TRAIN DBW11, PT1

Train DBW11 has returned from Dale City...

The train rolls back into town under the highway bridge.

SD40 3163 is in charge today, followed by several loads of 80' pipeline pipe, loaded on former piggy-back flatcars.

After the long flats, are several gondolas with more pipe.

Then, several bulkhead flats with MORE pipe!

Had enough pipe yet?

Finally, some variety! Now, we have steel coils in gons, with a load of plate steel on the flatcar in front of the caboose. Looks like Wilson Steel has been busy lately!

PASSING TRAINS PT19

A train rolls into Hillsdale under the bridge.

It's a westbound trash train, also known to the crews as a 'skunk train' (for obvious reasons), headed back to Pittsburgh.

SD70MAC 8663 is the sole power for the train -meaning it's a short train! 8663 proudly displays the new corporate logo on its flanks.

The majority of the cars are specially-built 85' flatcars, carrying specially-built 20' trash containers.  At 12' tall, the containers are too tall for anything else; intermodal containers are either 8'6" or 9'6" tall -and the 9'6" units are considered "high cube" containers! In addition to their height, trash containers also a fire port on the side, in the event of the "undesirable".

The tail end of the train is made up of trash-hauling boxcars.

This shot of one of the boxcars shows the graffiti they rack up -and it's usually much more than this!

TOWN LIFE PT13

Yet another truck rolls into town, this one a custom tanker.

 A city crew performs some utility work on a drainage ditch. While seemingly minor, a clog here can mean a flooded road -especially downhill from here! They may also check up on the fire hydrant nearby (just out of the picture to the left).

A truck pulls into Tony's Garage lot with a load of truck tires. While he has no bays for the big trucks, Tony's crew can still change their tires in the lot!

 A broken-down car is about to be towed off on a roll-back. Note the uniformed worker; he definitely isn't working for Tony!

A man steps out of The Mad Hatter, empty handed. Apparently he couldn't find a hat on this cold, January day. Were they sold out?

And another semi, this one a lowboy with a huge rock crusher on deck. Due to the heavy weight of the equipment, the small 'tag' axle on the tractor is lowered to help spread the weight and meet highway and bridge limits. This rock crusher is going into storage until spring.

TOWN LIFE PT12; TRUCKS!

A steady parade of trucks pass through Hillsdale each day. Here's a look at some of them...

A semi rolls into town with a load of mulch for the local feed and supply store.

Another semi, this one with a load of structural steel from Wilson Steel Works. This load is actually headed to West Virginia; the driver is a local and is stopping by his house on the way there. Since he lives just outside the town limits, he actually has enough room to park his rig in front of his house!

A customized reefer semi rolls down County Lane. There's a dairy plant on the south side of the city, and a number of refrigerated semis pass through town on the way there -and many are "dolled-up" like this one! And yes, once upon a time, the plant was served by a milk train; rail operations ended in the 60's.

Another semi, this one a moving van. That's the new resident in the car behind it.

This time, one leaving town. There are still a few warehouses left in the area, serving distributors, so container traffic is also frequent -especially Chinese-owned containers. This one, however, is American-owned.