THE 80'S PT2

A continued look back at Hillsdale in the 80's...

A piggyback train approaches town.

As it passes through the yard, the two GE C40-8's are in full throttle on the head end. 6045 and 6000 are two of  the first 50 GE's the newly formed AP&W purchased in 1988; 50 more would follow the next year, with another 100 in 1990.

During the 80's, trailer lengths increased dramatically. In1980, 40' was the standard; the next year 45' became the new standard; in 1985, 48' trailers hit the road. Shown here; a 45' trailer from a leasing company (the Availco "Preferred Pool" trailer), a 48' trailer (the orange Schneider National trailer) and a 40' UPS trailer. Notice the last two share the same flatcar; its 89'4" length allows it to carry the combined 88' length of the two trailers.

More UPS trailers ride the rails. This was the early incarnation of train DB-C47, the D.C./Baltimore-to-Chicago piggyback, which today still carries UPS traffic between the two areas -but with lighter-weight spine cars much more common, and 53' trailers instead of these 40's!

Alot of UPS traffic ran between the East coast and the Midwest on the AP&W during the 80's! Another common route for UPS traffic was/is on the ex-Erie main line from Buffalo to Chicago, purchased during the 1976 formation of Conrail; Conrail preferred the flatter, faster ex-New York Central route. The APRR made the Erie route work by using more reliable power, taking advantage of  Conrail's early struggles with old, worn out motive power -and the fact that it was formed from a bunch of bankrupt railroads. By the time Conrail got its act together, the AP had secured the lion's share of UPS traffic, which continued into the AP&W era.