30 Minutes At CSX Boyles Yard and ABC Coke

My wife and I were passing through Birmingham two weeks and decided to drop off I-20 and take a quick look at CSX (nee-L&N) Boyles Yard. We were there less than thirty minutes, but got quite a little show. We started at Boyles, heard a honk from the switcher at ABC (Alabama Byproducts Company) and rushed the three blocks to shoot it, then back to the corner of Seaboard and Cedar to shoot Alabama Tennessee and Northern SD40-s. We then hopped back into the Element and headed north up I-65. It was 20-30 minutes well-spent.

CSX Boyles Yard Sign 10-13-2012

CSX facility direction sign at entry to Boyles Yard Birmingham AL 10-13-2012

CSX trespassing sign at entry to Boyles Yard Birmingham AL 10-13-2012

CSX Security Sign at Seaboard Road and Cedar Roads by CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham, Alabama 10-13-2012

Seaboard Road and Cedar St crossing at CSX Boyles Yard in Birmingham 10-13-2012

CSX #2453 SD38-2 moving south from the hump in CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham AL 10-13-2012

CSX #2452 SD38-2 moving south from the hump in Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

CSXT #620139C X-Sealand Gunderson well car moving south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham AL 10-13-2012

CSXT #620139E X-Sealand Gunderson well car moving south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham AL 10-13-2012

CSXT #620139D X-Sealand Gunderson well car moving south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham AL 10-13-2012

CSXT #620139B X-Sealand Gunderson well car moving south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham AL 10-13-2012

AIGX #400052 4-bay hopper in coke service moving south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012




AIGX #400080 4-bay hopper in coke service moving south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

CSXT #296612 4-bay coke hopper cut down from 6-bay wood chip hopper moving south into CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham AL 10-13-2012

CSXT #296612 4-bay coke hopper cut down from 6-bay wood chip hopper A-end moving south into CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham AL 10-13-2012

NYC #585032 X-CR 50' gondola in CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham AL 10-13-2012

TCMX #898278 X-NS 3-bay hopper converted for coke service CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham AL 10-13-2012

AOKX #494082 2-bay centerflow moving south into CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham AL 10-13-2012

TCMX #898292 X-NS 3-bay hopper converted for coke service CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham AL 10-13-2012

IFRX #867349 coke hopper X-ICG wood chip hopper moving south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

IFRX #4104 hopper moving south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

IFRX #3692 hopper moving south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

LW #600316 X-CSX coil car moving south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

PTTX #136276 flat car moving south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

ASHX #1320 3-bay centerflow moving south at CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

IFRX #867288 coke hopper X-ICG wood chip hopper moving south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

IFRX #867287 coke hopper X-ICG wood chip hopper moving south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

ABCX #1500 SW1500 X-SP shoving cars back at ABC Coke 10-13-2012

ABCX #1500 SW1500 X-SP switching ABC Coke 10-13-2012

ABCX #1500 SW1500 X-SP switching CSX coal cars at ABC Coke 10-13-2012

WAMX #4120 X-UP SD40-2 light move south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

WAMX #4120 X-UP SD40-2 light move south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

WAMX #4115 and #4120 SD40-2 drifting south through Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

WAMX #4115 X-UP SD40-2 light move south through CSX Boyles Yard Birmingham Al 10-13-2012

ABC Coke Next To CSX Boyles Yard in Birmingham in a screen grab from Google Earth.

ABC Coke in Birmingham overhead view courtesy of Google Earth.

NS-SP Stack Train Motive Power April 1995

The Norfolk Southern and Southern Pacific (later with Union Pacific) ran an APL stack train through New Orleans to be handed off to the SP at the joint SP-UP Avondale Yard on the west bank past the Huey P. Long Bridge. The west- and east-bound iterations of this train typically ran through Oliver Junction past Oliver Yard without stopping. 

See the SP APL schedule below courtesy of http://www.carrtracks.com/sptrl.htm

LBAVT began as the VAAVT and handled APL containers for Houston and to New Orleans for Southern Rwy train 222 to Atlanta. The trains increased in days of operation and by 1991 were operating from Long Beach Tuesday through Sunday. The AXAVT became the LBAVT in late 1991. LBAVT handled double stack and TOFC for New Orleans and connection with Norfolk Southern.

VAAVT	Valla	200A	Avondale Yard	830A	3	85
AXAVT1	Long Beach	Wed 1100A	Avondale	Sat 110P		86
AXAVT2	Long Beach	Sat 500A	Avondale	Tue 410A		86
AXAVT2	Long Beach	Sun 500A	Avondale	Tue 1159P		87
AXAVT5	Long Beach	Wed 500A	Avondale	Fri 1159P		87
AXAVT7	Long Beach	Fri 500A	Avondale	Sun 1159P		87
AXAVT	Long Beach	exMon 600A	Avondale	exWed 220A		91
LBAVT	Long Beach	TuWe 700A	Avondale	ThFr 320A		93
LBAVT	Long Beach	Sat 1000P	Avondale	Tue 320P		93
LBAVT	Long Beach	ThFrSa 100A	Avondale	SaSuMo 1020P		93
LBAVT1	Long Beach	ThFrSa 100A	Shrewsbury	SuMoTu 240A		94
LBAVT2	Long Beach	TuWe 700A	Shrewsbury	FrSa 640A		94
LBAVT3	Long Beach	Sun 1000P	Shrewsbury	Wed 640P		94
LBAVT4	Long Beach	TuWe 1000A	Shrewsbury	FrSa 640A		94

See the NS APL schedule below courtesy of http://www.trainnet.org/Libraries/Lib002/NORSTS001.TXT

APL Double-Stacks (when in seperate trains)
New#   Old#   Origin           Destination

296    722    New Orleans      Atlanta
297    719    Atlanta          New Orleans

On occasion the westbound train would stop with the tail of the train just north of Oliver Junction. An NS employee would then cut the train at a designated point. The truncated train would then proceed west to Avondale. A switcher (usually a GP38 of one sort or another) would come out from Oliver Yard and bring the intermodal cars into the yard for local business.

Sometimes the eastbound train would stop with the motive power just north of Oliver Junction. The power would then be cut off and run light into Oliver Yard to pick up additional cars to be added to the head end of the train. After re-connecting the train and bringing up the air, the train would then proceed east/north across Lake Ponchartrain and on to Atlanta.

One day I caught the power being cut off of what I presume to be #722 and brought down into Oliver Yard to pick up more APL intermodal traffic to be added for the run to Atlanta. The consist that day was SSW B40-8 #8076, WC SD45 #6554, SSW SD45T-2 #9393, and SD SD45R #7502. Below are photos of the power that day. 

SP #7502 SD45R drifts downgrade into Oliver Yard after cutting off a northbound SP-NS APL stack train New Orleans LA 04-1995

SSW #9393 SD45T-2 drifts downgrade into Oliver Yard after cutting off a northbound SP-NS APL stack train New Orleans LA 04-1995

WC #6554 SD45 drifts downgrade into Oliver Yard after cutting off a northbound SP-NS APL stack train New Orleans LA 04-1995

SP #8076 B40-8 backs a light power move south across Florida Avenue and into NS Oliver Yard after cutting off an NS-SP APL stack train New Orleans LA 04-1995