"The Boonville Switch"

On April 24, 2020, Mohawk, Adirondack & Northern's Alco's Nos. 2453, 2456 & 805 brought a 76-car train north out of Utica NY on the road's 45-mile Lyons Falls line. Four cars were bulkhead flats consigned to 3B Timber, Boonville, one car, a covered hopper, was consigned to Bailey's Boonville Mill and the remaining seventy-one cars, all tanks, were to be stored north of Boonville on otherwise unused track.
Scenes of the big train as it headed up Remsen hill are featured in my video, "Roaring Up Remsen Hill!!," posted on this channel.
This video contains views of the train's moves, both switching and shoving, in Boonville, after switching occurred to spot the bulkhead flats and re-position the engines.
Included here is switching at Bailey's Boonville Mill, which drew these comments from Trainorders member pdt: "Wow! An old fashion 2 car gravity dump trestle siding. Shades of when every branch line in the northeast had several coal company consignees with coal dump trestles."

[@JawTooth]

That was some awesome old school railroading! That reminds me of watching loaded coal cars being retrieved from a coal tipple siding that dipped way down off the Chessie main line in West Prestonsburg Kentucky in the early 80s. Its long gone now and there aren't many scenes left like this.

[@AndreiTupolev]

Very picturesque opening scene, with that octagonal blue shack with the chimney sticking up out of it and the train rockin' its way between the houses.

[@1_lens_view]

Complete with some pretty rough trackage. Love it. These scenes, maybe still common 50-60 years ago, are becoming pretty few and far between. Thanks for sharing.

[@jamesd2128]

Love that feed mill spur, old school in the best possible way.

[@scottiebartz2534]

I love watching engines hook up to the freight cars

[@paulbergen9114]

Well done boy are those some narrow right of ways. A lot of tank car trains in storage don't go over very big in rural communities. The unloading chute is a classic that's virtually extinct. Sadly due to liability issues as well as land utilization an old coal dock in Hartford WI friendly succumbed after the last few years three-bay concrete on a fairly High Trestle that was definitely built for short cars. With the way energy usage is going in America it's amazing these cars can even go into storage.

[@hubertbartels6114]

Michael Condelli - You are correct. The rail worker is setting the brakes on the hopper car. Note that earlier, the empty hopper's handbrake was released before moving it. It's all to keep train cars from moving on their own.

[@tplyons5459]

All ALCO Century video...LOVE IT!

[@briank.8925]

Ramblers video from 7.30.24 brought me here. Cool stuff!

[@PhilFeedback]

Great video footage, thanks for sharing your video with us!

[@johnzeller1338]

Love watching switching out moves like that. Nice video 👍 Thanks.

[@Mercatoyd]

Awesome close up hands on action .. would love to see the mechanism down in the pit that hooks up to the covered hopper that unload the delivery. Thanks for sharing that excellent action.

[@Maurice00PA]

Me too! From this angle it looks like only one bay at a time over the unloading conveyor, unless there is some sort of trough system.

[@scottpool4777]

Yes I do too yeah it makes you feel like you’re really there turning the handbrake and such like that is wonderful awesome.

[@Greatdome99]

The 805 is a long way from home. It's a former BC Rail unit (still in its BCR color scheme and road #).

[@scottw4603]

Ya I'm from BC, it brings back the memories

[@TheKurtsPlaceChannel]

Very cool video. Thanks for posting and have a nice day too.

[@Ithinkiwill66]

I haven't seen a secondary level track spur siding since I was 5!! This is awesome!

[@get2dachoppa249]

That would make for an interesting trackside industry on an HO layout, with the siding three feet lower than the main track. Its shows up decently in Google street view.

[@terrygraham3609]

Love the train horn nice loud 👌👍 beautiful

[@he5975]

Imagine doing that all the livelong day.

[@markcarey8426]

Quite an angle getting down to that spur, could be the long-range lens too I guess. Nice bit of action, thanks.

[@conrailjohn6682]

Awesome switching!

[@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan]

I can't help but notice that these Alcos share the same paint scheme as the Delaware Lackawanna Railroad of Scranton Pennsylvania

[@railroadingrambler218]

Same company owns this railroad.

[@superbluhedgehog1]

Nice filming there. Started by the museum as they approach, then up to the feed mill for the swap. Honestly haven't seen more than 3 or 4 times those rails were used in person...but nice to see them still operating up there.

[@SupaFly10579]

Killing me with these clips!

[@BK6160K2]

No graffiti on all carriages!

[@spuds6423]

We don't stand for that tomfoolery here in the North Country!!!!😄😄😄😄😄😄

[@Airmax1]

Glad ex BCR 805 is still working, miss that horn !

[@marynichols438]

Amazing. Most people don't realize how much work is entailed to make a train move. Myself included. Excellent video.

[@spaceage1060]

Nice, wobbly rails.

[@ShizukuSeiji]

I live in the UK and modern British railways do not interest me at all - perhaps because I'm a freight fan and there is very little interesting shunting now in our country. But I can sit and watch US switching operations all day long. The fact there are still rail-served small industries is very strange when you think it would make a lot more economic sense to have deliveries and dispatching by road. The loco going down the short steep grade at 3:41 was very cool.

[@thebluetarp]

I would not get that close to an insanely wobbly train like that. Crazy!

[@freebrickproductions]

Great catch!

[@davep6977]

great video. I was sitting engrossed on watching when that blur effect happened. That's GOTA go

[@AndreiTupolev]

what blur effect?

[@Lynchfan88]

Another excellent Railroading Rambler production. Near the end, the one rail worker is working on the green hopper and cranking the wheel to the right. Is that a brake wheel/setting of some sort?

[@TheNorthwestWind]

amazing railroading

[@freighttrainsahpassing9790]

Nice endgines and green hopper !!

[@scorelett4416]

Very nice!

[@jimkammerer8028]

GREAT VIDEO AWESOME INFORMATION AND GREAT VIDEO I APPRECIATE YOU AND YOUR TIME HAVE A GREAT DAY BE SAFE AND CAREFUL JIM KAMMERER OF PHILADELPHIA PA THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

[@jacquesblaque7728]

Good to NOT be shouting (caps-lock). Just good manners.

[@PGHammer21A]

Actually, I'm thinking of the CSX Benning Road yard - it services NRG (ex-PEPCO) Benning Road power plant.

[@realcanadianrailfan110]

Nice catches. :)

[@peggan471]

Thanks

[@markmccummins8049]

Beginning to 0:53 - is that little blue building a railroad structure?

[@jamesa6272]

I would of had the handbrake on already shoving into that block.

[@richardnone5644]

i am sorry to say i have been to boonville fair a few times in my youth ha ha ha

[@lasalleman]

Great old school railroadin'.

[@amessman]

Sounds like the Razor Train

[@dieselwdm2]

nice

[@ELSTrainTuber501]

What type of engine that at the start of video!

[@pluey200]

Are there still 8 inch incandescents on this line?

[@scottw4603]

Bouncy castle train, or train castle

[@jaybane3759]

Is this Booneville Mississippi?

[@navypap]

New York

[@the1darknight]

Wow! How long can they refuse to service their rails before they have a catastrophic derailment? So much in the north done on-the-cheap! How many feds were paid off to operate horrific rails like that? smh

[@RM.....]

rough looking rails in spots.roller coaster in places,guess thats why they dont go all that fast most of the time but still

[@rob216]

I saw placard hazemat cars right on the end with the engine.

[@davemorford5662]

I'm sure if they had the money to repair the rails they would.

[@railroadingrambler218]

@@rob216 Yes, but they all empties.

[@rob216]

@@railroadingrambler218 Doesn't matter if they are empties. By law they need at least one spacer between them and the engine.

[@CosgroveNotts]

Muricans love engines at the front

[@jacquesblaque7728]

Not the only ones who do. Good also with distributed power mid-train, and pushing from the stern. With control up-front.