COAL MOVES OUT

After sitting in Hillsdale Yard for several days, the coal loads were finally moved out to the power plant.

Two GE AC4400's showed up to move the train. Here 8919 and another unit begin the process of re-assembling the train.

As the train gets put back together, the east-bound main will be clogged up for a while. Speaking of which, the fact that this coal is headed east is unusual; while most coal moves westward in this area, the routing for this coal takes it through Wheeling, W.Va., eastward to the power plant in southwestern Pennsylvania.

One of the leased coal gondolas in the train. These cars are actually owned by the AP&W's car leasing subsidiary, Appalachian Railcar Leasing. The AHLX reporting marks are used for coal cars. The red panel shows the end with the rotary coupler, which allows the cars to be rotated and dumped without having to uncouple the cars.

After the coal gons departed, in came these big Union Pacific reefers. These massive cars have a 64' interior that can hold the contents of up to four 53' trailers!

The string of reefers. They are used to ship produce and other fresh foods from California to the East Coast. The fact that they are sitting in the yard means that they are empties headed back west; east-bound reefers move in expedited fashion, frequently in Forwarder freights, and don't stop! The AP&W survives by moving freight faster than its competitors, and is often rewarded with this kind of traffic.

ARMSTRONG EXTENSION COMPLETED

The Armstrong Building has been completed!

These first three views show the extension being spotted next to the main building. As you can see, the building is literally under construction!

The completed building. Now even more of the backside of the layout is hidden, helping add some depth to the scene.

As you can see, there is still room for yet more structures in back. And several more buildings are in the planning/construction phase for this purpose! This is just the first of several more updates of recent work I have done. Stay tuned; Main Street now has street lights!

IN THE YARDS PT8

One day, there was this grimy CPRail autorack. It was sitting in the yard along with several other ones, dropped off by a passing freight. In the foreground are some of the loaded coal cars that were waiting for the power plant to start back-up .

Later that day, the autoracks were moved to the west-bound tracks for forwarding back to the Midwest to be returned to their home roads.

The CPRail car stands out like the proverbial thumb alongside its newer companions.

The first car is in the Union Pacific's short-lived "We will deliver" scheme. While meant to assure customer service, many felt the slogan was more appropriate for a pizza company!

Behind the CPRail car was one from another Canadian railroad, Grand Trunk. Once a subsidiary of CP rival Canadian National, GT is now little more than reporting marks on equipment, having been fully absorbed by its parent.

2011 UPDATE 6

Here is the promised update of the new store on the layout...


Here it is -Christy's Pet Shop, right next to the Salvation Army Thrift Store. The townhouse and the other houses have been moved down to make room.

A closer view. (I know, seen last week.)

Another shot of the scene. I painted the storefront and the trimwork around the windows, as well as the decorative cornice at the top to liven up the building.

A view of the store front, with the (paper) interior showing. Both the sign and the interior cut-out were included in the kit. Even though these photos are only two months old, they are already out of date, as I have since added yet another building next to this one! Also, the planned expansion of the Armstrong building has been completed. And the layout itself has been upgraded with the replacement of the foam boards these buildings are sitting on with a sheet of plywood. And more lights have been added, including at both ends of the yard! Stay tuned, the excitement will continue...!