Prototype information for the modeler

I thought short lines didn't have their own cars? Just hauled them around for other people.

Here in Florida my local railroad is the Seminole Gulf.  It is owned by the man who owns the Bay Colony in Massachussetts. 

 In addition to their locomotive fleet (F7s ((de-energized)) GP9s GP10, C425 ((Sold)) and B39-8's, they operate de-energized RDC's on an excursiuon train, and  conventional passenger cars as a dinner train. In their earliest days they hauled a lot of gravel, and had a fleet of hoppers with SGLR reporting marks.  That business dried up but a recycling company started shipping paper, so SGLR acquired a fleet of boxcars with their marks.  They also have centerbeam flat cars to haul lumber, and gondolas to haul scrap metal.  They also use an extended vision caboose when the risk of starting brush fires is high.

Bay Colony owned boxcars and home-made trash cars.

This shortline owns lots of cars.  During the IPD craze in the 1970s lots of shortlines owned lots of cars.

 If it's a CSX branch, then the locomotives probably will be lettered for CSX.  If they are a recent purchase, they may have a quick add on of CSX and number until they can be repainted.  Alternatively, you could have a short line independent of CSX, but interchange with it.  Still, the locomotives would be lettered for the home road.

Cars can come from anywhere, although you're not likely to have coal delivered in a UP hopper since CSX has plenty of coal mines on its lines.  Still as long as most cars are from the area of the country modeled, some from the far west, northeast, etc. would be okay.

OTOH, you can be a little less prototypical and have a more ecletic mix on your layout.

Enjoy

Paul

Baghdad firefighter:

Ok gang I’m looking for options on short lines I’m planning a fictional CSX branch line mid south central area What I’m looking at is having a lot of different short line cars on my line Maybe a few short line engines in the mix  My question is would this be too odd for most? I would like to have cars from all over the states ending up in my yard/sidings

First off cars are more or less a national fleet so as long as your industries recieve or ship using boxcars, gondolas or flatcars you can see almost any car from any road.  It your industries recieve hopper or covered hoppers cars they will be a smaller group.  If your industries use tank cars they will be an even smaller group.

A shortline would be less likely to have a variety of engines.  Remember a shortline will have to PAY the class 1 to move its engines other places so they aren't going to just swap them out without a really good reason.  They couls have an engine from any of the leasing companies or if its a shortline conglomerate, they might have an engine from one of the other shortline properties in the familiy.  They might also get an engine from the connecting class 1.  But if its a shortline connected to teh CSX it would be highly unlikely to see a BNSF or UP or KCS engine.

dehusman:

A shortline would be less likely to have a variety of engines.  Remember a shortline will have to PAY the class 1 to move its engines other places so they aren't going to just swap them out without a really good reason.  They couls have an engine from any of the leasing companies or if its a shortline conglomerate, they might have an engine from one of the other shortline properties in the familiy.  They might also get an engine from the connecting class 1.  But if its a shortline connected to teh CSX it would be highly unlikely to see a BNSF or UP or KCS engine.

Glad to see that responders are distinguishing between shortlines and branchlines.  They are NOT synonymous.

It isn't unusual for a shortline to lease locomotives (usually from the connecting railroad).  Last time I was in Sonora, CA, an ATSF painted/lettered diesel was pulling a train on the Sierra RR.  Of course, there are lots of contemporary examples of shortline locomotives running on leased trackage.  My most recent example of this was a California Northern SW (with deer horns adorning the headlight) taking a box car over to Mare Island from Vallejo, CA on UP/SP track.

Mark

Baghdad firefighter:

Ok gang I’m looking for options on short lines I’m planning a fictional CSX branch line mid south central area What I’m looking at is having a lot of different short line cars on my line Maybe a few short line engines in the mix  My question is would this be too odd for most? I would like to have cars from all over the states ending up in my yard/sidings

Yes..Cars would come from all areas..BNSF,CP,CN,UP,KCS,NS etc..

Many short lines own their locomotives instead of leasing them and many has have a small fleet of freight cars.Boxcars could be Railbox.

However,the lease agreement could include the needed empty cars from the leaser or through  Short Line Marketing with the major connecting road.

Here is a link to short line rosters.

http://www.ole.net/~rcraig/INDEXSL.html

Modeling a short line takes discipline from track work to locomotive selection.

How abouta shortline that is a terminal switching line?

Back in the 60s, 70s and 80s, the Port oif Corpus Christi owned port area trackage and there was an arrangement between the three railroads sering the port.  The 3 railroads, Missouri Pacific,l Southern Pacific and Texas Mexican took turns year by year operating the terminal trackage. 

so crews and locos from any one of the three operating the switching line in any given year.

Exactly what boxcars would show up on a shortline might be driven by the era being modeled.  PRR and NYC reporting marks would probably be in short supply in the '90s - I refer to the originals, not cars that would eventually be repainted in NS or CSX colors.  Conrail cars never ran behind steam in revenue service.  That, of course, is just the tip of the 'fallen flags' iceberg.

If your shortline participated in the great box car per-diem bonanza it might have literally hundreds of cars with home-road reporting marks.  The Bonhomie and Hattiesburg Southern was one such - if all the B&HS reporting marks ever made their way home, they would have taken up more track than the railroad owned.  Some years after the bubble burst (late 1980s) I drove past a string of McCloud River boxcars several miles long - all standing on unused McCloud River track.

Just a few thoughts.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

MILW-RODR:

I thought short lines didn't have their own cars? Just hauled them around for other people.

Many if not most shortlines did have some cars of their own. Some railroads found that having a number of cars out on the road earning per diem and other fees for their use was a profitable business. I read somewhere that one shortline - Springfield Terminal perhaps? - had so many cars that if all of them ever came back to the RR all at once, they would take up more miles of track than the RR owned !!  

MILW-RODR:

I thought short lines didn't have their own cars? Just hauled them around for other people.

That is the usual misunderstanding and many still confuse the IPD boxcar era with the current short line picture which of course doesn't compare to the IPD era when one couldn't swing a baseball bat in a freight yard without hiting several IPD boxcars.

Some of today's short lines that still own cars would include roads like A&R,EEC,LW,Ashland Ry,PPU R.J.Corman,CBRY..The type and number of cars owned will depend on their customer base..

The SRR is still in business.

http://www.sandersvillerailroad.com/index.html

Here's a perfect example of a CSX connected short line -- the Caney Fork and Western.  One of their locomotivies has a big smiley face on the side.  Another is ex Conrail still in blue (at least the last time I saw it).

 Also, with today's run through, I see a lot of UP coal moving through town.  In fact quite a few UP locomotives on the trains as well as the occasional BNSF.  Couple of years ago I saw one still painted in WM colors.  Funny though, I seldom see NS locomotives on these tracks.

jmbjmb:

Here's a perfect example of a CSX connected short line -- the Caney Fork and Western.  One of their locomotivies has a big smiley face on the side.  Another is ex Conrail still in blue (at least the last time I saw it).

 Also, with today's run through, I see a lot of UP coal moving through town.  In fact quite a few UP locomotives on the trains as well as the occasional BNSF.  Couple of years ago I saw one still painted in WM colors.  Funny though, I seldom see NS locomotives on these tracks.

Actually the CF&W isn't a example of anything other then a short line.

 Here's one of their "smiley" face engines.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=750757

Here's the list of CSX short line partners and as we can see its quite a impressive list.:

http://www.csx.com/?fuseaction=customers.sl_directory