IN THE YARDS PT39

A pair of old Ford L9000 trucks sit near the office, in two different colors. The orange one is used by the MOW Dept., the white one is for general use.

Here the white tractor is ready to haul off yet another load of used ties. Note the truck is still lettered for AP&W predecessor APRR.

Genset 300 sits outside the shop. A problem with one of the genset engines will sideline the unit for several days. At least the local shop can fix it; a conventional locomotive would require a trip to Cumberland.

A pair of CEFX ES44AC's sit in the yard, after arriving on a passing freight. Next, they will head to West Virginia, for use in the coal fields. Say goodbye to that clean silver paint!

Hillsdale Yard may be nearly empty, but what is in the yard is what helps keep the yard open; loads of  scrap for Wilson Steel works. And with a trainload of scrap ready to go, it's time for a local run to take it out to Dale City...

TOWN LIFE PT35; TRUCKS

After seeing truck traffic in Hillsdale in the 80's, now a look at today's traffic. With Valentines's Day fast approaching, the downtown warehouses are busy...

A new CIE Trucking semi rolls through town, with a brand-new Volvo VNL640, and a new trailer, complete with both underbody skirts and rear air deflector. Note the trailer still has yet to be lettered!

Another late-model semi is this CFI rig, with a Kenworth T700 tractor in charge.

Another VNL640 leads a Werner refrigerated semi, after dropping off a load of produce at the grocery distributor.

Yet another VNL640! This one is working for a brand-new company, Fast Forward. This trailer also has the full aero package. As the trailer says, Fast Forward provides "Global Shipping Solutions"!

Tanker service to the dairy plant is provided by Jackson Transport.

An old Mack R-series pulls a Genstar 40' container on a Genstar chassis. The container delivered electronics to the internet retailer. It may look like the 80's, but this photo is from the early 2000's; note the chassis has conspicuity striping (mandatory after the mid-90's). By this time Genstar was part of GE Capital. Genstar Container Corp. was merged with TIP Intermodal services in 1997, but its containers continued to be seen for years afterwards.

IN THE YARDS PT38

A pair of company semi-tractors sit outside the office, the white one still lettered for the Appalachian RR. Note that four of the five vehicles are Fords, and that the oldest one is a Chevy! The Expedition EL is a RR Police unit.

Old, but reliable, the ex-APRR semi still performs its duties, such as hauling a trailer of old ties to the local garden supply center for re-use by homeowners and farmers.

A new work truck sits outside the main shop. It, too, is a Ford. More MOW trucks are in the background, both of which are Internationals.

Yet another new Ford is this brush fire pumper truck. With lots of track in rural areas, the Hillsdale Yard crew decided to purchase the unit to assist the county fire departments. With the exception of the City of Hillsdale, all of the local departments are volunteer.

The Rocky Oil Co. supplies fuel to the company vehicles and local switchers. Note the brand-new Volvo VNR300 tractor; one of several in the area a year after Volvo introduced the model. In the background, local DBW11 is returning from Wilson Steel Works in Dale City with loaded coil steel cars  We will see more of this train in the near future.