THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN

 

The annual Christmas Train arrives!

The two engines now have PTC equipment installed; note the long antenna domes on the roofs.

As the train rolls past, notice the colorful "Christmas" graffiti on the hopper in the yard!

Rounding the curve, we see something different...

A trio of new cars!

A North Pole Ornament Artisans car and a Claus Candy Cane Company car are two colorful additions to the train.

And a colorful reefer carries cookies for Santa. He can't work without his cookies!

The two Polar Express cars are carrying, as usual. eager kids enjoying their Make-A-Wish dream come true with a train ride!

And, of course, caboose 1256 brings up the rear.

Santa's helper waves as the Christmas Train passes through. Due to the added cars, the train will no longer fit in the yard without fouling the main, so it keeps going. The kids of Hillsdale House will be driven to meet the train in Dale City, so they will still get presents -and meet Santa!

IN THE YARDS PT 17

 The Hillsdale crew is assembling a local run to Dale City...

A cut of loaded woodchip hoppers is first up. Chris plays brakeman, while Ricardo is the engineer.

Chris watches as the loaded hoppers (finally) move out of their siding.

Kaolin tank cars are on the other end of the "paper mill" string. Here, Chris has thrown the switch for the next siding, and waits for Ricardo to back onto it.

A set of reefers for Johnson Foods is next.

The cars are coupled. Next, Chris will join the air lines so Ricardo can release the brakes on the reefers and move the cars.

Note there are two tank cars in the local. The string of boxcars is next to be added.

The two Railbox cars are headed to Johnson Foods as well; loaded with packaging for all the products that they sell.

A third Railbox car is headed to City Fizz, with a load of plastic bottles. The Johnson Foods cars will be dropped off first, so being at the end of the train won't be a problem.

Chris watches as the train backs up to the boxcars.

The couple is made. Again, Chris will connect the air hoses, so that Ricardo can pump up the air and release the brakes for movement.

With the train assembled. Tim places the EOT on the rear. The Dale City local -trains GPL10, DCL8, and DCL12 combined- is now ready to head out!