MONSTER MOVIE HALLOWEEN!

 As Halloween approaches, terrifying things are happening in Hillsdale...

Two VERY big reptiles have invaded downtown, causing chaos and mayhem!

One of them has also attacked a local train!

"Lizzard" munches on a "Bug," as wrecked vehicles and fleeing people are left in its trail.

Fortunately, the military has arrived!

"Gator" has a pickup in his mouth. But he and "Lizzard" won't get very far...

Tanks are on the scene, ready for action.

"Lizzard" is surrounded!

More tanks are on the way to the scene! Both "Lizzard" and "Gator" will soon meet their fate!

As Halloween approaches, and monster movie marathons play, I decided to have some fun with a pair of dollar store toys (on clearance!). The overturned container is from Aurora Models, and was perfect, as I could model it with the door open while laying on the ground. And the Rock Island Hobbies flatcars and tanks were the perfect match for a "vintage" monster movie scene!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A FALL DAY

 It's fall excursion time! Appalachian 4-4-0 engine #34 is returning to Cumberland after taking railfans on a trip into the mountains.

A look at the full train, as steamer 34 rolls along.

Hillsdale's new refuse truck rolls through town. With an increase in population, a larger truck was needed, so the new truck is about one-third bigger than the old one.

A semi has pulled up with a delivery for the yard. Norman talks to the driver, while the driver's wife stands by. The purple KW tractor is a nice compliment to the magenta of the ONE container!

As Lance and Bill unload the container, notice that it is one of the Breast Cancer Awareness boxes seen last week. After Extra 500 arrived in D.C., the container was unloaded and shipped back to Hillsdale -by truck!

A SPECIAL TRAIN

Engine 500 leads a special Breast Cancer Awareness train through town. Extra 500 originated in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is making its way east to D.C. 

On the tail end are a pair of VTTX converted flatcars with each carrying a pair of specially painted ONE containers.

A close-up of one of the containers. The logo reads: "AS ONE WE CAN HOPE."
 

HWCX 7996 is owned by Halliburton, and is painted pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness.

RBOX 40188 is "on Track for a Cure."

And, of course, ET44AC 500 is the Breast Cancer unit!

VTTX 300235 carries the EOT as the train rolls onward, to Washington, D.C.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Show love and support to all those who have overcome this terrible disease!

PASSING TRAINS PT 41; DCCWCO119 PT 3

 Train DCCWCO119 is passing through Hillsdale...

Yet more plastic pellet hoppers. Here, another XOMX car.

Another PLCX car. Here is yet another lettering variation; the reporting marks are above the capacity data, but aligned horizontally instead of vertically.

Another "grid-side" 50' FBOX, with the new logo.

LRS 4223 is leased by the Laurinburg & Southern from General American, hence the big GATX on the end. CN 415469 was once owned by one of the NRUC-owned railroads; the big logo plate on the door is still there.

The rest of the train is comprised of empty flats.

TTPX 80098 is still in it's as-delivered brown, from 1969!

TTPX 806000 represents the replacement for the F86AH class represented by 80098. It sports the red logo after a repaint.

TTPX 806514 still has the old white TTX/black background logo.

The final car, TTZX 815087, brings up the markers.

The EOT hangs on the end coupler, protecting the rear, as DCCWCO119 rolls on to Wheeling, West Va.

PASSING TRAINS PT 41; DCCWCO119 PT 2

 Last  week, we saw DCCWCO119, the D.C.-Cumberland-Wheeling-Columbus, Oh. manifest, enter town. This week, more of the train...

A pair of PROCOR tank cars, returning empty to Ohio, where they'll be routed to Detroit for return to Canada via the Canadian Pacific.

Also returning to Canada are these two CN boxcars, having just delivered two loads of lumber to a customer in Baltimore.

Between empty 60' boxcars is a empty tank car that carried anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, a highly corrosive cargo used in making polymers and petrochemicals. A BNSF boxcar follows.

A string of empty plastic pellet cars. XOMX is the reporting mark of Exxon Mobil.

A short string of  tank cars, loaded with solvents.

More 60' TBOX cars. Note that 664434 is a newer "grid side" car, while 662066 is the older "ribbed side" style of car.

Empty kaolin tank cars returning from Northeast paper mills.

An empty VTTX flatcar. TTX removed the decks from surplus 60' flatcars and added container pedestals to create these container-only cars in the late 80's.

TBOX 664444 is another "grid side" boxcar. TTX began purchasing these cars in 2016, and now have thousands in service.

TBOX 661025 represents the older style of TBOX cars, with traditional side posts and old TTX logo.

The rest of DCCWCO119 next week.