TOWN LIFE PT2; TRUCKS

A brand-new Swift semi -with the brand-new Swift logo, rolls across the bridge into town.

A Pete pulls a shiny chrome reefer trailer, headed for the grocery distribution warehouse.

Another Pete, this one with red drive hubs, pulls a a load of steel slabs.

The Shell Oil tanker heads out after making a delivery to the local gas station.

A Freightliner Coronado pulls a flatbed loaded with junked cars. They have been crushed, and are on their way to a scrap yard to be shredded. After that, they will probably end up in a railroad  gondola to be shipped to Wilson Steel, where they may be made into new steel coils -to be used in new car construction!

IN THE YARDS PT2

The UPS driver has a package for the yard office. Deliveries for the shops are usually delivered by box truck.

Brand-new ES44AC 7096 sits outside the car shop, basking in the sun. This is one of the last locomotives the AP&W has purchased new; so far it hasn't purchased any of the latest from either EMD or GE.

MOW equipment; a CAT M323F excavator sits in the yard, as spring track work preparations begin. The M323F is a versatile piece of equipment; the digging bucket can be swapped out for either a tie handler or a ballast temper head, making the task of replacing bad ties quick and easy.

Another piece of CAT equipment; a CT681 dump truck, loaded with gravel. Unfortunately, Caterpillar ended production of the CT681 after only about 15 months in Feb 2016, when it discontinued all heavy duty truck production and left the market after an apparent fall-out with Navistar -upon whose platforms the CT series was based.

The CAT M323F and a crew bus sit in the lot at the end of the day

CNY60 PT2

From last week...

Several EMP containers, along with a green HUB Group box on a Swift box.

The lettering on the Swift container is starting to fade away!

More Swift containers, along with a green EMP box and a Dart Transport box.

A string of UPS boxes brings up the rear. The lack of 28' UPS containers is a bit unusual, but increasingly these travel on their chassis' and are handled as trailers, while UPS switches to the big 53' containers -which can be loaded in standard 53' well cars, instead of the specialized 56' well cars required for the 28' boxes.

PASSING TRAINS PT5; CNY60 PT1

Another intermodal train rolls through Hillsdale...

This time, it's train CNY60, a Chicago-NYC intermodal. Today's train has SD70MAC 8663 in charge, with UP AC44CW 5714 trailing as run-through pool power.

Several reefer boxes are in the train, including these two; one from Tiger Cool Express and one from AXSUN. There are also a number of FedEx Intermodal containers in the train as well.

In fact, much of the train is loaded with FedEx boxes. The AP&W's fast schedules and consistently reliable service help it land -and keep- customers as it competes with NS and CSX for the same traffic -even as it partners with NS on many routes through southern Pennsylvania (note the NS engines from last week are still in the yard).

Among the railcar equipment is this Florida East Coast car. It is an "all-purpose" car in that it can be loaded with either containers, as seen here, or trailers; it has hitches at both ends for loading either a pair of 28' trailers or one longer trailer.

Also on the train are Swift containers and another one from Crowley.
The rest of the train next week.

IN THE YARDS, VISITORS

Hillsdale Yard has some visitors...

A set of NS engines sits in the yard, one track over from 3163.

The first unit is  SD60E 911, making a return trip to Hillsdale.

The second unit is SD60E 6963, painted with GO Rail graphics -and lime green cab roof! Note that it also has a larger fuel tank than 911.

A closer look at 6963's graphics. GO Rail is an initiative to promote increased shipping by rail. I saw this unit here in Lynchburg, Va. while it was on its way to D.C. for it's "official" unveiling in 2014.

The third unit is ES40DC 7515. Note that this unit has yet to be updated with PTC, unlike the other two. It still has its original antenna domes; the small one is for the GPS, while the big one covers all the communication antennas.

The heavy-duty flatcar is back with its newly refurbished generator. It will now head back east to its new owner.