THE 80'S PT 8

This week, we conclude our look at Hillsdale in the 80's...

Since Hillsdale was -and still is- on one of the AP&W's east-west intermodal routes, it's appropriate that the final look involves -what else- a west bound intermodal. During the 80's, the AP&W, like most railroads, used high-horsepower four-axle locomotives for this service, like this GP50/GP40-2 set.Twenty-five years later, most of what you see in this train -including GP50 4087- has been retired. GP40-2 2450 was sold in 2005, and now is part of the CEFX lease fleet.

As the train passes through, the mix of international and domestic containers is evident. The red car represents one of the first double-stack cars built; the end bulkheads are designed to keep the top container in place. Once the railroads figured out that the interbox connnectors used to stack the containers on a ship also work on railcars, they moved to the design of the yellow car -and found a huge weight saving gain.

During the 80's, American President Lines (APL) operated 'land-bridge' service between the two coasts. It wasn't uncommon to see entire trains comprised of nothing but APL containers! While those trains didn't travel over AP&W rails, as seen here, a fair amount of APL traffic still traversed through Hillsdale; note that APL even had its own railcar fleet! During the late 90's, APL's domestic container fleet was taken over by PacerStacktrain, but the distinctive red eagle still graces the sides of most of its international fleet.

More APL containers, this time from its domestic fleet. 53' containers were introduced during the early 90's, and APL was one of the earliest operators. APC was also part of APL, and they, too, owned stack cars.

And from the red, white and blue of the APL containers to the red, white and blue of the upcommming holiday! A trio of  GE ES44AC's roll around the curve into town in the present day with a special, patriotic paint scheme! Stay tuned next month, as we look at the "America" units!

THE 80'S PT7

Still in the 80's...

The scene outside of Tony's Garage shows several vehicles from the 70's and 80's, as well as the fact that the storage unit was still two decades away.

The Cadillac Seville seen earlier is parked on the street. Meanwhile, notice the green Porsche 928 in the lot. Even in the 80's, exotic sports cars could be found at Tony's!

No, it's not an emergency! The city ambulance is in for some engine work; the city's mechanics are backed up so Tony's doing the work for a reduced rate. You never know, he might one day wind up in the back if it himself! (Hopefully not, though!)

One of the other tow trucks in town was this one, from Greg's Garage. Unfortunately, Greg was forced to declare bankruptcy and shut down after a fight with cancer. His shop merged with Tony's, and today, they still work together.

Old classic cars have always been part of the scene at Tony's, and these are no different! The Ford Model A dates back to the Great Depression, and still makes the classic car circuits today. The early 50's Buick left town with its owner during the 90's, the '56 T-Bird is now garage-kept by a new owner, and the '63 Lincoln Continental is now gone. Surprisingly, the forklift is still there -and it still runs!                                                                                  

THE 80'S PT6

THE 80'S CONTINUE ON...

While the buildings stay the same, the vehicles change. The Ford Granada, Honda Accord, and VW camper are all gone now; the Cadillac Seville is one of the few still around (that sloped trunk didn't do much for capacity!). The Peterbilt 377 was brand new, as was the 48' Genstar container and chassis; only the container still exists -as a storage unit!

A view through the trees in the alley show a Ford Escort and an old VW Beetle out behind the Pawn Shop.

As a Plymouth Barracuda passes by on Market St., a Ford Mustang sits by what was then the local YMCA. The 'Cuda still rides, the 'Stang is long gone, and the YMCA is now the city library.

Another view of the alley shows two more Fords; a Fairmont and an old Econoline van. Though hard to see here, the van has a custom paint job, as was common during the late 70's/early 80's.

A man converses with one of the movers before they prepare to head off. Like many southern Pennsylvania cities, the decline of the steel industry led to an exodus of citizens from Hillsdale, as they sought greener pastures (jobs) elsewhere. Fortunately, today the city has a good job base, keeping most of the local population employed!

THE 80'S PT5

After the AP&W merger, local railfanning became even more popular, as units from the various affiliated railroads showed up in Hillsdale.

Even during the late 80's, the lot of Tony's Garage was full old classics! The 59' El-Camino and 55' Bel-
Aire are still running today, thanks to the Moltello family! The old Dodge passenger van was once used to carry APRR work crews around southern Pennsylvania; after it was retired by the railroad, a former employee bought it. The Airstream camping trailer is still around; it now sits behind the garage.

Twenty years from now, this spot will be occupied by a storage building; but today it's a prime location for trackside railfanning for a father and son! The two waive at a passing Amtrak Steel City Express, two years before the train's discontinuance.

The two are joined by the young mother as a real treat comes along - an ex-Frisco GP15-1!

The boy waives as the colorful unit rolls past. One of 25 ordered by the Frisco (officially, the Saint Louis-San Francisco), the GP15-1 was EMD's attempt to cash in on the locomotive rebuilding craze of the 70's. The Frisco sent 25 worn-out GP7's to EMD, who then re-used various parts in building the new locomotives. Seen in this view is one of the trademark features of Frisco engines; the nose mounted warning gyralight.

The class unit, 100, rolls its local into Hillsdale Yard. While the Frisco GP15-1's weren't renumbered after the merger, most of them did stay in their home territory in the Great Plains, so seeing this unit in Pennsylvania was a real treat indeed!

THE 80'S PT4

Still in the 80's...

A young Sam (right) talks with Wayne and Mitch in the  parking lot. The tractors behind them are where the shop will one day be located, and the brown Ford Fairmont is Norman's car; 25 years later, he still drives it!
Wayne (middle) retired soon after this photo was taken, after five decades of service. Mitch transfered to the Charleston (W.VA.) Division in 1990 to be closer to his passion -skiing! The APRR still ran winter ski trains into southern West Virginia, even after the formation of Amtrak; surprisingly, they still run under AP&W management!

Mitch and Sam talk some more by one of the utility trucks -and Mitch's Camaro. When Mitch left for West Virginia, he sold his Camaro to Mark Davis. It's the only vehicle in this photo that still exists. Though it doesn't look it, the boom truck is twenty years old! The Hillsdale crew took -and still takes- good care of its vehicles.

Aaron stands by, ready to depart on a run to Cumberland, Md. A desire to spend more time with his family and an opening led him to move to his current job as yard superintendant.

One of the trains that Amtrak got from the the APRR was the Steel City, between Pittsburgh and Wasington, D.C. While never a huge success, the train carried just enough passengers to be worth-while. However, Amtrak dropped it in 1988, so this is one of its last runs; the mail-carrying MCH's on the head-end show why it lasted as long as it did.

Only three passenger cars -one of which is a lounge/snack car- show why Amtrak dropped the train.