PASSING TRAINS PT 39; M1795 PT 1

 

Another west-bound is rounding the curve into Hillsdale...

Brand-new ET44AC's 549 and 536 lead train M1795, the Baltimore-Cleveland manifest.

Right behind the power is a DODX flatcar with a pair of  M88 recovery vehicles on board.

A pair of  loaded autoracks are on the head end as well. The first one is this TTX car with a TTX rack.

The second car is this NS rack, loaded on a TTX flat.. Both cars are Gunderson MultiMax racks.

A pair of loaded Vulcan Materials hopper cars, carrying gravel.

A loaded CTNX carbon black hopper.

An older carbon black hopper, still in it's as-delivered paint, for Sid Richardson. Both cars are headed for Akron, to the Goodyear Tire plant.

A Railbox ABOX 50' boxcar and a tank car loaded with ethyl acetate solvent follow.

More of M1795 next week.

PASSING TRAINS PT 38; SDN40 PT3

 The conclusion of  SDN40...

Following FEC 70605 is  another MAXI IV, with yet another white Optimodal container.

And yet another MAXI IV, but this time with all orange containers.

A look at one of the containers, showing the wheel spray effect at the rear.

The tail end of the train is spine cars, as seen here.

This car has a container loaded on the mu middle platform.

The final spine car has a pair of UPS pups on the end platform: a "possum-belly" and a 28' container on chassis.

The EOT brings up the rear, as SDN40 passes through Hillsdale Yard on the way to New York City.

That is one interesting cloud shadow crossing the yard. :)

PASSING TRAINS PT 38; SDN40 PT 2

 SDN40 continues from last week...

The first of several MAXI IV well cars in the train, DTTX 732000 carries a mix of exterior post and corrugated containers.

Along with graffiti, DTTX 724792 also carries a white Optimodal container.

A pair of NSC-built single-well  cars split the articulated cars.

An ex-Pacer Stack Train Maxi IV now carries CIEX reporting marks -along with another white Optimodal container. The dark orange container underneath it is an ex-Martin box; the roof is still white.

Another MAXI IV car with a white Optimodal container, this time on the bottom of a another ex-Martin container; note the roof is still, indeed, white.

Another CIEX well car, this time a three unit drawbar-connected NSC well car. Yet again, there is a white Optimodal container, as well as another ex-Martin container.

Another pair of single-well cars, this time Gundersons. The first is a "patched" 53' well car, the second is an FEC 53' all-purpose well car, with a red HUB Group container in the bottom position.

Next week, the last of SDN40.

PASSING TRAINS PT 38; SDN40 PT 1

ET44AC 517 takes on a new crew, as the old crew gets into a truck to head off the clock and rest.
 

New crew on board, 517 gets revved up to continue its journey to New York City, with SDN40.

Joining 517 is frequent companion 528; they are seen together more often than not. (5-17 and 5-28 are my parent's birthdays.)

The third engine is ex-Santa Fe Dash 9 BNSF 660, whose 30-year griminess contrasts sharply with the two brand new ET44's. While BNSF had 20 of its Dash 9's rebuilt into AC units in 2015, further conversions have not been made, unlike with NS, which has had dozens of its Dash 9's rebuilt into AC machines over the past several years. Thus, not only does 660 still carry its as-delivered Santa Fe number, but also its original DC equipment. However, it still does its job of moving freight, as it is doing here, helping move SDN40 eastwards to New York City.

DTTX 655215 is the first car of SDN40. A 53' well car like most of the others in the train, this Thrall-built single well car carries both a standard orange Schneider container, and a rare white Optimodal container.

The second car, DTTX 54041, is another Thrall single well car, but one unlike any other. A 48' well car, it is one of 75 members of TTX's TWF10 class of well cars. Unlike conventional railcars, the TWF10's are supported by leaf springs on the sides of the car ends instead of the center plate. The springs rest on the side frames of specially designed trucks, providing a smooth, stable ride. Note the bottom container is 40'. At least it is orange!

Another look at DTTX 54041. Built in 1991 at Chicago Heights, Ill. (coincidentally, also the location of a Ford Stamping plant), the TWF10's use Waggon Union bogies, which have a very short wheelbase -and no springs; thus the use of leaf springs on the car itself. Note the appearance of the ends, as compared to the conventional cars on either side of it; the TWF10's are nicknamed "battleships" due to their appearance. Unfortunately, the unique design was not repeated, as conventional cars are much easier to maintain. Also, because of this, these cars are slowly being retired instead of being rebuilt, like their other 48' brethren; they would actually have to be re-engineered due to the unique load-bearing design of the ends.

More of SDN40 to come next week.