wjstixI'm guessing you meant between Chicago and Milwaukee, not Iowa. Wink
Yep, that's it, although the context seems to clarify my initial bobbling of that detail. One of the perils of insomniac posting...
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
mlehman There actually was an electric route between Chicago and Iowa, the North Shore, that was electrified. Certainly enough traffic there to support it.
There actually was an electric route between Chicago and Iowa, the North Shore, that was electrified. Certainly enough traffic there to support it.
I'm guessing you meant between Chicago and Milwaukee, not Iowa.
The fact that far fewer mainlines were electrified in the US / North America than in Europe, doesn't mean electrification couldn't have happened here. Some lines were considered that could have been built and electrified but ended up not. For example before World War 1, the Dan Patch Electric Line - the Minneapolis St.Paul Rochester and Dubuque Electric Traction Co. - planned to build an electric line from the Twin Cities into Iowa, and potentially all the way to St.Louis IIRC. To save construction costs, they bought GE boxcab electrics with an oil-burning electrical generator mounted inside, so they could lay track and run trains before they installed overhead wires. Turned out, they never did add the wires, the "oil electrics" worked fine - and are often cited as the first "diesel" freight locomotives.
As a Milwaukee Road modeler in some non-descript fictional place, I've thought it would be interesting to have an electrified line. However, there aren't a lot of available locomotives. The Little Joe and Bipolar models are interesting, but only made by MTH at very high prices, and I think both come with older DCS that is not DCC-compatible.
So, you need to think about your motive power. Modern passenger equipment for Amtrak is available, of course, but would that fit your time and era? Are you intending to run just electrified passenger service?
In the same vein as Chuck's "possible history," my solution was to imagine an extension of the Pennsylvania's electrified service up to my town of Moose Bay, where the GG-1 uncouples from its coaches and leaves them for Milwaukee power.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Your interurban forebears developed a couple of industrial parks half a century before that became a general practice. Then, to handle the traffic they 'superpowered' a couple of baggage motors, a' la Illinois Terminal C motors, rather than buying steam and building steam infrastructure.
Move forward. The railroad has been upgraded, is now moving freight behind Little Joes and engineless GM 'non-diesels' with pantographs. They own the power plants that supply their juice, so they aren't at the mercy of the public power grid. Their latest plant, brand new, is a combined gas/steam turbune that burns natural gas. Life is good.
(As a science fiction hobby author, I often engage in 'what if' stories.)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - partially under wire)
Yes, how fictional is really a choice that depends on the designer. Then again, a shift in era to circa 1900 and many investors actually made a rather fictional choice by investing in interurbans. Lost their shorts, as they used to say.
So it's far from an outlandish choice to hang wire headed to Iowa. I certainly didn't want to entirely discourage the idea, just note it might need a bit more narrative to explain it.
In fact, some work with the history books and you might even find there actually was all-electric service from Chicago to Iowa...for a few years back in the early 20th century. Those lines could have stayed in service with a bit more pluck and luck. Suddenly, it's whatever year in the more recent past you want to make it. Lots of room for imagination here.
On the other hand from Chicago to Milw has very concrete history behind it over an extended period (up to 1960ish IIRC). If you really need the prototype to guide your modeling that could be a better choice.
Or maybe go ahead and do both?
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
On the other hand, no such luck going to Iowa. An electric route to Iowa would be rather odd, notwithstanding the few interurban-based lines still hung in there for many through this window frame.
I doubt that it would be a feasable venue. The captal expenditure involved in "stringing the wire" is quite high, and so is maintance. Electric locos are also rare birds in your country and buying them overseas will probably make them much more expensive than a comparable Diesel loco.
As long as the price of oil is at a low level, electrification only pays off on those highly frequented lines we have here in Europe (or the NE corridor in the US).
For my model railroad, the Indianapolis Northern, I was drawing up a system map and was wandering would it be worth it in real life to electrify the Hiawatha route from Milwaukee to Chicago and the IAIS to Des Moines? Tell if this were a real life railroad would it be wise to do this?
Here is a little background for the INNR. It is a small class l that operates over former NKP and TP&W from Indy to Peoria then uses the IAIS to get to Des Moines and Chicago. The railroad probably makes a little over $130,000,000 per year. Any experts help would be appreciated.
Indianapolis Railroad - Indy Rail! Route of the Brickyard Flyer! Established 1976.