Let's say that I am modeling a downtown passenger station and adjacent coach yard in the 1950s era. Passenger locos will use an engine servicing facility in the coach yard. My question is, how were passenger locos stored in this situation.
Were the locos stored on a single long storage track or a ladder with short tracks for each loco or consist? If multiple locos were stored on a single track, did the other stored locos have to be moved each time that a loco needed to be freed for service? On a ladder arrangement with multiple locos on each track, were escape tracks in place so that all of the other stored locos did not have to be moved to free a loco further back on the ladder for service?
I would appreciate any comments or advice.
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrain Let's say that I am modeling a downtown passenger station and adjacent coach yard in the 1950s era. Passenger locos will use an engine servicing facility in the coach yard. My question is, how were passenger locos stored in this situation.
Most railroads had one engine facility for both freight and passenger engines unless the passenger terminal was a long distance (over 4 or 5 miles) from the freight yard.
Technically the engines aren't "stored". Stored implies engines that are out of service and will not be used for weeks or months.
You are looking for the "ready tracks".
Were the locos stored on a single long storage track or a ladder with short tracks for each loco or consist?
Yes. Both ways. Depends on how much room was available. Most places I have seen had several double ended tracks off the turntable as ready tracks.
If multiple locos were stored on a single track, did the other stored locos have to be moved each time that a loco needed to be freed for service?
Engines arrive the facility, they are serviced (fuel and water), inspected, turned, then put on the ready tracks. Once on the ready tracks their next stop is the outbound train.
On a ladder arrangement with multiple locos on each track, were escape tracks in place so that all of the other stored locos did not have to be moved to free a loco further back on the ladder for service?
Maybe, depends on how much room there was. The hostlers would arrange the engines so they were in the order the trains would be running out of the terminal. since passenger trains are scheduled, the order the engines are needed is know way in advance.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Dave, I appreciate your quick and informative response. Your reply was one, in particular, that I was hoping for, so it was good to see your screen name come up as the first reply.
I wasn't at all sure that 'storage track' was the correct term. So, it is 'ready track' that I want to use. Much appreciated.
I can relate to you my experiences with the Southern Pacific Daylights in El Paso 1951 & 52. The Passenger station was slightly west of downtown, the maintenance facilities were about 5 miles east of the station at the furthest east end of the El Paso Yard. I don’t remember what the track was called where the passenger cars were parked for swapping locomotives.
The SP station is now the Amtrak station. There is a turntable and engine facilities east of the Cotton St overpass. There is a large freight yard (Alfalfa Yard) a couple miles east of there.
The Reading Terminal in Philadelphia (which was/is a stub ended train shed) had a separate engine terminal for the passenger trains at Green St. The freight engine area was at Erie Ave, several miles away by rail.
It had a very compact "square house" and a turntable (about 90'?) plus engine ready tracks and servicing. It was built on a raised area because the railroad was on an above ground viaduct through Phillie.
Here is a thread on it from another forum:
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=57998
The six locomotive ready tracks for the San Francisco commuter passenger station haven't changed much in many years. You can check out the track layout with a map search for 7th Street and Townsend Street. The ready tracks are at that intersection.
Ed
In the 1950's, many diesels were serviced in an existing roundhouse. If it's in a downtown area, there might not have been room available to build a separate 'square house' for diesels, or the railroad just may not have had the time or budget to build a diesel house.
An A-B set of F-units could normally fit on the turntable and in the stalls of a large 'modern' roundhouse. The roundhouse could be near the yard tracks for the passenger cars, or could be a distance (like a mile or more) away.
RR_Mel I can relate to you my experiences with the Southern Pacific Daylights in El Paso 1951 & 52.
Here is a snip from a 1929 Sanborn map of Green Street Note how complicated you can make a condensed facility. Note also that a "square house" is not just for diesels, these were built in the early 1900's.
7j43k The six locomotive ready tracks for the San Francisco commuter passenger station haven't changed much in many years. You can check out the track layout with a map search for 7th Street and Townsend Street. The ready tracks are at that intersection. Ed
wjstix In the 1950's, many diesels were serviced in an existing roundhouse. If it's in a downtown area, there might not have been room available to build a separate 'square house' for diesels, or the railroad just may not have had the time or budget to build a diesel house. An A-B set of F-units could normally fit on the turntable and in the stalls of a large 'modern' roundhouse. The roundhouse could be near the yard tracks for the passenger cars, or could be a distance (like a mile or more) away.
dehusman Here is a snip from a 1929 Sanborn map of Green Street Note how complicated you can make a condensed facility. Note also that a "square house" is not just for diesels, these were built in the early 1900's.
It would depend too on what the situation is with the station. Is it a terminal where trains begin and end, or a through station where trains pause to pick up and unload passengers, mail & express and then go again, or a combination - some trains begin and end there, some run though.
Is it owned and served by one railroad, or multiple? (This wouldn't have to be a "union" station to have more than one railroad. Both the Milwaukee Road and Great Northern stations in downtown Mpls MN served multiple railroads.) If more than one, do they operate trains together, so the AB&C railroad brings in a train, cuts off it's engines, and the XY&Z railroad puts it's engines on the train to haul them to a distant city?
Is it only a station for long haul trains, or are there local / commuter trains?
All these things will affect the layout of the yards, engine facilities etc.
Rich, here is an old photo of the Canadian Pacific yard in Vancouver. The station was across the city out of view to the right side of the pic. The trains were pulled through a tunnel under the city to this yard. Being the end of the line the cars would be turned using the balloon track you can see going around the roundhouse. The coach yard is seen to the left.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
BATMAN Rich, here is an old photo of the Canadian Pacific yard in Vancouver. The station was across the city out of view to the right side of the pic. The trains were pulled through a tunnel under the city to this yard. Being the end of the line the cars would be turned using the balloon track you can see going around the roundhouse. The coach yard is seen to the left.
As a interesting side notes..
PRR had a passenger engine service area just West of Columbus (Oh) Union Station this was closed after the demised of passenger steam locomotives and the continuing demised of the passenger train.PRR simply refueled the passenger units at the Station while the station switcher added or removed express and mail cars.
I have read in Trains Magazine in some cities passenger units had to travel several miles to the freight engine service area for servicing between runs.The station switcher would travel to the engine service area to have observation cars turned.Of course this time consumming worked ended with the dropping of observation cars from the majority of the trains.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
BRAKIE I have read in Trains Magazine in some cities passenger units had to travel several miles to the freight engine service area for servicing between runs.The station switcher would travel to the engine service area to have observation cars turned.Of course this time consumming worked ended with the dropping of observation cars from the majority of the trains.
Dearborn Station fronted on Polk (8th) Street, and while the Santa Fe coach yard was only 10 blocks away at 18th Street, the other five roads that used Dearborn Station had their coach yards 5 miles away at 47th Street.