TOWN LIFE PT 26; TRUCK PARADE PT 2

 Hillsdale is hosting a truck parade, with a number of regional trucks participating...

Another one of the trucks is this KW K100 Aerodyne, with added sleeper. Yet another one of the local produce haulers.

Another Peterbilt 389 with custom paint on both tractor and trailer.

Another look at the Ford CLT9000.  While cab-overs are rare these days, CLT9000's are even more scarce. Class 8 Fords in general are rare nowadays, since Ford exited the market in 1996, and sold the division to Freightliner, who re-branded it Sterling, which lasted just over a decade before being shut down in 2009. During the 80's, APMT, APRR's trucking affiliate, operated a small fleet of these trucks in this paint scheme; this may well be one of those trucks!

A Pete 389 tows a goose-neck detachable, loaded with a Caterpillar  320D L excavator.

One of a number of cattle trucks found in the region, serving dairy farms, is this KW W900A.

Another spread-axle reefer pulled by a Pete.

A KW pulls this spread-axle reefer.

The last truck is, perhaps, the best one. A KW K100 Aerodyne pulls a specially painted 45' trailer honoring POW's and MIA's.

The final semi also leads us into next week, as we celebrate our nation's birthday. Here's an early Happy Fourth of July!

TOWN LIFE PT 26; TRUCK PARADE PT 1

 A truck show/parade was held in Hillsdale. A number of trucks showed up...

The lead semi was this reefer. with a Peterbilt 579 UltraLoft tractor. Note the parked car's reflection in the side of the trailer!

Next was this Peterbilt 389 with a bulk trailer. It actually visits the city regularly, delivering to Hubbard Mills Bakery.

Another spread-axle reefer, this time pulled by a Kenworth W900A. The trailer has fenders on the axles, but they are hard to see, as they are black.

Another spread-axle reefer, this one with a Peterbilt 389 tractor. This truck is another regular in town, visiting the dairy plant. This truck received a few additions after this photo was taken.

Another local truck is this stretched Peterbilt 362 cabover and reefer -48' instead of 53' like the others. This is a working show truck!

Two more semi's behind the "Flamer."

Another pair, including an older purple KW 900A tractor trailer and a Pete 389 with a grain trailer.

A Ford CLT 9000 and yet another frequent town visitor, a purple KW 900A with "Bug" graphics pulling a 20' container on a chassis. This truck is usually seen pulling containers of one sort or the other. This container will actually be dropped off at KIDCO, Inc. for unloading.

Another look at the "Eagle" semi. There are feathers on the sides of the tractor's hood as well.

The rest of the trucks -with lots of reefers- next week.

PASSING TRAINS PT 44; NP71 PT 4

 A final look at NP71 as it passes through Hillsdale...

The final four cars are empty TTX 68' flats. Built in the late 60's/early 70's, these cars are soon to be retired. They were delivered in the original Trailer Train brown scheme.

TTJX 80720 is a flatcar set up to haul equipment such as farm implements, construction equipment and other large vehicles; note the center tie-down channels.

TTMX 80636 has cross-ways tie-downs, making it useful for hauling machinery, lumber, steel or any other large items.

Another TTJX flatcar, and another TTMX flatcar.

TTJX 80731 shows recent deck work, with new wood planking applied. Note also, the added sheet metal to the side of the car in the center (the small "lip"); this was added in the 70's to accommodate the "TT" logo applied when these cars were repainted into the new yellow scheme.

TTMX 80626 brings up the rear -and the EOT.

PASSING TRAINS PT 44; NP71 PT 3

 NP71, continued from last week...

An empty centerbeam bulkhead flatcar, returning for more lumber to haul out from the western forests.

And behind it, an empty BNSF boxcar.

A string of empty PPRX (Phillips Petroleum) tank cars, returning west after unloading gasoline.

A Canadian National boxcar, sub-lettered DWC, heads west with a load of paper products.

A pair of TBOX boxcars are also loaded with paper products.

A pair of new GNTX RailGon 68' gondolas carry pipe loads.

A pair of recently re-painted DODX flatcars are among the empty flats which make up the end of the train.

Another look at the DODX flatcars. The 40xxx series flats are the only cars that can carry two M1 Abrams tanks, thus the 6-axle trucks. Delivered in 1981 in olive green, many were repainted in the late 90's in urethane green. Since 2001, they have been repainted into this lighter shade of green, similar to the old BN "Cascade Green." Even into the 2010's, you could still find examples in all three shades of green!

Next week, a final look at NP71 as it heads out of town.

PASSING TRAINS PT 44; NP71 PT2

 Train NP71 has entered town behind POW/MIA unit 531. A look at more of the train...

A pair of TTX TBOX cars, the second one is a patched ex-UP car.

More TBOX's.

An empty kaolin tank car, followed by an empty plastic pellet hopper.

More empty hoppers, followed by a BNSF reefer.

Three BNSF reefers are in the train, headed home for more produce. Washington apples perhaps?

Here we see the BNSF autorack again.

A close-up reveals the reason it's headed back west; one of the doors has been damaged. As a result; the car has been bad-ordered.

The reefer unit on BNSF 793282 is running, as indicated by the light on the unit. (Click on the photo and you'll see it at the bottom of the unit.) This car is carrying a load of imported wine.

Sister car 793324 is also carrying wine; note the light on its reefer unit is also lit. Note also that this car has a Thermo King reefer unit, while the other two cars have Carrier units.

The final car, BNSF 793284, is empty, so the reefer unit is turned off. These big cars have a cubic capacity of 7883 ft. With two cars carrying wine, a lot of "spirit" on hand! Fortunately, they also have cushioned underframes, so the bottles stay intact on board.

As usual with modern day trains, there's plenty more to come. Until next week!