North Dover B&M Crew Assembles Traffic for B&M Train MP3

Local Crew Blocks Traffic For Next Train 

In my previous post, I shared with you how Train MP3 was being readied at Lowell Junction.

That train will arrive North Dover later in the morning.  

The North Dover crew must assemble traffic for MP3 before its arrival.

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The switching orders above pertain to the crew stationed at North Dover.  They will search the yard for the two cars required for the next outbound train.  Outbound, in B&M parlance, means the train is  travelling"outward" or "away" from Boston.  It is for this reason, the town crew will block these two cars and deposit them to the outbound end of the yard for ease of pickup by the crew aboard MP3.

They will conduct their work aboard B&M Alco product number 1170.

Our switching orders tell us that two cars will be lifted by MP3 today.  A quick search of the yard tells us that both cars are on the north siding, quite a distance from each other.  We spot one of the lifts for the train, this Nickel Plate gon.

As well as this 50' Grand Trunk Western boxcar..

Our switch engine is on the south siding.

So, the crew will pull out onto the main.

In front of the station.

They will head to the outbound end of the yard because they will want to place their traffic to the outbound end of the north siding.  They do this as train MP3 is an outbound train.

They round the big curve in town.

Nearing the outbound end of the yard.

The crew approaches Boundary Road.

They cross the road where they will take the turnout onto the north siding.

Now on the north siding, they pull the long cut of cars from the siding.  That GTW is one of their lifts, but it is not the deepest in the cut so they won't worry about it yet.

Aha!  The NKP gon.  Now the crew can stop their train.

They make the cut.

The locomotive now is across the Salmon River and in the state of Maine.

While their traffic is still in New Hampshire.

With clearance from dispatch, they push their furthest lift onto the main and leave it there.

They return across Boundary Road to shove the other traffic back onto the north siding.

Make the cut at their second lift, the GTW 50' boxcar.

They've isolated their two cars.

Now they pull them back.

Straddling the Salmon River on Stanley Bridge they prepare to push the two cars back onto the north siding in town

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The two cars are now deposited on the outbound end of the north siding where they will be an easy pick-up for train MP3 when it arrives heading outbound.

Thanks so much for checking in!

Mike Hamer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada