A road for the future, and the past.

[Anonymous]

Hey, thanks a lot, you've given me some good ideas. I've already got 2 Dash-nines with Milwaukee Road livery, and I'm working on a Great Northern F59.
Correction, the layout is 14 by 16

[BRJN]

I suppose you could start by looking up an encyclopedia for Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. That will tell you what minerals and crops will grow. Even as industries change, those basic commodities will not.

You could model a rusted Oldsmobile factory, no longer taking autoracks on a twice-daily basis. Some rusty autorack cars could be sitting on the grass-grown spur, too.

Background? Hmmm, in the 2010's the Supreme Court abruptly remembered what "antitrust" means and ordered the breakup of the Big 4 Railroads into a number of competing regional spinoffs. Your Great Midwestern could be a part of old BNSF or UP, specifically the Burlington or Chicago & Northwestern heritage lines.

If THAT much cargo moves back to rail, a lot of 'missing track will get re-laid. The current system is approaching capacity. Double-track existing lines first, then re-lay former right-of-way. (Good news for those who think Horseshoe Curve doesn't look right unless it has four tracks!)

You will need a few cars painted for "PFtW&C' (Pittsburgh Ft Wayne & Chicago) with a pioneer blockhouse logo. The mostly-unused but still in place ex-PRR line will be used for a new 'Laser Beam' high-speed rail service across the plains of the lower Midwest. (Debuts using NKP 765, currently being rebuilt just east of Ft Wayne)

You can run a yearly passenger special from Minneapolis to Chicago to connect with the rebuilt-Monon for the Indianapolis 500 (now using bioethanol derivatives). Leave on Friday, stay the weekend, come home Monday night while you sleep off the extra drinks you had, get home in plenty of time for bed.

You could get a 1950's railroad roster for ideas of 'successor roads' and their approximate geographical reach. I also recommend for this purpose a book titled Merging Lines by Saunders. Saunders looks at some historical what-if mergers that may tickle your fancy.

A major customer could be a hydrogen-cell manufacturer. Ditto 'WIsconsin WIndmills'. Computer plants would be possible too; ocean shipping costs will rise, too.

[Anonymous]

Hi All!

This is my third layout, and I am trying to think up a way to use most of my equipment for my new HO railroad. I've decided that the new railroad's freelanced prototype is located on the trackage of what we would know as the CNW, as well as the Duluth, Missabe
and Iron Range RR. The railroad's history, and place in time is especially interesting.
Here's a basic idea of the situation.This is based off of the idea of "Peak Oil"
The year is 2010, rising oil costs have crippled America's airlines and interstate truck system. The nation's railroads suffer under the high costs of fuel, but the great increase in ridership for passengers and freight transport allows the railroads to just survive. The nation's current rail system cannot handle the new influx of cargo, and in 2012, steam locomotives are reintroduced. The first railraod to adopt steam once again is the Great Midwestern
Throughout the US,steam infrastructure reappears, as coaling stations and water towers are hastily built to feed the nation's new steel fleet. In 2016, hydrogen fuel cell technology becomes avaliable for rail use. Due to hydrogen's highinitial costs, the GMW is slow to upgrade their roster.
My layout exists in the year 2019, when steam dominates the GMW's long distance freight service, while hydrogen powered F9s head the road's flagship passenger trains.

Overall, the idea of my layout is to present trains from a wide variety of eras in a form, which could in the future be
deemed historically "correct." My layout is roughly 14 by 14 feet, with a double track mainline. I would like people's input
on a number of things:

The historcal basis of the Great Midwestern
Ways of combining my 1990s safety cab diesels with 1940s steam power, and making it look semi-realistic
Possible major industries to model, preferably ones that you would see in Southern Minnesota through northern Illinois.
Major commodities that my road could transport? Ore? Coal?

Any other comments suggestions would be greatly appreciated. [:D]