Operating Session November 25th, 2000

This was the fourth operating session of the year 2000, and the first for the 2000-2001 winter season.

Thanksgiving weekend dawned bright on the Moose Valley.  A good turnout of 11 operators provided the evening with a memorable list of accomplishments.  New for this operating session was the newly opened Hermann-Beers yard, and a portion of the McKendree branch to Enid.   Startup was reasonably prompt at 1400 hours.  A good performance was given.   Compare the statistics with the last OS.  A full 11 hours were put in by the crews.  Three men who stayed overnight in the YMCA were working late into the night.  MV22-U was loaded after midnight at Weeter Mine #2, and a very proficient WOR-25 retrieved a Penn Central caboose from Caruthers tunnel that had been left on its side for six months.  This train worked an hour and a half using two 200 ton cranes to load the errant hack onto a flat car for transport to Greenspring yard, arriving at 0120 hours. 

Operator Tom from Reading waits patiently for the passage of MV31-UET, the test train from the McKendree Branch to pass his location at Hermann-Beers yard.  The Carlisle to Millersburg train MVRC-31 is the first to use the new facility at milepost 30.0 

Engineer M. Adams is reviewing the test data for the McKendree Branch, as he prepares another train.

The McKendree Branch alignment is visible behind engineman B. Gingrich as he makes adjustments to his controls. 

This Arial view shows AJ-2 stalled on the hill, as a helper from Berkeley Springs is dispatched to assist.  Clerks M.T. Agne and T. Beers await additional instructions for the next crew call, while Yardmaster R. Gantz completes another wheel report at Greenspring.  J. Gantz and M.L. Agne assess the seriousness of the situation.

Looking every bit the rappers they are, engineer M. Kohl and Signal Maintainer V. Kiehl along with T. Beers asses the switching dilemma at Hermann-Beers yard.

M. Kohl and T. Beers share the airwaves as they supervise the activities at their respective locations.

In what could be the last view of the Helix uncovered, a northbound train exits New Oxford tunnel, and enters the town of Spruce Hill.  The signals at Summit are a misnomer, as the town of Spruce Hill is no longer the highest point on the line.

The town of Corvallis has grown somewhat, thanks to the prosperity that locomotive maintenance contractor Becker Controls has brought to the town.  What the Becker facility lacks in size, it makes up for in capability.  The Moose Valley has utilized their extensive high-tech environment to perform many high-end tests and configuration evaluations making the Moose Valley's own Dynamic Consist Control locomotive enhancement technology a winner in revenue generation and productivity assurance.

Here we see Berkeley Springs Roundhouse Foreman K. Mazer, discussing rescue options for the stalled AJ-2.

Meanwhile, 32 miles north, another test train exits the McKendree branch with engineer M. Adams in charge.

Moose Valley Alco C-435 number 119 exits New Tunnel having left Hermann-Beers yard as the first Northbound revenue train from Carlisle.  Engineer M. Kohl is at the throttle.  A short while later, his brace of chortling beasts grind around Valley Loop. 

Thanks to everyone for a great OS!  Many thanks to Mike Keiser for the digital photography.  Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas from the management of the