Running a GN NP consist

[JDawg]

I have always traditionally modeled GN lines. I will include intersecting lines like the NP and Soo. But for my Florida layout, it is a small, strictly GN Layout. Would it be too unprototypical to run a GN Geep with a NP Geep?

Thanks!

[MidlandMike]

Would a former GN line after the BN merger be out of the question?

[cv_acr]

Well, after 1970 GN and NP were merged with a few other lines into Burlington Northern.

Apart from that, there are ways that engines from one railroad end up on another:

- one railroad directly leases/rents engines from another because they're short on power

- two railroads have some sort of joint operation/run-through agreement (this will occur in specific places and situation)

- resulting from the previous situation, any imbalances in locomotive usage will be paid back in something called "horsepower-hours (HPH)" repayment. After accounting for how many engines have spent time on each other's railways, if one railway has ended up using the other's more, then they provide a number of engines for a period of time to the other to balance things out. Railway 2 will use those engines anywhere across their system over that period.

This is how a CSX engine ends up in Los Angeles on Union Pacific.

Some of this run through and HPH repayment may be more common today than back in the 1960s and 1970s, but leasing has happened a lot.

[wjstix]

JDawg

Would it be too unprototypical to run a GN Geep with a NP Geep?

Short answer, yes, it would be unprototypical, at least before the BN merger.

Although it's common now to see a variety of foreign power on a railroad's trains, it was fairly rare back then. Run-through agreements did exist then; for example, CB&Q and New York Central had such an agreement in the 1960s, so you would sometimes see NYC engines running from Chicago to St.Paul on a train.

Pool agreements happened also. Northern Pacific and Soo Line pooled iron ore operations on the Cuyuna iron range in north central Minnesota starting in the 1920s, and the Milwaukee Road, C&NW, and Soo had similar agreements in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan's ore lines.

Railroads did lease power on occassion. For example, GN leased diesels to the Missabe while DMIR was transitioning from steam to diesel.

However, as far as I know GN and NP had no such arrangements or agreements anywhere.

There were situations where an NP train might be on GN trackage, like NP detouring on GN due to a washout. NP used GN's Minneapolis station along with several other railroads which required NP using some GN trackage. NP and GN trains were sometimes combined between St.Paul and Chicago, but that was on the Burlington Route and used CB&Q engines.

[GP025]

In Minnesota, I doubt it, however in WA and OR it might be plausible over SP&S trackage since the GN and NP jointly owned SP&S.

[BEAUSABRE]

I would never contaminate GN's glorious Pullman Green and Omaha Orange by associating it with NP's dreary, uninspired Black and Yellow

[wjstix]

GP025

In Minnesota, I doubt it, however in WA and OR it might be plausible over SP&S trackage since the GN and NP jointly owned SP&S.

 

Well maybe, but the CB&Q was jointly owned by NP and GN, and I don't think NP and GN engines ran together on the Burlington, so I would doubt they would run together on the SP&S. In the 1960s GN engines sometimes did run through to Chicago, though not with NP engines. The Burlington in some cases combined NP and GN passenger trains between the Twin Cities and Chicago, but they were pulled by CB&Q engines.