Railroading on the D&H Sonnyvale branch
more cars from the rear of the Hill Freight. They return to Fenimore to de- liver the cars to waiting customers. Si- multaneously, the Hill Freight’s power runs around its train, couples to the in- bound block of Sonnyvale cars, and places them in the yard.
The Hill Freight sometimes has to cool its heels while the passenger local spots its storage mail car just north of the depot, runs around its coach and prepares to depart south as train No. 162. The freight crew gripes that their early quit is slipping away. In reality
they know that if they return to Junc- tion now they won’t be able to get into the yard anyway because the Junction yard job, at work since 8 a.m., will have the yard all tied up. Thus, the Hill Freight fellows decide it’s an ideal time for coffee or even an early lunch at the
Working Kip Grant’s D&H Sonnyvale branch
know, there is a lot of humor and “stretchers” involved in these sessions. More importantly, they put you into a prototype frame of mind for the railroading to follow. However there is often useful information here that we can use later in the op sessions. While Kip’s operators certainly have fun,
there is a level of seriousness present. I be- lieve this is due to Kip’s expectations of what
PHOTOS BY KIP GRANT
Two D&H retirees are regulars in Kip Grant’s Train Night group. Bill Frazier, left, went to work as an extra clerk in Whitehall, NY in 1965 and within two years was a yardmaster. Bill was the last yardmaster to work at Whitehall and Fort Edward and was yardmaster at Saratoga Springs when he retired in 1999. Jim Lafayette, a 5th gen- eration D&H railroader, hired out as a trainman in 1965. Following a leave of ab- sence for service in the US Navy, he quali- fied as conductor in 1970 and held that post until retirement in 2002.
E 48
ntering Kip’s finished basement, his operators pass through a comfortable “crew lounge” where we share recent
rail and community news while awaiting call times for our jobs. We’ll also take an opportu- nity to look over his workbench to see what his current modeling projects are. Here, too, the retired D&H boys “hold court.” Al Fish, Bill Frazier and Jim Lafayette regale the rest of us with stories of their days on the job. As anyone who has talked with railroaders will
Conductor Charlie Sweet gestures to crew members on the head end of the Hill Freight at the Jasperdale depot.
They
have stopped with the caboose on the far side of the Rocky Brook bridge meaning Sweet can neither help off-load local freight from the train’s l.c.l. car nor shoot the breeze with the station agent.
Conductor Jack Hewitt rides the steps of an S-4 while trainman Bill Townsend walks to a boxcar deep on Track 2 in Junction Yard. Kip’s Train Night group has learned from the retired railroaders among them that to save time and wasted steps while switching it’s usually smart to uncouple cars at the head end of yard tracks.
an operating session should be. He has brought a lot of prototype savvy to this layout in its planning, construction and operation. All of this has been and is accomplished at a high level of proficiency as well as enjoy- ment. The layout operates reliably in every respect; electrically, mechanically and proto- typically. Derailments caused by track or rolling
stock or locomotives are very rare. Of course there are human error situations, but these are uncommon as well. I think such great and satisfying sessions are due to Kip’s seemingly intuitive expectations of himself and of his op- erators. He has done his level best to create a
APRIL 2013
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