OP SESSION -- JANUARY 13, 2011

Photo journal of today's operating session..my brass RS11 really needs some paint and weathering!

The 318 is parked at its usual spot behind McMinn Asphalt

Heading east across Commerce Street...

and passing Dal-Tile.  No work here today...

Our crew pauses at Packaging Corporation of America to unlock and remove derails.  The storage siding is in the foreground, dock track is to the rear.

The 318 ties onto today's inbound cars, left on the interchange by CSXT. 

Watching from Ann Street as the crew inspects the cars and performs a brake test

 

The crew pulls the inbounds down to the fouling point, then uncouples.

They grab the two CSXT boxcars off the siding...

and couple them to the inbounds.

With all the loads now coupled together into one string, the crew begins classifying cars using the main and siding.  The starch hopper is not needed today; it goes onto the siding.  The GT car is to be spotted at the dock, and it too goes onto the siding temporarily.

The FBOX goes to the warehouse; it is set out on the main.

The CN car goes to the dock.  The ELS box is not needed.  Both go on the siding for now.

Finally, the two CSX boxcars (both going to the warehouse) are coupled to the FBOX.  The crew shoves the three loads down the main, clear of the warehouse switch.  They leave room for one more car between the three cars and the switch. 

They left room on the main because this CSXT hi-cube spotted at the warehouse is a partial load that needs respotted.  The crew pulls this car from the warehouse and throws it out on the main with the other loads.

With the CSXT respot out of the way, the crew can pull the empties from the warehouse spur.

They couple back to the loads on the main, then spot them at the warehouse.  Some jockeying is required to get the car doors lined up with the warehouse doors.

Still holding on to the empties from the warehouse, the crew goes down to the dock to pull two more empties there.

Making the joint...

All the empties are now set out on the interchange for pickup by CSXT.

Having dropped the empties, the crew returns to the siding.  They uncouple the starch car and leave it on the siding, taking the three boxcars with them.

Now it's a simple move to spot the GT and CN cars at the dock.

Finally, the crew pulls back with the ELS car (remember it wasn't requested today)...

and places it back on the siding with the starch hopper.

The crew shuts down the 318 and climbs off.  They'll complete their day at another switching operation across town.

FIRST OP SESSION -- October 31, 2010

This week I completed benchwork construction, built a temporary model of the Anne Street overpass at New Castle Jct., and conducted my first real operating session.  Because it's such a milestone for me, I chose to photograph the session as I went along.  Pardon the lack of scenery, amorphous buildings and large red track pins:-)

It's a cold November morning as we head to the New Castle Industrial Park.  We get a glimpse of the railroad as we cross the Anne Street Bridge.  CSX dropped seven cars on the industrial lead overnight.  Looks like PCA has a full compliment of boxcars at the warehouse/dock and there are a couple cars on the storage track... 

We arrive at the north end of the industrial park, off Commerce Street, where RS-11 no. 318 is kept tied down.  Our engineer arrived a few minutes before we did and 318 is already alive and idling in the morning sun.  He performs his walk around inspection and we go inside the office to retrieve our paperwork...

We find our switchlist in the fax machine:

ISS New Castle   7 November 2009

CSXT Inbound
TR 405543 Pulpboard
TR 405418 Pulpboard
RBOX 303309 Pulpboard     *Spot Warehouse*
NAHX 99628 Mg02     *Spot Premier*
EEC 3150 Pulpboard     *Spot Warehouse*
GTW 306636 Pulpboard    
WC 21084 Pulpboard     *Spot Dock*

New Castle Holding
RBOX 33604 Pulpboard     *Spot Warehouse*
CSXT 136007  Pulpboard

PCA Dock
CN 405690 Empty    *Pull*
CNA 419309 Empty     *Pull*

PCA Warehouse

CNA 419341 Empty     *Pull*
CSXT 136026 Empty    *Respot Dock*
CSXT 141068 Empty     *Pull*

We go over the switchlist on the way down to New Castle Jct, thinking about the moves we need to make.  Here we are at PCA.  Stopping to unlock switches and remove derails at the plant...  

Then we tie onto our inbounds, charge air and inspect the cars...

 

Inspection and brake test complete, we pull north a few carlengths and prepare for our first move...spotting the Premier hopper.  We make our cut on the main...

Then we go into the holding track, grab the two boxcars and bring them out on the main...  

With the holding track now clear, we can tie back onto the hopper and spot it at the far end of the holding track, near the underpass...

It takes another 30 minutes or so to build our inbound loads into spot order and deal the others into the holding track...

Now we run light into the plant spur to grab the outbounds... 

CSXT 136026 is an empty, which PCA requested to be respotted at the dock for scrap cardboard loading.  To do this, we tie a handbrake on the CN car and leave it on the PCA spur...

This allows us to kick out our CSXT car, coupling it to our inbound loads on the main...

Then we go back and grab our empty CN...

Spotting the inbounds.  With all the fork trucks and personnel at the dock and warehouse, we try to make one pull out and one shove back in.  Much safer than shifting cars on the plant spur...

Two cars spotted at the dock: a loaded WC hi-cube and the empty CSXT...

Setting off the outbounds.  Viewed from Anne Street... 
 

Time to warm up in the cab and complete our wheel report as we run light back to the end of track at Commerce Street...