Last week we saw the Christmas train arrive in Hillsdale. Now parked on a siding, let's see what's in the consist.
Leading the way, is unit 25, a GE 70 ton switcher. The engineer leans out of the cab of the festively painted unit to chat with two yard workers. When the Modesto and Empire Traction railroad retired their fleet earlier this year in favor of gen-sets, AP&W managment saw an opportunity to aquire a cheap locomotive for a specific use; the Christmas train! In addition to a new paint job, the little engine also got a new set of air horns in front of the cab, new radio antennas and an A/C unit on the roof! In real life, the handrails would be wrapped with lights, but not in 1/87 scale!
A group of workers prepare to hook-up "hotel power" to the sleeper car while it sits in the yard.
The sleeper car is the Trenton, a 6-5 sleeping car that once was assigned to the APRR's Senator Limited. This train ran between Chicago and Washington, D.C., and was re-equipped with Budd Car Company's famous stainless steel passenger cars during the early 50's. The 6-5 designation of the sleeper refers to 6 bedrooms and 5 sleeping compartments.
A gondola, painted up for Operation Lifesaver, has two large Christmas trees strapped down inside it. During the rest of the year, this non-interchange car travels the system to help promote grade-crossing safety -often with a load of wrecked cars to emphasize the point!
The boxcar carries these holiday graphics. Inside: a lot of toys for under-privileged kids!
The Christmas Train pulls out of Hillsdale, with Santa Claus on the front. On to the next city!
Later, a piggy-back to the Northeast, train KCT35, rolls through town, with a Union Pacific unit behind the AP&W one. This train originated in Kansas City, and has passed through St. Louis, Louisville and Cincinnati. It will go through Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia before arriving in Trenton, NJ., making the 1600 mile trip in 35 hours. The return train is TKC35. Note that this is a different train from the Gateway Cherokee, which caries both trailers and double-stacks, and runs all the way into New York City; this train is trailers only, and stops in Trenton. The UP unit is run-through pool power; the train travels over UP rails between K.C. and St. Louis.
Norman watches a manifest roll in behind joint AP&W-NS power. Since the Conrail split-up in 1996, the two railroads have increasingly pooled their resources between Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., as NS still doesn't have a direct line between the two cities (and neither did Conrail).
The EOT device of a west-bound flashes its way out of town. How we miss the old caboose!
Another KCT35 rolls through town. Along with the Swift trailers in the background, the 28' pup trailers show two now-allied trucking companies; Roadway and Yellow freight are now both owned by the same company.
And Santa does, indeed, make his appearance. As he steps off the festively painted caboose, Bill, Mark Davis, and the rest of the gang welcome him to Hillsdale Yard. Of course, Santa's two helpers on the caboose platform probably do a better job of boosting morale among the men than he does! 
