PASSING TRAINS PT 32; DBC47 PT3

 The conclusion of DBC47...

More UPS 53' containers.

A 53' spine car, with 28' pup trailers making a "picket fence" out of it. Note the first two trailers are actually 28' containers on chassis'.

A 48' trailer and a 53' trailer on adjacent cars

A Triple 57/Twin 28 spine car carries two 28' trailers per unit, including an older (and soon to be retired) "possum-belly" trailer.

Another 53' UPS trailer. followed by a skirted XTRA Lease trailer. The skirting.helps with aerodynamics for improved fuel efficiency, but have been known to be problematic in intermodal service if they are mounted too close to the sides of the trailer; they must be mounted far enough inboard to allow space for the lifting pads of the loading cranes to avoid damage.

Vermont Railway, Averitt Express and Estes Trucking all have 53' trailers on this car.

A final pair of UPS 28' trailers, including another 28' container/chassis unit and another "possum belly", and a pair of Werner 53' trailers.

The EOT flashes as CBD47 rolls out of town on its way west. Like most AP&W intermodals, DBC47 -and its east-bound companion, CDB47- run on 24 hr schedules. While this makes them competitive with trucks, it also means that these trains need both priority handling and reliable power; hence the assignment of the newest engines and the reduction of stops over the line: this train normally makes only one stop for a crew change/refuel during the entire trip!  

PASSING TRAINS PT 32; DBC47 PT 2

 DBC47 is passing through Hillsdale on its way west to Chicago...

AP&W 517 and GECX 2029 roll their train through town.

Ex-BRAN 6020, now CIEX 2012, carries a grey Matson and a blue Werner container in the "A" unit.

A CIE container and a SEA STAR container share the "C" well, while another Werner container and a CH Robinson container share the "B" well. Blue boxes in a blue well car!

Another CIE Intermodal box, this one a reefer, rides atop a HUB Group box.

More HUB Group boxes in the lower wells, with a USA Trucking container (with BNAU reporting marks) and an ESTES container in the top positions.

A BNSF car carries green HUB Group containers.

More green HUB's with an XPO Logistics box.

The second half of DBC47 is UPS traffic

. A string of 53' containers follows the "conventional" traffic.

Next week, the end of DBC47.

PASSING TRAINS PT 32; DBC47 PT 1

 Another intermodal freight rolls into town...

DBC47, the D.C./Baltimore to Chicago intermodal, is led by brand-new ET44AC 517.

517 shows off her clean looks.

The second engine is re-painted WABTEC/GE demo unit 2029.

The train stops for a rare crew change; normally the change occurs in Columbus, Ohio.

New (in 2017) operator XPO Logistics is aboard, as is another new operator, DRT Logistics.

Swift is old, but Estes Freight is another newbie to the intermodal game.

An older red HUB Group box is in the lower position, while a USA Trucking box is on top.

Another Estes container atop a White Arrow box.

Yet another new intermodal operation is Werner Enterprises Intermodal, featuring blue containers to match their trailers. The days of all-white domestic containers are over!

More colorful containers next week!

TOWN LIFE PT 19

 

Traffic crosses the intersection of Market Street and County Lane on a busy weekday.

A backhoe rolls down County Lane, as fall preparations are under way in the city.

Winter preparations are also in mind, as Glover Park Hardware has new snow blowers on display.

The UPS driver stays busy during the week, making local deliveries.

A custom bulk hauler waits at the intersection for the light. A new bakery operation, Hubbard Mills Inc., has opened up in town, and they receive flour by truck Note the 50's sedan in front of him!

A wreck has closed the outbound lanes of County Lane, as police clear the area.

The wrecked truck has to be taken off by a flatbed. Judging by the looks of the truck, it will be taken straight to the junkyard for parts salvaging!

A Volkswagen Golf sits in front of Cristie's Pet Supply. Note the owner has added  blue rims to match the body color!

A cattle truck rolls through town. While southwestern Pennsylvania is not noted for cattle farming, there are a few herds which supply milk to the town's dairy plant. There are also a few pig farms as well. Thanks to the organic movement -and support for local farms- they are thriving; Pennsylvania was the number two state in organic sales in 2016.

FEL30

 Train FEL30, the ethanol train out of Uniontown passes through Hillsdale on its way to Farmingdale...

ET44AC 500, the Breast Cancer unit, leads today's train.

Farmingdale Ethanol Co. is an ADM-owned facility, so most of the hoppers are ADM-owned as well. These are Evans 4780 cuft. cars.

More ADM hoppers, this time NSC-built 5150 cuft. cars. Note that all of the cars have the newer "Leaf" logo.

The last car of grain is CGW 7801, a Trinity 5150 cuft. car. This is a Heritage car, celebrating the Chicago Great Western, which the APRR acquired in 1968 -much to the chagrin of the C&NW!

Another ADM car, this time a tank car, follows CGW 7801, with a string of ex-crude oil cars behind it.

With the decline in crude oil shipments during the end of 2019 and throughout 2020, many of these cars were re-assigned to other cargoes, with ethanol being one of them.

ADMX 28589 does not have the ADM logo, but does have plenty of large graffiti "scribbles" on the side. PPRX 660178 behind it is carrying gasoline, used to make the ethanol unfit for human consumption.

Four more covered hoppers bring up the rear, including three more ADM cars, and an ex-Penn Central car, now owned by Caldwell- Baker.

Another look at CGW 7801.

Another look at ADMX 28589, with its "scribbles".