IT's TEAM TRACK TUESDAY!!! Share your railroad's team track action here!
Team track are a vital part of real life railroads daily operations. Team tracks are found in remote rural, small towns, and large cities locations. Practically every kind of freight car can be off/on loaded on a team track. Some passenger and MOW equipment can also be on and off loaded on a team track.
If you have a simple loop of track with an undesignated siding or a large museum detailed layout, feel free to post photos of your railroad's team track operations here. Photos of real railroad team track operations are welcome too! The purpose of this thread is to have some weekly fun in creating new scenes on our layouts, to inspire each other, and to learn about team track operations.
In last week's edition of TTT, Mark Diff's passenger coach scene inspired my scene for this week's edition. Thanks Mark!
On team track one in Lower Patsburg, a Pullman Company's diner has been spotted. The Pullman Co. was contacted last minute by the Free State Junction Railway to provide food service on a " special train" pinch hitting for a B&O diner. This Pullman diner was dead headed in from Pittsburg via B&Os mail train to DC, and cut out at Patsburg Station. There was no room in the coach yard or commissary track for this Pullman diner to be serviced or loaded so it was dispatched to team track one in Lower Patsburg. Its seems the B&O diner, selected for the "special train" had a bad wheel report last minute and was taken out of service by the car department. Always willing to be of service, The Pullman Co stepped up and dispatched this car to provide dining services on the Chesapeake Special .... a train taking shippers and potential shippers on a tour of Maryland from the Allegheny Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay. The Pullman car's kitchen, loading from both sides, is being stocked with only the finest food. Pullman chef Rene deLeon, dressed in his white chef regalia, is seen peering into the back of the Santana's produce truck as he selects only the "finest" produce. Chef deLeon has been with the Pullman Company for over 25 years and has won several national and international awards for his "culinary magic". Some day he may have his own cooking show on TV
The workers scurry at a feverish pitch to get this car loaded and underway. One worker grabs a huge pumpkin to take into the car's kitchen ... this pumpkin will later be turned into pumpkin pie. The beverages and meats were loaded first and now the produce, seafood and milk. The Santana's Produce truck driver, however, is relaxing on the front bumper of his truck while sipping on his Coca Cola. He thinks to himself " Heck I got this truck here by 7:30 a.m. like I was asked to do. I don't care how long they take to unload. I've got to 4 p.m. before its quitting time. This front bumper feels mighty comfortable!"
Andrew Harvey standing at 7ft 4 inches, the Pullman conductor ( with the company for 29 years this month and is known by fellow employees as " Anxious Andy" ) anxiously waits with his lantern in the car's vestibule doorway. He's never been late getting his car (s) to its destination. He can see the switch crew and its ALCO RS1 coming this way and he knows they will be here shortly to pull the diner to the station where it will be cut into the awaiting passenger car consist.
On the menu: Cream of Crab Soup, Vegetable Crab Soup, Seafood Bisque, Garden Salad, Raw Oysters, Fried Oysters, Steamed Shrimp, Rock Fish, Crab Cakes, Crab Imperial, Prime Rib, Maryland Fried Chicken, and for dessert: Pumpkin Pie, Homemade Ice Cream. Drinks: National Bohemian Beer, Coca Cola, Seven Up, Iced Tea, Coffee, Hot Tea and Deer Park Spring Water ( a company owned by the B&O btw ).
Share your railroad's team track photos here! We'd love to see them. See ya next week on the TEAM TRACK!!
