PASSING TRAINS PT37; NYCKC701NS PT1

 Another intermodal rolls west through Hillsdale...

ET44AC 517 leads NYCKC701NS (New York City-Kansas City, via NS).This is an international traffic train which uses NS' ex-Wabash main between Indianapolis, Ind. and Springfield, Ill.

GE pre-production ET44AC unit 2023 is the "middle child".

The final ET44AC is literally unidentified! Delivered from Erie with "ghost" reporting marks, this engine won't stay blank for long -the FRA (Federal Railroad Agency) won't allow it!

The head end is loaded with plenty of brand new ONE (Ocean Network Express) containers in both magenta and white, though a Maersk Line container is in the middle of the top row.

In late 2017, both the AP&W's ET44AC's and Ocean Network Express are brand-new; the well car, however, is not. Built by Trinity Rail in 1987, this is a "Backpacker" well car with 40' wells; it has been "patched" with the new red Heritage logo, along with several other painted-out areas.

More pink containers!

Another Trinity Backpacker, this one patched from its original scheme with the old (though new at the time) TTX logo. Note the middle well has a 40' K-Line box atop a pair of 20's; one another K-Line, the other a MSC.

Another K-Line container, this one a 45' box, with still more 40' ONE containers. The varying roofline of the train is due to a mix of  standard-height (8'6") and hi-cube (9'6") containers.

This train is a long one, so we'll be watching it for a while, starting next week!

And by the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

PASSING TRAINS PT 36; NYC60 PT 2

 The rest of NYC60 from last week...

More HUB and EMP containers, including one leased to BNSF.

The train passes through Hillsdale Yard, past loaded woodchip hoppers and MOW gons full of old ties from recent track work. Note the boxcar awaiting delivery to Johnson Foods.

A rare sight on the East Coast, a Ferromex well car is seen here. A grey car stands out among the sea of yellow TTX cars!

A BNSF car follows. Note that there are two different designs of 53' containers seen here: corrugated and exterior-post (the second set).

Reefer containers are on the tail end of the train, moving seafood and imported food inland from the coast. Here, a pair of Tiger Cool Express reefers ride a pair of HUB boxes.

C.R. England reefers dominate the end of the train, with the first one riding atop an XPO Logistics box.

More C.R. England reefers bring up the rear.

Another look at the train passing through Hillsdale Yard. Note the MOW flatcar loaded with equipment.

No Christmas Train this year. My camera messed up earlier this year, and I haven't been able to get a new one yet, so I'll leave you all with an old post...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

PASSING TRAINS PT36; NYC60 PT1

 Another intermodal passes through Hillsdale...

NYC60, the New York-Chicago intermodal, is lead by ET44AC 500, the Breast Cancer unit, with an NS GE trailing.

Among the cars on the head end is this grimy Florida East Coast car. Note the lettering on the Swift container is starting to fade.

There is also a lot of UPS traffic up front as well. This car looks like a recent repaint with the new red  logo.

More UPS traffic.

EMP and HUB containers are also present.

Seen here before a recent shopping, 500 still looks good as she leads NYC60.

A sea of green HUB and EMP containers dominate the middle of the train.

DTTX 645211 shows off her red TTX logo "patch".

The rest of NYC60 next week.

PASSING TRAINS PT 35; IC48 PT 2

 Last week, IC48 rolled into town. This week, more of the train...

More rebuilt Thrall cars, now with 30' wells. That APL logo was once white!

And more Gunderson rebuilt wells cars as well.

This Thrall car still has the old logo, as it was rebuilt before the new Heritage logo was adopted. Thus it is much dirtier than the previously seen Thrall car.

More 40 well cars for international container traffic, including a MAXI I stack car.

The MAXI I is a new car, with the new logo. The original MAXI I's were built during the late 80's, before being replaced by the longer MAXI II (45' wells), then the popular MAXI III (48'wells) well cars. However, a surge in 20' and 40' international container traffic revived interest during the early 2000's, so Gunderson re-introduced a modernized version. Note this car carries not only ONE (Ocean Network Express) containers in two color schemes, but also the containers of the three Japanese companies that formed ONE as well: K-Line (the grey container); NYK (the blue one); and MOL (the white reefer container).

The final well of the MAXI I is single-stacked with a pair of 20' tank containers; when loaded a pair will max out a well.

An AP&W 5-unit Thrall 40' well car carries 45' containers in three of the five top positions. Most AP&W well cars are a shade of brown, so this one is unusual, to say the least. The second 45' box isn't grey, it's a very faded green China Shipping container!

Two more well cars with the new red TTX logo; the second car is a rebuilt Thrall 5-unit car. Like the single-well cars, this car once had 48' wells; they were shortened to 40' due to the demise of the 48' container. These two won't stay clean for long!

A trio of rebuilt Gunderson single-unit well cars bring up the rear. International container traffic can be quite colorful, making these some of my favorite trains!

PASSING TRAINS PT 35; IC48 PT 1

 Another train rounds the curve into Hillsdale...

Brand-new ET44C's 517 and 528 lead IC48, the Chicago-Baltimore intermodal, into town.

IC48 handles international traffic, as seen here. SFLC 1010  carries the reporting marks of the Santa Fe Leasing Co., now owned by BNSF.

A number of rebuilt well cars are in the train as well, including these two rebuilt from 48' Husky Stacks.

DTTX 455608 has a logo "patch" featuring the new "heritage" logo.

DTTX 59624 still has the old logo.

More rebuilt well cars.

DTTX 53303 has the latest look; red TTX logo with the small "Railbox" logo beside it. This car was once a Thrall-built 48' well car.

More IC48, with a look at more of the cars next week.