PASSING TRAINS PT 27; GM408 PT3

 The last of GM408...

A string of AEX (The Andersons) hoppers.

Followed by a string of GBRX (Greenbriar Leasing) hoppers.

A TRLX Trinity Leasing hopper.

A string of BNSF hoppers brings up the rear.

Another look at the UP hopper.

And the green RFMX (Caldwell-Baker Co.) hoppers. These are former Penn Central hoppers that never got repainted, even though the PC became Conrail in 1976!

The EOT brings up the rear, as GM408 leaves town.

PASSING TRAINS PT 27; GM408 PT2

 Continuing GM408 from last week...

Several grimy CP Rail hoppers.

Followed by a string of new hoppers, including a pair with the "Black Beaver" logo.

One lone car with the red "CP" logo between a pair of cars with the full Canadian Pacific Railway name and beaver logo.

After the CP cars, are the UP cars, including a pair in the "Building America" scheme.

The brown car with CMO reporting marks is leased from GATX, the other two are more "Building America" cars.

The last UP car shows its age with an abundance of rust. The two green hoppers behind it aren't any cleaner!

A pair of FURX (First Union) hoppers leads the private shippers string of cars. We'll look at the rest of these cars next week.

PASSING TRAINS PT 27; GM408 PT1

 

Train GM408, the eastbound unit grain train, rolls into Hillsdale.

Today's train is led by a pair of brand-new ET44AC's, 517 and 528.

AP&W hoppers are on the head end.

A brown C&EI hopper splices a pair of AP&W hoppers with CHTT reporting marks.

After another C&EI hopper, a pair of yellow DM&E cars.

A Cargill car, with the graffiti painted over.

517 has a crew, but they are NOT very comfortable -the unit still hasn't had its windows re-installed after being re-painted! This has since been corrected!

More of GM408 next week.

IN THE YARDS PT 9

 

The former Schneider trailer sits in the lot, being used for storage.

Two MOW trucks, a semi tractor and a heavy repair truck, sit in the lot at the other end of the yard as a west-bound train passes by.

A string of pipe loads from Wilson Steel sit in the yard after their arrival. They will eventually make their way south to a sewer line project in Virginia.

The previously seen MOW semi is now hooked up to a lowboy trailer with a modified excavator, preparing to head to a job site.

The heavy repair truck is still there on this bright, sunny day. Note there is another repair truck on the other side of the storage shed, as well as a pair of vending machines in front of the shed.

The UPS driver has a package of supplies for the office this morning. Maggie will be happy!

The business car, Cherokee, paid a visit to Hillsdale Yard last month.

Paul talks to the district superintendent, Jesse Vogel. Jesse makes it a point to visit  each of the yards in the Pennsylvania District at least once a year, to keep up and touch bases with the employees. He usually doesn't use the Cherokee though; the car is on the way to the shops in Cumberland, and he is along for the ride through his district, which is from Pittsburgh to Cumberland.