IN THE YARDS PT 12

 

An old, worn 68' flatcar sits in the yard, awaiting delivery to Wilson Steel Works. Built in the late 60's, this car will soon be retired and possibly sent to Wilson Steel for scrapping!

KRL 27802 sits in the yard after being serviced at Kasgro Rail's  New Castle facility. It's now ready to live up to its "RED-N-READY" slogan! Located just north of Pittsburgh, this is where Kasgro Rail both manufactures and repairs/maintains their fleet of heavy-duty flatcars; they also repair Schnabel cars there as well.

A pair of workers prepare to head out to perform a EOT swap on the intermodal train stopped in the background. The train's current unit has failed, thus necessitating the swap. Having the unit mounted on the front of the truck makes the replacement easy!

A hot dog vendor has set up shop in the lot, and is making business during lunch break. And the workers appreciate not having to go very far for lunch -saving time and gas money!

Tim sets an EOT on the newly installed rack. While the new rack only holds three EOTs, having it located beside the yard is a welcome addition: previously EOTs were kept in the shop on the opposite end -and side- of the yard, meaning that a long walk was often necessary with a heavy box.

 Mark Davis heads back to his truck after checking with Dale Williams (with the clipboard), Jason and Will. Mark will be driving to Uniontown to meet with meet with some company officials. Hopefully, he won't be getting any bad news.

Ricardo prepares to give Chris a ride in his '73 Vette, as several others look on. Nothing makes your co-workers more envious than having a sweet ride -and Ricardo still has his '57 Bel Air!

PASSING TRAINS PT 37; NYCKC701NS PT 4

 The conclusion of NYCKC701NS...

The second well of the AOK car has a MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Co.) box atop a HMM (Hyundai Merchant Marine) box. The next well has a CMA-CGM box atop an orange NYK box.

The next two wells feature another CMA-CGM box atop a Don Fang, with a another MSC box atop a brown (leased) UASC box.

The final car is another rebuilt 5-unit Thrall well car, this time with the original TTX logo. The two APL containers are topped by a Hapag Lloyd open top and yet another CMA-CGM box.

Another heavily faded China Shipping 45' box rides another brown UASC box ( the normal UASC color is green). This container, like the other one is leased from Triton. A pair of APL boxes follow; the top one is a high-cube and is a slightly different shade of blue from the standard-height one beneath it.

The final well has another Hapag Lloyd open top and yet another CMA-CGM box. Note the "eco container" graphic, seen on some of these containers; they have bamboo flooring, which is considered more environmentally sustainable than conventional wood flooring. Bamboo grows much faster than most other plants; some species can grow several feet a week!

PASSING TRAINS PT 37; NYCKC701NS PT 3

 More of NYCKC701NS...

A pair of 45' boxes, with a CMA/CGM -featuring the "Globe" logo- on top of a very faded China Shipping container.

A grey MOL, with a colorful "three-square" logo, atop a Hapag-Lloyd.

A Hanjin 45' box atop a Safmarine 40-footer.

A "K" Line 45' box, with white ends, atop a worn and faded MOL 40' box. Behind is a APL box, with a CNC Line box atop it. The car is a BNSF-owned SFLC five-unit well car.

Next in the car is a MAERSK box, with another CMA/CGM 45-footer atop it, followed by a COSCO open top on a Don Fang box.

The final well has a MOL reefer container, with a small "three-square" logo and leased from SEACO, atop a APL box with a VERY small logo.

The next car is a MAXI I with the new logo, either brand new or recently repainted. It has a pair of COSCO Shipping containers in the first well; this is the new company resulting from the merger of COSCO and China Shipping. The next well has a pair of loaded 20' tank containers, maxing out the weight limits of the well.

The next two wells display both the two merger partners of COSCO Shipping, as well as the new company. Note yet another well-faded 45' China Shipping container.

The final well has a NYK container atop another leased MOL reefer. The following car is another MAXI I, owned by Arkansas Oklahoma (AOK), which we'll see next week, as we close out NYCKC701NS.

PASSING TRAINS PT 37; NYCKC701NS PT 2

 NYCKC701NS is passing through Hillsdale. From last week...

Another look at the three containers in one of the middle wells of the second Backpacker. Note the rust on the top container.

A third Backpacker, still in its as-delivered paint -and still with lots of pink/magenta ONE containers! Note the height mis-match between standard height and hi-cube containers.

A HMM (Hyundai Merchant Marine) container and a Maersk 45' box interrupt the string of ONE's.

An AP&W Trinity 5-unit well car has ONE, MSC, K-Line and MOL containers on the head-end.

More MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Co.), another MOL and a Hapag Lloyd open top.

Another look at the Hapag Lloyd open top, not often seen in intermodal service, as well as another MOL container and a NYK container -two of the three partners in ONE.

A 45' MSC, atop a refrigerated ONE in a rebuilt Gunderson well car. Following is a rebuilt Thrall 5-unit well car, with a NYC container atop a pair of 20's; one a K Line, the other a UASC.

A pair of Hapag Lloyd's with a MOL and another NYK. Note this car is new enough out the shops to carry the new red TTX logo.

The end of DTTX 748241 carries a Hapag Lloyd, a ZIM open top, a Lloyd Trestino, and a rainbow MAERSK container -as if NYCKC701NS' consist wasn't colorful enough!

More containers next week!

PASSING TRAINS PT37; NYCKC701NS PT1

 Another intermodal rolls west through Hillsdale...

ET44AC 517 leads NYCKC701NS (New York City-Kansas City, via NS).This is an international traffic train which uses NS' ex-Wabash main between Indianapolis, Ind. and Springfield, Ill.

GE pre-production ET44AC unit 2023 is the "middle child".

The final ET44AC is literally unidentified! Delivered from Erie with "ghost" reporting marks, this engine won't stay blank for long -the FRA (Federal Railroad Agency) won't allow it!

The head end is loaded with plenty of brand new ONE (Ocean Network Express) containers in both magenta and white, though a Maersk Line container is in the middle of the top row.

In late 2017, both the AP&W's ET44AC's and Ocean Network Express are brand-new; the well car, however, is not. Built by Trinity Rail in 1987, this is a "Backpacker" well car with 40' wells; it has been "patched" with the new red Heritage logo, along with several other painted-out areas.

More pink containers!

Another Trinity Backpacker, this one patched from its original scheme with the old (though new at the time) TTX logo. Note the middle well has a 40' K-Line box atop a pair of 20's; one another K-Line, the other a MSC.

Another K-Line container, this one a 45' box, with still more 40' ONE containers. The varying roofline of the train is due to a mix of  standard-height (8'6") and hi-cube (9'6") containers.

This train is a long one, so we'll be watching it for a while, starting next week!

And by the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR!