of Baltimore and Chicago, hence the number of 40' containers. IC48 is the eastbound train.

This five-unit stack car must be carrying loaded 20' containers; they are single-stacked in the wells. 20' containers are frequently used for heavier loads due to their short length, and two can max-out the capacity of a single well!

Another five-unit car, this one owned by BNSF. While both cars were built to handle 48' containers, the move to 53' units has meant their re-assignment to the 45' and smaller international containers. The red "K-Line" containers are 45'. Note also that most of the containers are "high-cube" 9'6" boxes; the shorter containers in front of the orange boxes are "standard-height" 8'6" boxes.

PASSING TRAINS PT16

Continued from last week, CDB47 rolls through. Like most modern trains, this one "keeps on going"...

Lost among the spine cars is one lone stack car. Note that the Roadway trailer only has markings on the rear doors (it also has them on the front).

Among the new entrants to intermodal; Werner and England, as seen here. The blue Werner trailer really stands out among the normal white trailers!

A long-time user of intermodal is Swift Transportation; these trailers show the new look introduced five years ago.

Two Swift containers on a spine car, and a clean one at that. Only the area around the trucks are dirty; usually the whole car is coated.

The EOT flashes as the train rolls through the yard. While it serves the same purpose, an EOT just doesn't have the same character as a caboose!

Rolling out of town, CDB47 meets another train.

Another train for another week...

PASSING TRAINS PT15

The America units are in town. So that means yet another intermodal train!

Gen-set 300 and its caboose are out of the way, as CDB47 rolls past on the way to Baltimore.

Brad admires the big units as they roll past. Not only does he remember the Bi-Centennial engines from 1976, but as an ex-Marine, he also appreciates the celebration of America!

Loaded up are the ubiquitous HUB containers, in both the old red and new green schemes.

Next up are 28' UPS containers double-stacked in special cars, built specifically for these containers. The second two cars are AP&W's; they were the only other customer besides Trailer Train.

UPS has also gotten in on the 53' container bandwagon as well; painted solid white, only the UPSU reporting marks indicate ownership.

Here's the more commonly seen UPS 28' container on chassis, along with a soon-to-be retired 28' drop frame pup. Note the Arnold trailer; like an increasing number of trucking companies, they too are going intermodal!