ANOTHER DAY IN THE YARDS

A pair of leased CITX ES44AC's sit in Hillsdale Yard for the weekend. Between the BNSF and the AP&W, these engines see a lot of action!

Speaking of the weekend, Bob -on his motorcycle- and Ricardo -heading to his 57' Chevy- will both be hitting the open road, enjoying two days of freedom from work!

Others have to work; Mark Davis does a walking inspection of a boxcar.

An unscheduled extra stops in Hillsdale for a crew change, with GP40-2 2650 in charge. Long removed from main line service, the dwindling number four-axle engines are mostly used in local and transfer service, such as this run from Pittsburgh to Cumberland. The crew change is due to hours-of-service limits; they were assigned to the run by mistake. Now, they will have to be driven back to Pittsburgh!

The train is an eclectic mix of cars, including a grain hopper, a carbon black hopper, boxcars, tank cars, a coiled steel car and a bulkhead flatcar loaded with pipes.

THE MAERSK TRAIN PT3

Finishing up the Maersk Shipper's Special...

A 45' container rides on top of  a pair of 20's in the "A" unit of MAEX 10037. The small boxes are late 70's era containers, and have the paint scheme to match. Contrast those with the Maersk Sealand units in the next well.

The "E" unit of the car shows the large "billboard" look of the Maersk Sealand scheme, versus the plain look of the earlier paint schemes.

Another set of 45' on 40' Maersk Sealand containers in the "D" unit, but note the bottom container is a darker shade of gray.

The "C" unit has a variation of the 45' on 40' theme; the 45 footer is in the traditional Maersk paint scheme, while the 40 footer is not only in Maersk paint, but is also a reefer. Maersk paints its reefer boxes white.

The final unit of the car is the "B" unit, which continues the 45-on-40 theme. Note the blue decal on the bottom container appears to be faded compared to the top container.

Almost matching the blue of the train, and certainly matching the locomotive, is Athearn bay window caboose 1196. A caboose on the end of a stack train is a rare treat; a caboose with a decal celebrating Operation Lifesaver's 25th anniversary is truly special!

THE MAERSK TRAIN PT2

Last week, a "Shippers Train" dedicated to Maersk Shipping Co. rolled into Hillsdale. More of the train...

The "E" unit of this car, MEAX 100042, holds a 40' standard box in the bottom well, and a 45' high cube on top. Most, if not all, 45' and longer containers are high cubes. Note that the car has 40' wells; thus any container over 40' must ride in the top position. The next two wells hold 40' boxes, with the middle well holding a pair of standard heights, providing a 2' lower roofline than it's companions.

Car MEAX 100053 holds 40' standard heights on pairs of 20 footers, plus a 45' box, also on a pair of 20 footers. Most 20' containers are standard height; the exceptions are trash containers, many of which are 12'6" high -taller than many street underpasses! Note all of these containers are Maersk-Sealand units.

More 45' boxes on standard height containers, with both Maersk Sealand and Maersk represented. Note the Maersk-Sealand 45' box has blue end panels, while the other 45' box has only a small "MAERSK LINE" logo.

More Maersk-Sealand containers. The 45 footer is riding on a high cube 40' unit; all other units are standard height.

The train snakes through Hillsdale Yard. Today, there is more traffic on County Lane than in the yard!
The train concludes next week.

THE MAERSK TRAIN, PT1

A special train is rolling through Hillsdale...

Athearn-painted GP40X 2007 leads an all-blue train for shipper Maersk.

The train is a promotional run for Maersk, featuring both the company's containers and Gunderson Maxi Stack well cars.

Both Maersk and Maersk Sealand containers are in the train, in a variety of sizes. Here, 40' high cube (9'6" height) containers are stacked on 20' boxes in the first two units (of a five-unit car), while the third unit has 40' high-cubes stacked together, providing a height break in the train's roofline.

A pair of 40' reefers sit on top of 20' boxes, while the third one is on a 40' dry box. All of the reefers are high-cubes, while all of the bottom containers are standard height (8'6").

A high-cube 40' box on top of two 20 footers, followed by a pair of standard-height 40 footers shows the one foot height difference. Note also the standard height 40's are of the newer fully corrugated design, while the other containers are of the 80's design, with flat logo panels near the ends.
More next week...

EASTER SUNDAY

On Easter Sunday in Hillsdale...

The street is lined up as people attend church.

The back lot has cars of the church staff, including the pastor's blue Benz.

Sundays are for cruisin', and Easter Sunday is no exception, as Mrs Smith drives around in her old Plymouth sedan.

A warm day also brings out the bikes! A trio of motorcycles sits outside the Hickory Pit BAR-B-Q.

After church, a family heads to the lake, for an afternoon of fun and relaxation.

A Trailways bus carries holiday travelers across the state. While cheaper than flying, bus travel takes a lot longer to get there!

A shop worker grabs a soda from the vending machine, while on break. Railroading is a 24/7 job; even on Easter Sunday!