The Beaverton, Fanno Creek & Bull Mountain Railroad
"Ruby Line Service"
I don't think it's necessary. For instance, the old Colorado Midland never went through a town called Midland (that I know of) it began at Colorado Springs and ended at Glenwood Springs (with trackage rights over the Rio Grande to Salt Lake City). It was called the Colorado Midland because it was the first standard-gauge railroad to be built directly east/west across the Rockies through the 'middle' of the state.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
I would be willing to bet that very few "midland"'s went thru a town called Midland. In most cases it referred to thegoing thru tha central part of something, usually a state or region.
Dave H.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
KBCpresidentDo railroads whos name includes the word "Midland" Have to visit a town by that name to use it in their naame, or is it similar to the meaning of "Central." For example, does the Maryland Midland have to go through Midland, Maryland?
I think you hit the nail on the head. I think that most of the time the usage of "Midland" in a railroad's name is akin to that of "Central" and not the name of an actual place served by the road.
That's not to say that some railroads include cities in their names that they never actually reached. The Lancaster, Oxford and Southern never made it to Lancaster (and never travelled too far south of Oxford - depending on how you look at it). So, having a town's name in your railroad's moniker which you road never actually reached shouldn't be a problem.
-George
"And the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers ride their father's magic carpet made of steel..."
Kind of like all of those railroads that had "Pacific" at the end of their names during the building craze of the last part of the 19th-early 20th Centuries. Few of them made it that far, LOL! Northern Pacific and Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific dipped their toes into the waters of Puget Sound, still a little way from the actual Pacific Ocean--Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific only got as far west as Tucumcari, NM. Union Pacific finally made it to the Pacific at San Pedro by buying up another railroad, Texas and Pacific got as far as (almost) El Paso, TX. Actually, about the only 'Pacific' railroad that really GOT there was Southern Pacific. And of course, it's subsidiary in Northern California, the Northwestern Pacific, which come to think of it, was a VERY accurately named railroad since it was able to live up to both of its names. And of course, in Canada, the Canadian Pacific was VERY aptly named.
Names are fun. Denver and Rio Grande Western, for instance. The only 'Rio Grande' in the corporate name was a little narrow-gauge branch that ran to Santa Fe, NM, the famous 'Chili' line, along the title river. However, it certainly lived up to its name of "Western," heading over the Rockies to Salt Lake City.
Or how about the St. Louis-San Francisco, known affectionately as the "Frisco" (and don't ever use that name if you're visiting San Francisco, BTW, unless you want to be unceremoniously dropped off the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge) which never got west of Texas.
And how about the "Nevada Northern"? It's in the MIDDLE of the state, LOL!
My favorite: The Atlantic and Pacific railroad, which never got near EITHER ocean, LOL! (Well, the Pacific, kinda/sorta, since it was absorbed by the Santa Fe).
But railroad nomenclature would certainly be much the poorer without those fanciful names. And the great railroads that sported them.
KBCpresidentDo railroads whos name includes the word "Midland" Have to visit a town by that name to use it in their naame
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
I used to have a pass (in a collection that vanished during a long-ago move) from a chap who modeled the, "Pacific Southern."
Last time I checked a globe, the only thing south of the Pacific is Antarctica...
About a half-century ago, I briefly toyed with the name, "Arizona Northern." Then I noticed a minor obstacle to my imagineered route - the Grand Canyon!
Like the D&RGW, which had very little contact with the Rio Grande, the AT&SF reached Santa Fe by way of a not-very-significant branch line no longer part of the present-day BNSF.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
you don't actually have to have a town named midland, but there is a town of Midland, Michigan
The builders & financiers had to call it something. Sometimes, "Central" had already been taken by another road, but "midland" was still available.
The Tennessee Central was built east from Nashville , intending to link with Knoxville. Instead, it linked up with the southern line coming down from Ohio. To the west, it went northwest to Clarksville.
The NC & STL built from Atlanta to Chattanooga to Nashville. Rails ended in KY, not anywhere near St Louis. It is possible they could have built a connection via Cairo to St Louis.
The Tennessee Midland was intended to be a new route from Memphis to Jackson to Nashville, a bit south of the NC& STL route. It never crossed the TN river. The L&N bought it, leased it to the NC& STL, then put it out of business in the 1930's.
The point is you may be able to "plan" a route not on any RR map that is pure fantasy. It could have been built, if money was available.
Some routes went bankrupt as soon as any natural resources were used up (timber, coal, ores, etc) so no online business.Other routes may not work without some feeder traffic.
KBCpresident How about this one: Eastern Pacific! LOL!
Or this one..."Western & Atlantic"
Dave
Just be glad you don't have to press "2" for English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ_ALEdDUB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqFS1GZL4s
http://s73.photobucket.com/user/steemtrayn/media/MovingcoalontheDCM.mp4.html?sort=3&o=27
steemtrayn Or this one..."Western & Atlantic"
The real-life 1:1 scale Western and Atlantic operated a couple of notorious locomotives called Jonah, Texas and General. There was some cat named Andrews involved in that incident...
I don't believe the W&A ever reached the Atlantic. The farthest west it got was western Georgia.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - NOT Georgia in April, 1862)