Expanding The Tropicana Juice Facility

Greetings followers of the Atlantic Pacific Railroad and my blog!

The Tropicana Juice Facility is one of the major industries on the layout. It has a dedicated train that runs from staging on my railroad to the facility on Rock Ridge Yard secondary. This was built in 2008 and has been on three of my layouts including this one. 

The backdrop on the facility is a shade of blue and while the building is a nice size, to the sides of the building is plain. In my opinion, it's missing something...

That being said, I looked online to see if I can find some kits made by Great West Models, as this is what I used to kitbash Tropicana. Unfortunately, they are no longer made and Ebay has none. The closest thing I found, other than making it from scratch pieces was the Walthers Grocery Warehouse. 

The kit is actually made in a yellowish beige. I gave the parts that I needed a coat of Rustoleum flat white spray. I added some loading doors on one side of the building and the other side added walls and doors for an office. 

Here are some photos of the area before the additions...

And now....

Added the additional details to the area...

Here's a short video of the Tropicana 64' Trinity reefers being shoved back on to the property...

The industry now has a massive look to it. I did consider adding another track to the area, but when I consulted a couple of the guys that run trains on the layout, and listening to their comments and a few 'ARE YOU CRAZY' remarks, I decided against it...

The add-on looks great and I'm sure when visitors take a look at the building, they'll be very impressed!

Thanks for reading!

P.C.C.M. #92 - Coal Has Arrived!

Welcome back to the inbound portion of Penn Central Car Movement #92 on the A.P.R.R. Today we'll see the arrival of the train from Hudson Coal and T&R Gravel in Empire City, serviced by Sir John's N.Y.C.T.L. Railroad. 

Penn Central Extra 3175 departed Terminal Yard yesterday, and has just arrived on the outskirts of Rock Ridge Yard. The crew is waiting for the signal at West Harold Interlocking...

They have the signal, an approach to Little Jamaica Interlocking, then to Rock Ridge Yard...

Here's PC Extra 3175 heading to Rock Ridge Yard...

The crew has a stop signal at the Rock Ridge Yard Limit. Once they get the signal, they'll proceed into the yard....

They have the approach and they'll wind their way into Rock Ridge Yard...

A quick stop at CP South as they get an update about the yard...

The Penn Central crew is greeted by 1:87 Scale Engineer NJ John, and is Yardmaster of the day...

Now that the train is arrived in the yard, AP MP15 engines #106 & #107 with 1:87 Scale Engineers Norman and Mark are handling the breakdown duties today..

The train has the 11 coal hoppers from Hudson Coal, 4 PS-2 covered hoppers loaded with sand from T&R Gravel as well as 4 AP hoppers with ballast for track maintenance and expansion. Did I say expansion?

Norman and Mark start to break down the train...

Here's the AP crew working on the coal train....

The train is broken down and they'll send 6 of the coal cars over to R.M.O. Electric, Rock Ridge's Premier source for power...

AP SW1500 #100 will head over to the yard and pick up the six coal cars. 1:87 Scale JP is in the seat...

He checks in at the yard office and will pick up the cars..

Ready to head back to the power plant, he waits for the signal..

...And off he goes!

JP will drop 3 cars on tracks 3 & 4. As the other coal hoppers are unloaded, JP will move the cars around the 4 tracks..

A quick move and the power plant tracks are full. The remaining 5 cars will sit in the yard and be requested as needed...

Norman and Mark have placed the remaining 5 cars on the east ladder tracks..

The caboose pulled off from the end of the PS-2 covered hoppers that will go to the APRR Richmond Hill Engine Terminal. The crew will add the caboose back on the PC engines 3175/3180..

PC engines 3175 & 3180 are ready to depart Rock Ridge Yard...

And thru Little Jamaica Interlocking...

The M&E crew is going to pick up the 4 PS-2 covered hoppers loaded with sand for APRR's Richmond Hill Engine Terminal. 1:87 Scale Engineer Steve and his trusty conductor Bob handle the job...

They approach the yard, caboose on the head end. Many have asked why the caboose is on the head. When within yard limits, yards, or secondary tracks, there's no rule on where the caboose is located, as long as there is someone watching the front or rear of the train. The APRR will use this configuration whenever they can...

They drop the caboose so the AP yard crew can give them the sand hoppers..

They pick up the caboose and are ready to head out...

They await the signal to depart the yard..

The train departs Rock Ridge Yard...

It's a wrap! That concludes the inbound portion of P.C.C.M. #92 on the Atlantic Pacific Railroad.

Don't forget to check out both Sir John's N.Y.C.T.L. Railroad and PC Ralph's Kings Port Division Railroad which are truly Penn Central inspired!!

Stop back often for more Penn Central Car Movements as well as new things happening to the Atlantic Pacific Railroad!

Thanks for reading!

P.C.C.M. #92 - A Call For Coal In The Spring? We Need Coal!

Welcome to Penn Central Car Movement #92! This is a three layout adventure featuring Sir John's N.Y.C.T.L. Railroad and PC Ralph's Kings Port Division Railroad and my Atlantic Pacific Railroad. Today's movement on the A.P.R.R. will be between my layout and Sir John's layout. Sir John will interchange between his railroad and Ralph's railroad.

While it's Spring in Rock Ridge, the weather feels more like winter and the demand for power to heat up homes and businesses has pushed R.M.O. Electric to generate more power than normally needed this time of the year. What does the Power Plant do? Why they reach out to their main supplier, Hudson Coal in Empire City on the N.Y.C.T.L.

Today the crew of 1:87 Scale Engineers Dan & Matt will be working to get the outbound cars blocked for the journey to Hudson Coal in Empire City...

A number of empty coal cars have been sitting in Rock Ridge Yard waiting for the journey to Hudson Coal. The capacity at R.M.O. Electric is limited, so both inbound and outbound overflow stay in either Rock Ridge Yard or Rock Ridge East Yard....

The crew waits for the rest of the empty hoppers to come over from the power plant..

Over at the power plant, AP SW1500 #100 has 1:87 Scale Engineer JP ready to bring over the empties once the yardmaster radios him with clearance to head over...

Six cars will be brought over to the yard...

The cars are ready to go over..

The cars are dropped in the yard..

JP heads back to the power plant...

AP #100 returns to the power plant...

There's more cars that need to head over to Empire City. M&E engines #18 & 19 picked up 4 Penn Central PS-2 covered hoppers that haul sand from T&R Gravel to the APRR Richmond Hill Engine Terminal. Sand is used for the engines to help in traction, and areas where there may be wheel slippage. The train is just outside the Little Jamaica Interlocking waiting for the signal to proceed...

They've got the approach signal and head out...

Here's the move to Rock Ridge Yard...

...And they arrive in Rock Ridge Yard...

The AP Yard crew starts to pull the covered hoppers off the M&E Train....

And add the cars to the rest of the outbound coal hoppers...

The M&E train has his caboose and will head out of Rock Ridge Yard...

The crew runs light with the caboose on the head end for a short run over to Rock Ridge East Yard...

The crew heads out...

The crew is back in Rock Ridge East Yard...

Now the Penn Central train has arrived at the east end of Little Jamaica Interlocking. A pair of GP40 Engines, PC 3175 & 3180 with that classic "Orange C" is at the ready..

The AP crew pulls the caboose off the end of the engines..

They pull the caboose back to CP South so they can shove the cars on to the train..

A total of 11 empty coal hoppers and 4 PC PS-2 covered hoppers will comprise this train...

Let's watch the AP crew get the cars ready for departure....

The caboose is added to the rear of the train....

PC Extra Train #3175 is ready for departure from Rock Ridge Yard...

Next stop! Selkirk for refueling and crew change. Final destination! Terminal Yard in Empire City!

Stop back in the next couple days for the return of the coal hoppers, covered hoppers and more from Empire City!

Thanks for reading!