Pulling loaded gons from Sims

The RPRC is flooded with gondolas lately. As the global economy has taken a nose dive, demand for export scrap appears to have dropped. At least it has out of the Port of Richmond. Six months ago, Sims was receiving scrap and transloading to ships bound for Asia.  Lately, Sims has been loading a lot of empty gondolas with scrap and sending it elsewhere by rail.

As a quick snapshot, there were about 35 loaded gons at Central Ave on the Waterside Drill, about a dozen gons in Safeway Yard, seven on Safeway Siding, a few dozen more at 23rd Street Yard, twenty odd in Seaver Yard, about 15 in Parr Yard which is only two tracks now and five or six being loaded at Sims. The gons at Central and in Safeway siding are loaded waiting for the Union Pacific and BNSF to collect them, the rest are empty waiting to be loaded at Sims.

The loaded scrap gondolas are pulled from the Sims plant by their critter and left for the RPRC on the track between Sims Jct and the port. The RPRC has been busy moving them out to interchange and delivering empties to the plant.

I caught a cut of loads being pulled away from Sims by the RPRC. I just missed the RPRC 2285 on the head end but I was mainly interested in capturing the gons.

I really like the sound these cars make as they are being eased around a very tight curve leading into the port area. The cut stopped a few times as the crew lined switches ahead of the train. A neat layout idea would be to connect a motion sensor on the scrap yard track to a recording of these flange sounds.

The Sims plant is interesting from a modeling perspective. 

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It has it’s own switcher and it’s own internal trackage.  It receives loads and empties, as well as old freight cars and the occasional locomotive at the end of its days. The plant has no significant buildings to be constructed.  Loads or empties are left outside the plant making for easy coupling and uncoupling of cars.

Reader Bonus!

Here’s a quick reader treasure hunt based on the Sims plant  Click the “plus” to zoom in on the Google map above, and drag the map around to find the following:

• six gondolas loaded with scrap
• two empty gons waiting outside the plant on the RPRC track
• eight doomed boxcars
• the Sims critter (blue and white)
• six spurs inside the plant

For extra points, find these:

• the tight left hand curve leading to the Port of Richmond
• BNSF Siberia Lead (pink ballast)
• the Richmond Pacific locomotive area
• a second Sims critter
• a coal ship being loaded
• three ethanol cars at the loadout
• two bay hopper at the cemex plant

Enjoy!

- Coxy