Suggestions for a Pennsylvania RR branch line Layout

[Anonymous]

Hey Ya'll


I am planning to build a branch line Pennsylvania Layout from Model Railroader's Turtle Creek Central (Later dad and I will build larger layout)
We want realisic freight and passenger operations for the Branch, could ya'll suggest anything (freelance will do too)

Nick

[SpaceMouse]

I think the question is a little to vague to get the response you were looking for. What ideas do have about what you want to do? You planning any industries? Coal mines to power plant runs? (They just put one in 50 ft from my front door and it shakes the bottles off the shelf.)

Am I coming off like an old pro?

[Anonymous]

Yer right, it is vague. Wadda you got to run on that branch? Do you have a specific idea in mind?

[cefinkjr]

Nicholas:

[#welcome]

Your question is pretty wide open but I'll take a stab at it anyway.

When people think PRR, they are probably thinking coal. I grew up in a town served by a PRR branch and, until I was ten years old, thought box cars were special equipment. All I normally saw were hoppers, hoppers, and more hoppers.

Motive power for the Turtle Creek Central would be small. An H-9 Consolidation (2-8-0) or a G-5 Ten Wheeler (4-6-0) would be ideal. If you model a more modern era, an Alco RS-3 or an EMD GP-7 or GP-9 would be OK. Forget any more than two units in a consist; PRR seldom ran more than two units together on any branch that I ever saw. (In fact, they seldom ran less than two because of reliability issues.)

I've seen the Turtle Creek Central plans but not studied them. Is there a connection with the rest of the world? If not, there should be. In fact, it would be essential. Nobody is going to put coal in a hopper car for delivery only a few miles away. You need an interchange track where loaded hoppers can be spotted for pickup by another railroad or, more likely, another PRR train that will leave empties to be spotted for loading.

As for passenger service on a PRR branch, you have got to either stretch things a lot or model some time in the late 40s or earlier. PRR provided passenger service only because it had to and I'm talking about main line service. Branch line service was a real money loser and so was abandoned whenever possible. But if you insist on passenger service, a branch line passenger train would be one combine or one coach. Both would be overkill but it's your railroad.

Chuck

[ndbprr]

I would suggest you go to Keystone crossings web site and download the CT1000 for the entire PRR. This lists every industry on the railroad starting with New York as milepost 0.0. Also included is every branch on the PRR. you should be able to find a branch that has the industries you want to model and the size you want to model. then the fun begins trying to locate actual pictures and historical information.

[joseph2]

A PRR branchline used to go thru my hometown in Indiana.It used to handle grain,a lot of industries,feed mills and lumber yards.Last passenger train was in late 1950's. line saw four train a day until 1973.Some cars went from the south to the Mackinaw car ferry in Michigan.