ACL, SAL, and SCL

[Anonymous]

Does anyone else model these lines? I'm going with an unprototypical line but I'm looking for a little prototypical information.
I was wondering what companies would have cars on this line besides the typical RR owned cars. I have a couple of the Fruit Growers Express boxcars. But I'm looking for more box cars and tank cars.

Kevin

[Bikerdad]

Pretty much any of the lease fleet tankcars would work, as will Amtrak if it fits into your timeframe. Also, Georgia Central, and the lumber/paper companies common to the Southeast would be good candidates for both boxcars (taking the finished products out) and kaolin tankcars for kaolin slurry, as well as other tankcars for additional chemicals used in lumber/paper processing. Finally, a fair amount of interchange occurs between these lines and the Florida East Coast. Also, you can run NASA cars, US Navy and US Air Force cars across your lines, destined for Florida, and lotsa US Army cars for the scads of Forts in the Southeast.

[AntonioFP45]

Don't forget Tropicana!

The former SCL "Juice Train" still runs under the CSX banner.

Back in the 70s, those mechanical reefers were in the white paint scheme.

[ClinchValleySD40]

You should really check out the Historical society. They have one of the best quarterly magazines around. Cost is minimal and they all the info you'd ever want.

[Virginian]

Since they ran North South, almost any line they intersected with that ran East West is a candidate. NYS, Penn, B&O, C&O, N&W, the old NS, Southern didn't reach FL I don't think/know.

[Allen Jenkins]

The Southern Railway System aquired the Georgia & Florida RR (Georgia Southern & Florida), which had a mainline from Valdosta, GA down through Lake City to Palatka, FL.
Now the NS, has track rights to Palatka, on the CSX.

[Anonymous]

I tell you something/ I loved these two railroads.ACL and SAL. I even like it after the merger. Not like the Penn Central merger.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the info. I've got my eye on some kaolin tank cars on eBay now.

The only shame about the ACL and SAL merging is that bland Black and Yellow paint scheme they came up with. How do you get rid of the ol' Purple + Silver and Citrus paint schemes for that???

[AntonioFP45]

QUOTE: Originally posted by chewie8han

Thanks for all the info. I've got my eye on some kaolin tank cars on eBay now.

The only shame about the ACL and SAL merging is that bland Black and Yellow paint scheme they came up with. How do you get rid of the ol' Purple + Silver and Citrus paint schemes for that???

Ching-Ching! $$$$$
Cost--Cost---and Cost.

Bland?? There are plenty of shots of E units in that paint scheme. To many of us, it's a sharp looking scheme with those stripes.

We must remember, those purple and citrus colors were part of the marketing drive to attact riders back in the pre and post WWII days. During the late 50s, freight hauling on U.S roads took on a "super high" priority. Passenger trains were no longer the "darlings" of the profit minded $$brass. Managers were looking at increasing maintenance efficiency. Simplified paint schemes were a quick way to trim expenses.

If I'm not mistaken, between the mid-to-late 1950s a new president took the helm of the Atlantic Coast Line railroad. He was practical and conservative. Got rid of the maintenance intensive purple/silver, and the marketing personel came up with the black and yellow "bumble bee" scheme. ACL came up with this scheme, not SCL.

This scheme "then" carried on over to the 1967 merger between ACL and SAL to become Seaboard Coast Line. Was altered slightly, but was essentially the same.

If it's any consolation, E unit number 501 was restored some years ago in her purple and silver colors. I think her picture can be found on railpictures.net

I also have seen (it's been 15 years) a prototype EMD switcher that was restored to ACL purple and silver. It was parked in Tampa, near SR60 for about 1 year. Then one day I went to look at it and it was gone.

Cheers![:D][;)]

[Anonymous]

Hello Kevin [:)]

You can put this in the "for what it is worth department" and use it if you want to do so. Seaboard, Union Pacific and Frisco had a run through agreement. Each railroad supplied one loco per train so there was a three loco lashup with three different paint schemes. I don't ever remember seeing this lashup but have seen a photo of it and an article in a Frisco magazine.

I am not sure how big the "pool" was for this run through or how many trains they ran a week. But still info such as this is interesting (in my book anyway) and neat to know.

I hope this helps a little.

[AntonioFP45]

JHHtrainplanes,

You're right. I have a book that shows a picture of a FRISCO EMD unit on an SCL branchline in Tampa, Florida during the late 60s-early 70s. I wondered why this unit would be so far from home back then whe foreign power on other roads was not a very common practice.

Thanks!

[Hudsonmike]

Why don't you join there SIG.