MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

With a major travel weekend on tap, Amtrak traffic is brisk. Here, the Steel City Express rolls through Hillsdale.

The Amfleet coaches are well-lit as the train heads to Pittsburgh.

An extra pair of coaches has been added to handle the extra passengers; normally only five cars are in the train, but this weekend there are seven. Still, only one locomotive is needed.

The return train is pulled by Heritage unit 156, in Phase I paint.

Memorial Day also brings the start of East Coast Tours LTD's summer excursion season! Venerable steamer 34 pulls a pair of coaches through town. The cars may not be air-conditioned, but with their open construction, there will be plenty of breeze to keep the folks cool!
Happy Memorial Day, and thanks to all that have served this country, like myself. And remember those, unlike me, who never made it home from their deployments. We have sacrificed to protect this great nation of ours, so take time to thank a veteran for their service.

TOWN LIFE PT57

On a spring day in Hillsdale...

Traffic on County Lane is brisk as people enjoy the warm weather. After a long, cold winter, the return of spring is most welcome. Someone even broke out their old GMC camper to hit the trails in!

Later in the day, the UPS truck makes a stop. The driver caught the perfect time -between the lunchtime and afternoon rushes!

Nancy walks with her grandson, Brandon. Today is his birthday, so she's treating him to a meal at Hickory Pit Bar-B-Q. Happy 12th birthday Brandon!

The "crew" gathers at the Salvation Army for a free meal. The weather may be warm, but they still wear their coats -for most of them about all they have is the clothes on their backs.

At the opposite end of the financial spectrum, a man has just proposed to his girlfriend -with a new Benz! Think she said "yes"?

Another couple walks the sidewalk on Main St. While the shopping in downtown Hillsdale is quite modest, there still is shopping to be done -and these two are enjoying the opportunity together!

SPRING WORK PT2

Spring is here, and with it comes the inevitable trackwork issues...

Extra 784 heads out of town to perform grading work by the Youghiogheny River, with Jordan spreader X784, SD40 3163 and caboose 4368.

The spreader leads the way, since it has to be pushed by the locomotive. The large air tank is prominent on the rear deck.

The a/c unit stands out on the roof. Note the white grab irons on the rear as well. The side "wings" are folded up for transport; when the crew gets on site, they will be lowered and opened out to properly grade and profile the line.

SD40 3163 is still going strong after over a half-century of service. Today, she is the power for Extra 784. The heat-generated rust from her dynamic brakes is quite noticeable.

Along with the rust is the soot on the rooftop and dirt on the walkways.

Caboose 4368 brings up the rear. A short-bodied bay window caboose, it is the newest of the three , having been built in the 70's.

Carrying AP reporting marks, 4368 is along for the ride as a crew transport; the tracks along the river are not accessible by road so a crew bus won't work.

SPRING WORK PT1

Spring time is a time of work for the railroads, and the AP&W is no exception...

Work on the parking lot commences, along with a few utility upgrades. Here, a small tracked dump machine is being used for moving dirt around the site.

The utility truck and excavator sit at the end of the drive. Underground fiber optic cables are being replaced in the area, an upgrade that will provide faster internet service to the people of Hillsdale!

After the utility work is finished, the crew bus shows up for the rail work in the area.

Several dump cars loaded with rip-rap sit next to loaded woodchip hoppers.

At the other end, is a flatcar loaded with an excavator.

The excavator will be used to help shore up the right-of-way along the Youghiogheny river, including replacing rip-rap along the banks. (And yes, the flatcar gained reporting marks and data between photographs! What an improved RR shop can do...)

Jordan spreader X784 gets prepped for work. The venerable unit was built in the 1950's, but still gets the job done, both plowing snow (in the winter) and re-cutting drainage ditches (in the spring and after heavy rains). More on X784 next week.