LOCAL GPL10

Local GPL10, the paper mill train, departs Hillsdale Yard...

Engine 3163 is in charge today. That's Chris on the ground; he has just thrown the switch for GPL10 to exit the yard onto the main.

She pulls a string of loaded woodchip hoppers out of the yard track.

Rolling past the shop building, she also rolls past a pair of centerbeam bulkhead flatcars loaded with lumber for Smitty Lumber, on the south side of town.

There are also a number of boxcars loaded with scrap paper products for recycling.

EEC 5634 is a representation of the boxcars. EEC is the reporting mark for the East Erie Commercial Railroad.

A lone kaolin slurry tank car is at the end of the train, just before the caboose; usually there are several in this train.

THE 9-11 TRAIN

On today's special day, here's a special train in Hillsdale Yard...

The engine is 91101, the 9-11 commemorative unit.

Next is the Armed Forces boxcar.

The POW/MIA commemorative car.

Finally, the Camp Pendleton caboose. An all-patriotic line-up of equipment!

Finally, a CIE semi rolls through town with a patriotic trailer. America United!

TOWN LIFE PT21; MORE TRUCK TRAFFIC

With a dairy plant on the north side of town, as well as a few remaining warehouses, Hillsdale sees a lot of truck traffic.

One of the warehouses is occupied by an internet retailing operation, so UPS rigs are a common sight in town.

Local logging operations result in lots of woodchips being shipped to the paper mill in Dale City. Note the hole cut into the side of the trailer; a common modification for converted trailers. Woodchip service and storage service are about the only uses left for 40' trailers these days; most are long-ago scrapped since the move to 45' and 48' trailers in the late 80's.

Re-engined, but still running, this 30+ year-old tractor pulls another relic; a 45' trailer. Like the Ford L-series tractors, most 45' trailers have been retired; both of these are in local service.

A modern KW pulls a leased 53' trailer. Note the skirting; this is believed to help with aerodynamics and fuel economy.

Another local truck pulls an interesting trailer combo; a 53' container chassis with a 53' reefer container! While reefers are common in town due to the dairy plant, refrigerated containers are unusual; these usually travel by train, and there are no intermodal facilities in the area. Do, however, expect to see these Tiger Cool Express containers to show up on stack trains very soon!