Extra 727 East - parts 1 and 2
The call boy has notified the crew, and as two yard engines busy themselves making up the train, the hostler comes out of the shops to ready the loco. This morning, it's the 27, a Consolidation belonging to the Erie Northshore's parent road, the Grand Valley. She's pretty much ready to go after some minor repair work on a pilot footboard. Mogul 34, passing by in the background, is heading over to nearby Port Maitland to switch some loads out of Gern Industries. They'll be added to our train, along with a few cars off the TH&B interchange.
The hostler and his helper first need to turn the loco. While they're at it, they'll pick up scale test car 174 from one of the table tracks. It's headed for the EG&E interchange at Dunnville and will be more than a bit of a headache for the road crew. It has to move at the end of the train, and only by one coupler. That means behind the caboose and it has to be cut off and moved separately when working the rear of the train, a real inconvenience on a division where trains are worked from both ends. Normally, this car would move behind a coal train, which does no enroute switching.
Here we see the scale car being spotted on the south main. Our loco will come back in on the near track in in the photo above to pick up a caboose for the train, set it on top of the scale car, then slip over to the water tower near the river to top up the tank.
Meanwhile, Mogul 37 is picking up a load of hogs from the Lowbanks Stockyards to add to our train. The switchman has just hopped onto the footboard, but that traffic will have to wait until the hostler crosses with the 27 on the near track as he heads for water.
The helper is manning the spout, as traffic scurries over the crossing.
While traffic clears, loco 37 has dragged the stockcar down to Hoffentoth Bros. icehouse and is picking up two ice service reefers, also for our train.
Mogul 37 bustles out of the spur, then backs onto the north main and drops the two ice cars. She then clatters forward, over the crossing, tacks the carload of hogs onto the tender of the waiting 27, and then scurries back into the icehouse spur, her morning's work completed.
When 37 is in the clear, the hostler backs the stockcar onto the north main and couples onto the ice cars, parking near the station platform and with the hogs right beside combine Willowgrove, parked on the south main at the station platform, just west of the scale car and caboose on the same track. Let's hope that the combine's windows are closed. She'll be going out this afternoon on a mixed behind Mogul 37 and sister 34. As the hostler and his helper head for a break, the switch crew relaxes near the icehouse.
Speaking of the 34, while all this activity is going on in Lowbanks, Mogul 34 has been busy in Port Maitland. The first order of business, as an east wind kicks up a few whitecaps out on the bay, is to pick up a load of bagged flux from the GERN warehouse.
She next doubles over to the silo track to pick up a covered hopper, loaded with the same commodity. The flatcar is acting as an idler, handy for reaching cars spotted farther in. The white "R" on the red sign, just past the end of the boxcar, denotes a severe clearance restriction which prohibits all locos and many cars from entering the loading area.
While the switchman readies a knuckle, the hogger hustles the two loads into the canyon between the buildings, where he'll reverse, then come back, into the siding to pick up another load.
EG&E 6832 is an early covered hopper, designed by the railroad and built by National Steel Car. Some years later, ACF marketed a similar car with some success. 6802 is one of the road's first covered hoppers, a Fowler Patent car fitted with roof hatches and four longitudinal hoppers. It's in assigned service hauling granulated flux, used in glassmaking, and recently, in pharmaceuticals.
After coupling on to the seven cars on the interchange track, left here earlier by a train off the TH&B, our intrepid crew hurries to drop their assembled train on the main, then get in the clear on the empty interchange track. That CPR reefer, loading at Finlay Fresh Fish, will be going out later today on the Mixed, behind 34 and 37.
With their loco safely tucked away, the crew heads for coffee in the yard office, while the Yardmaster hollers mock complaints about the lateness of the hour.
In truth, the road crew has just picked up their orders at the station, and after stowing their gear, will back to nearby Port Maitland and onto the waiting train. After pulling past the station again, they'll double over to the south main to pick up their caboose and that troublesome scale test car.
To be continued...
Wayne
The call boy has notified the crew, and as two yard engines busy themselves making up the train, the hostler comes out of the shops to ready the loco. This morning, it's the 27, a Consolidation belonging to the Erie Northshore's parent road, the Grand Valley. She's pretty much ready to go after some minor repair work on a pilot footboard. Mogul 34, passing by in the background, is heading over to nearby Port Maitland to switch some loads out of Gern Industries. They'll be added to our train, along with a few cars off the TH&B interchange.
The hostler and his helper first need to turn the loco. While they're at it, they'll pick up scale test car 174 from one of the table tracks. It's headed for the EG&E interchange at Dunnville and will be more than a bit of a headache for the road crew. It has to move at the end of the train, and only by one coupler. That means behind the caboose and it has to be cut off and moved separately when working the rear of the train, a real inconvenience on a division where trains are worked from both ends. Normally, this car would move behind a coal train, which does no enroute switching.
Here we see the scale car being spotted on the south main. Our loco will come back in on the near track in in the photo above to pick up a caboose for the train, set it on top of the scale car, then slip over to the water tower near the river to top up the tank.
Meanwhile, Mogul 37 is picking up a load of hogs from the Lowbanks Stockyards to add to our train. The switchman has just hopped onto the footboard, but that traffic will have to wait until the hostler crosses with the 27 on the near track as he heads for water.
The helper is manning the spout, as traffic scurries over the crossing.
While traffic clears, loco 37 has dragged the stockcar down to Hoffentoth Bros. icehouse and is picking up two ice service reefers, also for our train.
Mogul 37 bustles out of the spur, then backs onto the north main and drops the two ice cars. She then clatters forward, over the crossing, tacks the carload of hogs onto the tender of the waiting 27, and then scurries back into the icehouse spur, her morning's work completed.
When 37 is in the clear, the hostler backs the stockcar onto the north main and couples onto the ice cars, parking near the station platform and with the hogs right beside combine Willowgrove, parked on the south main at the station platform, just west of the scale car and caboose on the same track. Let's hope that the combine's windows are closed. She'll be going out this afternoon on a mixed behind Mogul 37 and sister 34. As the hostler and his helper head for a break, the switch crew relaxes near the icehouse.
Speaking of the 34, while all this activity is going on in Lowbanks, Mogul 34 has been busy in Port Maitland. The first order of business, as an east wind kicks up a few whitecaps out on the bay, is to pick up a load of bagged flux from the GERN warehouse.
She next doubles over to the silo track to pick up a covered hopper, loaded with the same commodity. The flatcar is acting as an idler, handy for reaching cars spotted farther in. The white "R" on the red sign, just past the end of the boxcar, denotes a severe clearance restriction which prohibits all locos and many cars from entering the loading area.
While the switchman readies a knuckle, the hogger hustles the two loads into the canyon between the buildings, where he'll reverse, then come back, into the siding to pick up another load.
EG&E 6832 is an early covered hopper, designed by the railroad and built by National Steel Car. Some years later, ACF marketed a similar car with some success. 6802 is one of the road's first covered hoppers, a Fowler Patent car fitted with roof hatches and four longitudinal hoppers. It's in assigned service hauling granulated flux, used in glassmaking, and recently, in pharmaceuticals.
After coupling on to the seven cars on the interchange track, left here earlier by a train off the TH&B, our intrepid crew hurries to drop their assembled train on the main, then get in the clear on the empty interchange track. That CPR reefer, loading at Finlay Fresh Fish, will be going out later today on the Mixed, behind 34 and 37.
With their loco safely tucked away, the crew heads for coffee in the yard office, while the Yardmaster hollers mock complaints about the lateness of the hour.
In truth, the road crew has just picked up their orders at the station, and after stowing their gear, will back to nearby Port Maitland and onto the waiting train. After pulling past the station again, they'll double over to the south main to pick up their caboose and that troublesome scale test car.
To be continued...
Wayne
