AFTER CHRISTMAS

 Christmas is over, but the activity continues...

The businesses on County :Lane are back open, and doing well.

On a quiet Sunday, a man comes into town to get groceries, as his dog enjoys the ride from the back of the truck.

The UPS man makes a delivery to the yard office.

A reefer semi rolls out of town, after making a stop at the grocery distributor.

The Domino's Pizza truck rolls in, with a fresh supply for all those college bowl games and New Years Eve celebrations!

Finally, the Christmas Train returns from Washington, D.C.

Extra DEC25 rolls west, heading back to Pittsburgh, then Cincinnati and Louisville, before arriving back in Chicago.

The two Polar Express cars are now giving a ride to company employees. However, the Make-A-Wish children who rode the cars East now have wonderful memories that will last the rest of their lives!

THE HOLIDAY TRAIN PT 2

 Last week, the annual Holiday Train pulled into Hillsdale...

Santa greets the children from Hillsdale House, and their caretakers. Hillsdale House provides shelter for at-risk children, many of whom are in foster care. Getting to meet Santa is a real treat for them!

And they will also get presents! One of Santa's helpers passes wrapped gifts to the men loading up the "Sleigh". At least it's red!

Meanwhile, the engines get refueled from a local tanker.

The truck has a trailer as well. Dale Williams supervises the refueling.

While the lead truck alone has enough fuel to fill both engines, having a second tanker makes the job both easier and faster, since both engines can be refueled at the same time.

Their stop completed, Extra DEC25 rolls out and continues its journey east to Cumberland, then onto Washington, D.C.

The gondola trees are lit up for the departure. While the trees are tall, they are still within clearance of bridges and tunnels. The total height of the car is still lower than either autoracks or double-stacks (I checked!).

Santa and his aide waive goodbye to the Hillsdale crew as they depart.

And may you have a Merry Christmas!

THE HOLIDAY TRAIN PT 1

 

The annual Holiday Train is here!

GE 70-tonners 12 & 25 lead, as usual.

Santa's Coal Express hopper is loaded with coal; and the following hopper is loaded with "snow".

The highlight of the train is the gon loaded with "snow" and a pair of lighted Christmas trees!

The generator for both the trees and the passenger cars at the end is inside the boxcar. 

Two more boxcars, loaded with presents for local children in the communities along the train's route.

A pair of Polar Express cars carry some lucky passengers -several dozen terminally ill children are enjoying their Make-A-Wish dreams come true!

The special holiday caboose brings up the rear.

After the train is parked on track 1 West (on the west end of the yard) Paul converses with Santa and his assistant before the show begins.

Next week, "The Show"!

IN THE HOLIDAY SWING

 The "Season" is now upon us!

With meals and get-together's planned, demand for food is high. A custom semi has delivered a shipment of fresh meat for the grocery distributor.

Holiday travel is also on the agenda. One of Greyhound's newest buses rolls out, headed for New York City.

Note the colorful graphics! The side of the bus says "LOVE YOUR JOURNEY".

The internet warehouse is busy, as an Amazon semi rolls in for a pickup.

The warehouse is also receiving goods. A UPS semi heads for downtown.

Leaving from downtown is a FedEx double-bottom, making a careful turn onto County Lane. Navigating city streets with two trailers is no easy task, but once he gets onto County Lane, he's home free!

Jackie's Fine Fashions is having its annual Holiday sale -getting rid of left-over summer and fall clothing to make way for new merchandise!

And, of course, the annual Holiday Train has arrived! More of this train next week!

PASSING TRAINS PT 25; IC209 PT 3

 The end of IC209...

More reefer trailers, including another Stevens Transport and a KLLM unit.

A Wheels Clipper and another KLLM reefer.

Another NFI RoadRail reefer box, and a CIE Intermodal reefer box.

A JB Hunt Intermodal reefer, followed by a pair of FFE units.

After another FFE reefer, a pair of conventional 28' pups, and a Roadway 53' dry van.

A final Stevens reefer brings up the rear, as the EOT flashes.

PASSING TRAINS PT 25; IC209 PT 2

 Last week, we saw a pair of brand new locomotives pulling IC209. Now, more if the train...

As is typical for AP&W intermodal freights, the heavier stacks are on the head end, while the lighter spine cars are on the rear.

And just like the well cars, the spines are loaded with reefers, both containers and trailers.

And more C.R. England equipment!

Several Martin trailers are also in the mix, as well as Stevens Transport.

Alliance Shippers is also a costumer

A leased XTRA trailer is among the Alliance Shippers.

The last of the train next week.

NEW POWER! PASSING TRAINS PT25; IC209 PT1

Train IC209 rolls into town with new power! 

A pair of brand-new GE ET44AC's have IC209 in tow, as they head west to Chicago.

The lead unit is 517, is lettered, but still missing its warning labels.

The second unit is both unlettered and unnumbered. It is the "class" unit, 500, and it will soon receive special graphics. Both locomotives are part of a small order for 30 engines from GE. After several years of testing and leasing a number of ET44AC demonstrator units, the AP&W has finally placed an order for new units!

Today's IC209 has a lot of reefer traffic -the modern-day version of the classic reefer trains of the late-steam/early diesel era. Here we see a White Arrow reefer atop an AXSUN reefer, an NFI "RoadRail" reefer on a Cold Train Express reefer, and a Tiger Express reefer atop another White Arrow unit.

The ever-popular J.B.Hunt "How Cool Is That?" reefer box, atop another TigerCool Express reefer, followed by a C.R. England reefer atop another AXSUN reefer.

More C.R. England reefers. Many of these containers are carrying seafood, others carry imported wine from Europe, while some are empty.

Still more C.R. England reefers.

Next week, s look at more of the train.