FEL31 PT2

 FEL31, the Farmingdale Ethanol train returning to Uniontown, is passing through town...

The first hopper is a jumbo 6351 cuft Trinity-built car.

The next two cars are slightly smaller 5701 cuft ACF hoppers. Note that the logo is in different places on each; more centered on the first car, and farther back (actually the next body panel over) on the second car. As mentioned last week, these first three cars are loaded with DDG pellets.

Next in line are the loaded ethanol tank cars.

ADMX 30792 shows off the blue roller bearing caps that most of these cars were delivered with.

The final set of cars are the empty hoppers that delivered grain to the facility. As can be seen here, there is a lot of color in the fleet! We'll look at these next week as we conclude FEL31.

FEL31, PT1

 Train FEL31, the Farmingdale Ethanol train, is returning from Farmingdale on its way back to Uniontown...

The cloud has passed, and the lead unit is highlighted by the sun.

SD70MAC 8663 is in the lead.

An unidentified AC4400 is the trailing unit.

The head-end is loaded hoppers of DDG (Dried Distillers Grain) pellets. DDGs are a byproduct of the ethanol production process, and are are commonly used for animal feed, hence the trip west -where the "beef" is raised!

Next week, a look at the cars in the train.

DCF 13

 DCF13 returns from City Fizz...

The east end of Hillsdale Yard is already full. ET44AC demo unit 2022 sits in the yard, along with several intermodal cars, a string of boxcars and a loaded centerbeam flatcar.

Gen-set 300 arrives with a string of empty cars, including a boxcar on the head end that supplied bottles (a lot).

Of course, the bulk of the train is corn syrup tank cars. Here is a string of ADM cars. These are 19000 gal cars; note the indented ladders to accommodate the wider body.

More 19k tanks. These are owned by Trinity, the maker of the cars, and are leased out to shippers. The first car is black, while the other two are light grey.

At the end of the train is a string of Corn Products cars leased from UTLX. These are older 17,600 gal cars -note the narrower bodies. When the Gross Rail Loading (GRL) was raised from 268k to 286k in the mid 90's, the larger 19k tank cars became possible. However, since making a longer car would mean that then-current loading/unloading facilities would have to be rebuilt, the newer cars were instead made wider, while keeping the same overall car length, making trains like this -with old and new cars serving the same customer- possible.

THEN AND NOW

  Twelve years ago, I started this blog. A lot has changed since then; additions, updates, and even a rebuilding! Today, we'll take a brief look at some of the major changes between then and now.

These are some of the first photos I took of the layout. As longtime followers of this blog may know, this layout was originally located in the back of the Trains Unlimited hobby shop here in Lynchburg, Va. When the then current owner of the shop closed up, he sold me the layout for $200. Since most of the buildings were my contribution to the layout, I took them when the shop closed, and put them back when I got it back up and running again.

This was the layout two years ago. A backdrop has been added, along with scenery along the edge.

This is today. The cardboard streets have been replaced with Walthers Street System roadway, and the city block has a new look, with the re-located supermarket.

Again, the early look. This is the MOW parking lot.

And this is now. The bare cork is covered with cardstock roadway, the bare painted foam board is covered with dirt, and additional details have been added, such as the light pole and container converted into a shop building. There is also a gravel ramp up to the road, allowing vehicles to get in and out of the parking lot. Lastly, the appearance of the city itself has changed dramatically -especially in the background.

Downtown Hillsdale then, in 2008 (actually 2007; the photo wasn't posted until 2008).

Downtown Hillsdale today. Buildings have been added and relocated, streets have been replaced, and the edge of the foam board is hidden behind the hedges. 

Then; a warehouse occupies the corner of the layout. This was the original location of Tony's Garage. Note the European-style cell phone tower.

Now; the warehouse is long gone, replaced by a small cinderblock building and a boxcar converted into a large storage building. Again, the bare cork has been covered up with cardstock, and a pair of working street lights has been added, along with a fire hydrant at the edge of the parking lot. This view also shows the backdrop curving around the walls, and the expanded "forest" in the corner, along with several more trees along the edge.. Finally, the European-style cell phone tower has been replaced by a North American-style one, and security fencing surrounds it.

Then; bare walls and open grid on the back side with a siding.

Now; the siding is long gone, replaced by Main Street and a row of buildings. Many of the original buildings have been relocated, and the main road into town has been upgraded with Street System roadway. In addition to the backdrop, the main line has now been ballasted, as has the entire yard.

Then, bare walls and not much else.

Now; a backdrop, buildings, access road, and a board on the end to hold it all. The end radius has gone from 28" to 39". There is now a light above the end. And I also have storage shelves to hold my collection of trains.

This was a look back at the "history" of the layout. It brought back a few good memories. Next week back to the present time!

TOWN LIFE PT5

A woman crosses County Lane, while traffic is stopped for the light. Ted's old blue pickup is empty today -no load of old appliances to haul to the junkyard for quick cash!

Traffic on County Lane now has a 35mph speed limit, thanks to the new sign.

Tony's Garage is getting a new engine hoist crane!

The evolution of the Ford F-series is seen here; the black truck is the 2010's, the blue truck is from the 70's, and the white truck in the background is from the 90's.

A man parks his car before heading into the Perfect Perk Cafe for an espresso.

A Conder Bus Tours bus sits outside the World Travel Service agency, ready to load passengers for a trip to Atlantic City. Luckily, the fares are round trip, otherwise many of the travelers might not be able to pay their way back after the casinos get through with them!

Next week marks the 12th anniversary of this blogsite! We'll take a look at how the layout has progressed since then -even I was surprised at the amount of progress and improvement!