MORE STRANGERS PASS THROUGH 2

The motive power moves on. Why are engines from a Gulf Coast railroad in Hillsdale? Because the KCS and the AP&W now have a joint New York City to Kansas City intermodal train, the Cherokee Gateway. Normally, this train will have a mix of power between the two, but this train is all KCS. (Any excuse to have sound-equipped locomotives untill I get mine painted-up this summer!)

The train passes through town. As usual, there are alot of Schneider National trailers; in fact, this train is loaded primarily with Schneider equipment.

A JB Hunt 53' container on chassis is loaded on the last car.

After last month's derailment, the local MOW outfit decided they needed a repair rig to help speed up response and repair/replacement times. This used rescue truck was purchased and is currently being converted for their use. All those equipment boxes and roof-top a/c units will come in handy!

With winter weather on the way, a snowplow receives some attention at Tony's. Yes, they even do occasional work on large trucks!

MORE STRANGERS PASS THROUGH

As yet another intermodal train passes through Hillsdale, the head end contains yet another surprise- a trio of engines from the Kansas City Southern!

A family stops to watch as the train passes by. Kids seem to love trains! Of course, with the colorful engines painted up in the KCS's "Retro Belle" scheme instead of the AP&W's usual 'earth tones', who wouldn't take notice!

The first of the locomotives is KCSM (Kansas City Southern de Mexico, KCS's Mexican subsidiary) 4663, a GE ES44AC.

The second unit is also a GE ES44AC, KCSM 4668.

The last engine is KCS 4046, an EMD SD70ACe. All three represent almost new motive power, as the KCS has been busy upgrading its fleet for the 21st century.

PASSING TRAINS PT 3

Another day, another intermodal train. This one is not a scheduled train, however, but a "Forwarder Service" train. A "Forwarder Service" train handles high priority -read deliver ASAP- freight; mostly intermodal, but perishables as well. The primary advantage to the shipper is that they don't have to wait all day for a regularly scheduled freight to be made up in the yard (which can take several hours to half a day) but can have their load(s) shipped within two hours -less if they have a large block of cars, as often happens when perishables are shipped eastward. Of course, with premium service comes a premium price, so the railroad had better deliver!

AP&W C40-8 #5034 leads a short train comprised of spine cars loaded with trailers and containers. This "Forwarder Service" train is moving from Philadelphia to Uniontown, Pa.

Along with JB Hunt, Swift's trailers are also in the mix.

Schneider National, UPS, and Roadway are present as well. Many of these trailers originated from the New York City area and were brought to Philadelphia by another "Forwarder".

More Roadway and UPS 28' pup trailers are present, along with Pacer Stack Train 53' containers, both on and off chassis. Given the priority handling status of the train, it's no surprise that it contains UPS equipment or a Roadway Custom Critical trailer (first one in the picture).

Finally, EMP and JB Hunt 53' containers bring up the rear. When the train arrives in Uniontown, the cars will be sorted out according to their final destination -either to Cleveland via Pittsburgh, or westward across Ohio- and placed on the next appropriate departing freight. The railroad's fast handling of its "Forwarder Service" trains keeps the customers happy - and the AP&W in business!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Nothing says 'Christmas' like trains, a bag of toys, and two of Santa's helpers to pass them out!

ANOTHER DAY PT 4

On another day in the city, another unusual visitor passes through...

A GE Dash-9 44CW, painted up for the Rock Island by the AP&W, leads a BNSF 9-44CW on the point of a westbound intermodal.

Another shot of the two engines. Unfortunatly, the Rock Island unit is a "fantasy"; the real Rock Island went bankrupt and shut down in 1980, by which time the 50's 'Rocket' scheme this unit is painted in was long gone. While I don't have the AP&W owning the Rock Island, I do have it's predecessor, the APRR, partnering with the Rock in the late 70's after it's failed merger with the Union Pacific, and untimately being allowed to take over much of the Rock's assets after it failed. Thus I had an excuse to get this engine and place it in intermodal/priority service.

At the end of the train is this 3-unit all-purpose spine car. Each unit is designed to carry either two 28' trailers or one trailer up to 57' or one 40-53' container. In addition to carrying three 53' trailers, including the Swift and Schneider ones seen here, it also has an End-Of-Train device hanging from the coupler. This little device, which monitors the air pressure at the rear of the train and has a blinking light for rear-end protection, is what replaced the caboose on most trains.

AP&W 3163 and FURX 3004 bring GPL10 (Georgia Pacific Local #10) in from its run to the local paper mill. Judging from the empty centerbeam flatcars behind the boxcar, the train also made a stop at Smitty Lumber as well.

At the end of another day, a couple walks past The Pub. The sign in the window says it all for some people!

YARD WORK

A daily train leaves Hillsdale to make a round trip to Dale City and back, officially named DCL-8. It's purpose is to service both the food processing plant as well as the new soda bottling plant, City Fizz. The following sequence of photos show some of the action necessary to get the train ready.

The brakeman, Doug, stands off to the side as the train backs up to the string of reefers that it will drop off at the food processor.

The couple made, he reaches in to connect the air lines so the brakes can be charged up. He will also release the brakes on the reefers so that they can be moved.

As the train gets made up, he works in tandem with Chris, who throws the switches for the various tracks the cars are sitting on.

Here, Chris is throwing the switch. After the train leaves the yard, he will place a lock on the switch to prevent its unauthorized use -including by vandals.

The train made up and ready to go, Doug hops aboard the caboose for the ride to Dale City, where he will then be the one to throw switches and uncouple cars as the crew goes about it's job for the day - or so they planned. Unfortunately, the train suffered a major derailment on the way to Dale City, with half the train winding up on it's side - including eight tank cars full of corn syrup. While no one was seriously hurt, the mess tied up the line for three days due to clean-up ( nearly 100,000 gallons of corn syrup), damaged car removal (ten cars totaled and scrapped on site, several others damaged), and track repair (nearly 1/4 mile of track to replace)!

IN THE YARDS PT 7

The AP&W's business train passed through on recent trip. Unfortunately, it wasn't steam-powered, but it did have an Amtrak full-dome car in the consist, visible behind the church steeple.

A set of NRDX reefers sit in the yard, awaiting delivery to the food processing plant in Dale City. Along with the cool 'Cold Train' logos, they also feature cut-outs in the roof and sides to provide ventilation for the reefer units. Many now also have a large cut-out in the end to provide easier access to the unit, which is mounted in the space where the original mechanical reefer unit was located. The new units, simliar to those used on tractor-trailers, are much more efficient.

A pair of plastic pellet hoppers leaves on HLP20, destined for Pete's Plastics. Note the connected
air lines between the cars.

A dirt, rusted, graffitied Railbox boxcar sits in the yard, next to it's repainted, but still 'tagged' cousin. What a contrast to the clean cryogenic reefers behind them!

Two gondolas, loaded with new pipes from Wilson Steelworks, sit in the yard. 2nd track over, sit a gon full of scrap, another gon with coiled wire bundles, and a specialized car for carrying steel coils, with protective hoods. Beside them are the NRDX reefers, and then a string of corn syrup tank cars. Meanwhile, Aaron drives along the access road, making sure everything is OK as he gets in position to await the arrival of another train.

AMTRAK DETOUR

Normally, Amtrak's Capital Limited travels over CSX rails between Chicago and Washington, D.C., but every once in a while it detours over the AP&W. On this occasion, it passed through Hillsdale.

Here the engine rolls the train through Hillsdale Yard. Right behind it is a baggage car converted from a coach by removing the windows and adding roll-up doors(!) to both sides. They are often used to carry mail and express packages.

The train is comprised of Superliner cars, including these sleeper cars on the head end behind the baggage cars.

Following the sleepers, are these two freshly refurbished cars, now carrying the new image. The first car, with the windows curving up onto the roof, is a Sightseer Lounge; the next one is a diner. Notice that while the striping remains, the 'Superliner' script has now been replaced with the new Amtrak logo, making for a very plain-looking car.

Behind the dining car, three coaches bring up the rear.

PASSING TRAINS PT2

Two of the freight trains that pass through Hillsdale are priority freights between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Both feature expedited scheduling; neither stops between the two cities.

SD70MAC 8663 and AC4400 8773 lead east bound priority freight PHIL-28. The west bound train is PITT-27. Today's train features loaded autoracks on the head end.

Behind the autoracks, are double-stacks loaded with domestic containers.

Among the stack cars are two carrying the new TTX logo introduced in 2007.

Most of the rest of the cars still have the older logo, including this three-unit Maxi IV. Those HUB containers are also carrying an older paint scheme as well; they are now green!

Also in the train are several spine cars such as this one carrying a UPS container/chassis combo next to a Roadway trailer. Both are 28' in length; UPS is the only company to utilize 28' containers.

While this train is typical of the PITT/PHIL trains, from time to time one may find RoadRailers and/or reefers tacked on, especially during the fall harvest season when the west coast growers ship their products to the eastern processor plants.

TOWN LIFE PT 10

The Sheriff's office is represented by this pick-up/'law-boat' combo parked on Main St across from the furniture store. With a popular lake in the area, a patrol boat is necessary to keep the peace on the waterfront!

As usual, Tony is kept busy with repair jobs. While the hot rod and the 300ZX will attract attention, so will the red Ferrari!

Later, the 300ZX has been replaced by a customized VW Beetle. And the Ferrari's been replaced by another rare car- an Oldsmobile 442!

While the crew works on the car, the hound dog -Elvis- naps on the pavement in front.

McDonald's anyone? The delivery truck passes through town on the way out after re-stocking the mid-town restaurant.

VISITORS

Recently, two 'out of towners' passed through Hillsdale.

The gang check out the newly arrived business car. Though the car has been completely stripped for refurbishing, the stainless steel sides still shine well enough to reflect the images of the men standing beside it!

When the upgrades are completed, this end will hold the kitchen and dining areas. No microwave meals aboard this car!

Yes, this car will eventually have windows and an interior! It will also have a name, Joanne Jackson, named after a passenger train that once ran over two of the AP&W's predecessor roads from Chicago to Miami. The car is headed for the AP&W's Cumberland, MD. car shops for finishing.

Another visitor which drew attention was this engine, Union Pacific 1982. Painted up to celebrate the former Missouri Pacific and numbered for the year that UP took over the MP, this engine was one of six that the UP had painted for 'fallen flag' railroads that they took over. While they mostly stay on UP's rails, 1982 made it all the way to Buffalo, NY. this past summer leading a ethanol train! ( My justification for buying the engine!) Here, she is joined by UP 9575 on the point of another ethanol train, this one a bunch of empties heading back west.