I have come up with a fictional, but possible railroad situation.
In 1991, when CP didn't buy the D&H, the NYS&W deceided to buy the southern tier of the D&H, leaving the upper half for sale. A regional railroad, the Adirondack & Lake Champlain was started up to operate the line from Kenwood yard in Albany to Rouses Point, where CN crews would take over. The railroad would also operate the North Creek Branch, operating the mine in Tahawus. The A&LC aquired most of the ex-D&H locomotives, along with some Guilford and NYS&W power. In the late 2000s, the railroad purchased several GE B30-7s from CSX. Amtrak's Adirondack continued to use the line. The railroad started a torist train between Saratoga and North Creek. Other branches the railroad operates are to Rutland (CIP). The railroad operates intermodal trains between Scranton and Montreal with the NYS&W and CN.
Has anyone else come up with a what if railroad?
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
We used to call this sort of thing free lancing.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
dstarr We used to call this sort of thing free lancing.
Dave,Its still freelancing a railroad.. IMHO there's to many terms in the hobby for freelancing.. The one that I chuckle the most over is "My layout is name "Freeport & Northern".. Really? All I see is (say) CSX engines..Where's the F&N engines and cars?
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
My layout is based on a "what-if" scenario where the Santa Ana & Newport Railroad remained independent and operating into the late 1950's.
This Southern California prototype lasted less than a decade before it was swallowed up by the Southern Pacific around 1900. The extent of the SA&N tracks ran from Mcfadden Wharf (now Newport Pier) in Newport Beach north to Santa Ana where it interchanged with the ATSF. Additional tracks were later run along the coast northwest to Huntington Beach then north along Lake Street in an attempt to reach a sugar beet plant in Los Alamitos. Construction difficulties meant this line was stopped just short of Westminster. Upon purchasing the SA&N, the SP extended both ends of the SA&N trackage to meet the existing SP main line. This created an actual loop of track around much of north Orange County. The SP had big plans for the SA&N tracks to Newport Beach until the federal govenrment chose to provide San Pedro Harbor with funding to become the major commercial harbor in the area. With Newport demoted to a pleasure craft mooring, the SP quickly abandoned most of the SA&N.
My layout track plan follows the prototype as much as possible. The "what-if" scenario maintains the original SA&N/ATSF interchange in Santa Ana but adds SA&N interchange with the SP and the Pacific Electric (mainly a freight line by the 1950's). As the SP ran what they called the "Merry-Go-Round" passenger train around the prototype loop up until around 1933, my layout includes a Merry-Go-Round passenger train operated by the SA&N. Layout operations include several local freight trains running a fairly tight schedule required to keep the main clear for the Merry-Go-Round train.
Hornblower
I like to imagine that the Pennsylvania Railroad extended its electrified service beyond Chicago, or at least provided for trackage rights, so that it could meet up with my home road, the Milwaukee.
This is all so I can pretend to have a justification to run my GG-1. I had one in O gauge and now in HO, and I don't care if it doesn't belong there prototypically. I just like it.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
There's freelancing, and there's protofreelancing. I don't exactly know what catigory this kind of railroad falls in.
The STRATTON AND GILLETTE started when I was in High School. Then, I had a lot of time and no money, so I spent a lot of time working on the history, and the "what if" part of freelancing a railroad.
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Back then, I believe the SGRR ran from Virginia to Georgia, but I honestly do not know 100%.
As time went by, and I have more money, less time, and don't model in anyone else's world anymore, I have given up trying to have a story for the SGRR.
It is now 100% fantasy, does not interchange with any real railroad, and might not even be in the United States.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
MisterBeasleyI like to imagine that the Pennsylvania Railroad extended its electrified service beyond Chicago, or at least provided for trackage rights, so that it could meet up with my home road, the Milwaukee.
For a similar reason, I'd sure like to run some Bi Polars or Little Joes on my mostly PRR electrified division. Of course, the PRR bought some used Great Northern boxcabs.
PRR was not shy about borrowing locomotives to try out. You could "pretend" the Milwaukee wanted to upgrade their electrification (and extend IT to Chicago) and "borrow" some GG1s to test.
All in fun!
Cheers, Ed
For me, what if there's a large forest and mining operation in central Illinois? And what if it's been operating since the 1880's or so up to today and kept all of its old and original trains in good working condition? And what if by some strange scientific whatever phenomenon, every railroad from every time period from anywhere around the world had something running through the tracks there for whatever reason? That's the "Central Illinois Railroad" (CIRR), which has a "Central Illinois Logging" (CIL) branch.
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My proto-freelanced line is set in rural PA/NY, and is set up as a "what-if", in that the economic downturn of the 2000's never occurs, and coal still is king at power plants. The line in most places is totally fictitious, or had long ago been torn up. My line interchanges with 2 real short lines, partners with 1 of them, and interchanges both NS & CSX. It also hosts NS coal and general freight run-throughs, a shortline run-through from each, as well as runs a intermodal between the NS main line to the north to the NS line to the south, for a very short CP Toronto to NS Pitt Conway run of 2 shifts for NS instead of 4. (In exchange for cutting out 2 crews, my line gets a ES44AC, free of charge.)They use power from both NS, (loaned/leased/run throughs) the partner shortline, and their own second (or third) hand power. The modeled portion is the "mid-north" yard (2nd yard south from northern end), interchange with one of the two short lines, and a run of the main line with a couple of on-line customers represented.
The on-line customers are a cut lumber distribution facility, a frac-sand transload center, and a "secured storage" team track, with both outside, and inside storage facilities for nearby customers without their own spur.
I also model most of the run-through trains, as well as a out-and back local, and the mainline "end to end" freights for the home railroad.
Home road power is a pair of big GE's (8-40CW and a 9-44CW), a pair of Alco units for yard/locals, a "heritage" rebuilt steamer for PR, and "fan-specials", as well as a ES44AC (for the NS run-throughs).
Run-through power can be anything sent from NS, or the other 2 short lines. (Limited to my on-hand models of course.)
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
To me, a "what if" model railroad is kinda like an "alternative universe" Science Fiction story. It's not totally fabricated, it's more like "what if" someone had made this choice instead of another. What if the Missabe Road had gone through with it's idea of electrifying Proctor Hill? Would they have spread it to the entire mainline? Or, what if New York Central hadn't merged with Pennsy? Might they both still be separate railroads today?
In my case, my "St.Paul Route" is based on two real railroads that in reality were taken over by larger railroads in 1900 - St.Paul & Duluth RR was bought by Northern Pacific, and the Port Arthur, Duluth & Western was taken over by a forerunner of Canadian National. In my universe, they stayed separate and merged, builing a mainline from Duluth MN to Port Arthur / Ft. William (today's Thunder Bay) Ontario - an line that had at least 4-5 serious proposals over the decades, but which never happened.
The ECI is a 1970s short line operating out of Anderson in North Central Indiana southward over the ex-New York Central (CCC&StL) Michigan Division /PC North Vernon Secondary purchased from Penn Central. The ECI runs through Emporia, Rushville, Greensburg and terminates in the Southern Indiana town of Westport.
Connections are made with the CIW (Central Indiana & Western) at Anderson, and the N&W at Rushville, with a secondary connection with PC Greensburg. The ECI has rights between Anderson and Westport under control of the ECI Dispatcher working out of the South Anderson Yards.
The majority of customers are small industrial companies (pipes, plastics, autoparts, etc.) as well as several heavy grain operations and one small stone quarry sending occasional shipments off line to dealers nationwide from their quarry near Westport.
Although the line is not truly prosperous, it does make money and has an outstanding Service Facilities with a maintenance crew devoted to rebuild and maintenance with tender loving care. This is attested to by the Ex-NYC E7 that has been placed into service pulling an Excursion Train consisting of four refurbished passenger cars from Anderson to Westport monthly during summer months and the NYC GP7, and RS3 that have been put into service on the railroad. Also, thee is the 0-8-0 that does some freight work on the ECI. The ECI GP 38-2 is now handling the grain operation at Westport.
With its small but dedicated staff of employees, the ECI tends to reflect the sense of optimism found in its headquarters city of Anderson as to a solid future in providing high quality service to its clients as well as presenting rail service in a favorable light to more people.
Roger Hensley= ECI Railroad - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/eci/eci_new.html == Railroads of Madison County - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/ =
wjstixTo me, a "what if" model railroad is kinda like an "alternative universe" Science Fiction story.
wjstixIn my case, my "St.Paul Route" is based on two real railroads that in reality were taken over by larger railroads in 1900 - St.Paul & Duluth RR was bought by Northern Pacific, and the Port Arthur, Duluth & Western was taken over by a forerunner of Canadian National.
All you need is a funtional Portal Gun, and you could go railfanning on your "what-if" railroad!
Last time I checked (which was quite a while ago) there was still a "Minneapolis in '73" group. These were Science Fiction fans who organized about 1970 to try to get the 1973 Worldcon (world SF convention) in Minneapolis. When they failed to get it, they decided not to give up, but to keep going until time travel is invented.
Of course might be hard now to adjust to 1973...president facing impeachment, war in the Middle East, the energy crisis...all so very different from now.
Harrison I have come up with a fictional, but possible railroad situation. ... ...Has anyone else come up with a what if railroad?
I have come up with a fictional, but possible railroad situation. ...
...Has anyone else come up with a what if railroad?
What if the harbor of Coos Bay Oregon was extended about 1/3 mile farther south? What could they have put in there?
Another local sawmill? Check.
A ready mix plant? And concrete pipe factory? Check.
Another local woodchip to ship loading facility? Check.
A coastal tanker to rail tanker facility? Check.
And maybe a chrome ore procesing plant, loading into hoppers? Check.
Perhaps replace the turntable and roundhouse, shops on a bit higher ground? Check.
This puts it in SP territory, and the rolling stock and motive power reflects that.
There is in fact now a chrome ore processing plant in CB. So it's not far fetched. Dan
deckroid I had a friend at a local club help me redecal a bunch of modern rolling stock with NP numbers and logos.
I once helped somebody due the opposite. He was modeling the "what if the merger took place earlier", the BURLINGTON NORTHERN in the 1950s. He had some really cool custom decals made of the BURLINGTON NORTHERN roadname in the font and herald style of the SP&S.