As for actually modeling mixed consist, No. T/C does have a modified RDC that carries passengers and express freight, as needed.
A few neat old photos: (Smoky Mountain Railroad of Tennessee)
I've only got two active passenger cars, coach and baggage, converted from Amercian flyer hi-rail with new underframes, paint, end platforms, trucks and redetailed, both are of pre 1900 vintage which ties in well with my 1927 timeframe, hence the occasional mixed does occur. I have a turn called the vulture, this local handles pickup and setouts on a non priority basis, typically it runs every 2 or 3rd operation session gathering and forwarding shook cars other non perishible traffic, more times then not it will use either car or both in leiu of the traditional caboose.
Dave
SperandeoIf you want to run a mixed train in the 1970s or 80s, there are a couple of prototype examples. <snip> The Soo Line had a Wisconsin branchline local that was officially a mixed train until about 1980, although it carried no passenger equipment. Anyone who insisted on riding, and it took some determination, was carried in the caboose. Thanks to all those who found my column on mixed trains interesting or useful. Merry Christmas, Andy
I'm considering doing something similar to the SOO's N. Michigan and N. Wisconsin mixed operations on my proto-freelanced BN Dakota branch. My theory is that the company failed to properly submit abandonment papers to the state ICC years ago, which then denied the railroad's petition to annul passenger service on the line. This obscure operation continued on for many years, just like the SOO service.
The railroad removed the passenger coach from service, instead carrying any remaining passengers in the caboose. I have three of the Walthers Platinum-line International bay window waycars in Cascade Green, figuring that the cupola is best eliminated for safety reasons on these particular trains. The daily BN mixed would connect with Amtrak's Chicago-Seattle/Portland service that stops at the mainline junction depot.
Not that there are all that many hearty souls making the trip nowadays, with paved 65 MPH highways all around. Still, there are those without a car - by choice or otherwise - that need the service. The crews are friendly in these parts and do their best to make the rare passenger comfortable for the several hour trip up the line.
Wayne, (off topic)
What great river modeling! How did you do that?
Ernie C
Thank you for the kind words, Ernie.
The river base is 3/8" plywood on a 1"x4" open grid frame. I sprayed it with "wet" water (to prevent the wood from drawing too much moisture from the plaster), then applied a thin (1/8" or-so) layer of Durabond90, a patching plaster which sets in approximately 90 minutes, regardless of how thin or thick it's mixed. I used an assortment of drywall knives to level it, more-or-less, then, as it began to set, used the knives to "tease" up the ripples around the bridge piers.
While it sets in 90 minutes, I gave it an extra day or two to fully harden, then used a 2" brush to apply flat latex house paint to the riverbed - I used the same brown as my basic "dirt" colour, and the grey/green is from background tree construction. Where the two colours met, the paints were applied "wet", allowing them to be blended together somewhat.
A day or two later, I used a 1/2" brush and some PollyScale white to add the "whitewater" effects, then, the following day, brushed on three coats of high gloss water-based clear urethane, following the manufacturer's directions regarding time between coats. This is especially important, as waiting too long between coats will require the previous coat to be sanded, not especially practical for this application.
The urethane stands up very well, and the hardness of the Durabond allows me to place my camera directly atop the water for photos, with no scratching of the surface and with none of the plaster breaking-off or crumbling. It's been in place for several years, with no cracking or yellowing, and no shrinkage. An occasional dusting keeps the "water" sparkling.
I also did this lake-side scene, with choppy water and breakers - a damp sponge lifted the chop, and careful manipulation of a drywall knife put some curl into the breakers:
Now, back to our regular programming
Wayne
I was rummaging through some photos and I did find a picture of one of my mixed trains. This one has a not-normal Pullman green combine. This means that the car is borrowed from the mainline pool. Normal cars used on Santa Fe branchline and mixed trains were red oxide. Santa Fe #67/68 daily Wichita to Pratt Kansas
Okay.30 Years ago,Kachina Press published a book about Mixed Train Service on the Santa Fe titled"Coach Cabbage and Caboose".
The title refers to what a Secretary at the Wichita Offices called Coach/Combine/Caboose Mixed Trains:"Coach Cabbage and Caboose"*(*Coach Baggage and Caboose).
Now Seagraves and Bledsoe,Texas are outside Lubbock,so theyr'e nowhere near Amarillo!!However,in Steve Goen's Book"Santa Fe in The Lone Star State",there are photos of the Amarillo-Lubbock Connection Trains"Eastern Express/West Texas Express".
Although not really mixed trains,the three car locals could be honorary mixed trains.
They consisted of a Streamlined Baggage;Chair Car and Sleeper and they connected The California Special in Lubbock with the San Francisco Chief in Amarillo.
New Mexico's Santa Fe Southern has a daily mixed train from Santa Fe to Lamy.
Also Disney's"Beverly Hills Chihuahua"has some great scenes of a Ferromex Mixto.*(*Mixed Train in Mexico).
Now with the exception of the Ferromex Mixto,the others can be modeled very easily.
Santa Fe Southern:A couple of Walthers Trainline Geeps,an Idler Flat Car with rails*(A Model Power Flatcar'll do in a pinch)for the tourists;some modern freight cars and a couple of IHM Heaveyweight Coaches.
ATSF Eastern Express/West Texas Express:Most Photos of it show it being pulled by an E8.
However,there's no reason a"Torpedo Boat"GP7 in Zebra Stripe;PA1 or F3/7 can't work!!
Then get a Walthers Streamlined Baggage Car;Chair Car and Sleeper in Santa Fe silver.
The IHC/Rivarossi Heavyweight Combine has a slight resemblance to a Santa Fe Combine,so a quick repaint into Santa Fe Oxide Red or Olvie Green and it'll do in a pinch.
The Ferromex Mixto:While it's no problem finding Ferromex GP60's and SD 40-2's from Athearn and the Box Cars and 60'Flat from either Athearn or Intermountain are no real problem,just a quick relettering job from NdeM to FXE.
The Caboose,a slight toughie,but Athearn makes the Wide Vision Caboose in NdeM Yellow so it's passable.
The Passenger Cars are the real thorn in the side as although they look slightly US or Canadian,they seem a little small,so that might be a problem!!Anyway,I hope it helps.
BN had one between Wishram, Washington and Bend, Oregon. Daily excpet Sunday, and lasted until Amtrak. They had heavyweight combines, ex-SP&S 272 and 273. The combines were assigned BN numbers, but never actually recieved them.
Looks like it was used as a caboose, and had an all-weather window on rhe second window in the passenger compartment from the end.
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
I was looking through my latest Historic Rails Catalouge and a couple of items caught my eye for mixed train modeling:on Page 24,there's a selection of Old Time Wooden Cars from Model Power/Mantua.
There's a Side Door Caboose and a Clestory Roofed Combine.
The Combine Caboose looks like it'd be perfect for nearly any era from 1870-1970.
Seems like all you have to do to modernize it would be to snip off the truss rods and change the trucks.
Inspiring pictures Bill!!!
I'm modelling a logging and mining branchline... the project is freelanced, but based on a real town and a real railway that served the area...
The layout is in the early stages by now, but I had the occasion to run the consist a few times. The story is set in 1954, 2 years before the road was built with government subsides.
The mixed train run once a day, starting from the mainline station early in the morning (after the transfer with the morning express interurban trolley) and leaving at 6:00 PM each night.
The consist is made of an 1889 old time combine for loggers, tourists and the mail, a caboose, a box cars for goods (and coming back with sawn lumbers), a flat cars for cars and trucks and one or two gravel hopper. Frequently, a tank car can be seen bringing fuel to the village. Weekly, an other mixed train reach the loggers camp and bring them home on saturday night and come back the sunday night. The old #21 4-6-0 is habitually pulling the mixed train, but since the main line is now run on diesel power, the #22 2-6-0 is frequently seen when the older engine fails. Rumors says the #21 will retire soon since the boiler is leaking.
Here you can see old #21 building the mixed train at the interchange with Pit Asselin serving as ingeneer.
Matt
Proudly modelling the Quebec Railway Light & Power Co since 1997.
http://www.hedley-junction.blogspot.com
http://www.harlem-station.blogspot.com
Matt said "However, it is strictly forbidden to use mixed train with ore cars for security reasons."
As if passengers wouldn't be caught carrying off a ton of ore containing a bit of gold. If concentrated ore, it should be carried in box cars anyway.
Mark
Hi Mark,
Funny thing, I thought I had edited my post and removed that sentence yesterday! I should have said stone instead of ore... Nobody's gonna make a penny out of the load!!! When you're not writing in your native language, it's what happen.
The only ore they mined in my area at the time was a small mica deposit that didn't last long enough to be a profitable business at the end of WW2. As you said, they would ship it by box car anyway. You see, freelancing a line isn't easier than following a prototype. Sometimes, you think things make sense and they don't.
In fact, the line carry granite, gravel and stone blocks for building. Granite can be quite large when extracted from the quarry to be cut in a shop. In the 50's and still today, large stone veneers were extremely popular in modern buildings all over North America. A small operation like mine in Beauce, QC, exported a lot of these blocks back then to be cut for NYC skyscrappers.
This railway still use a lot of old wood frame cars for regular service, it's why I thought it wouldn't be wise to mix them with granite loads on a cheap mountainous line. But more seriously, the stone train isn't a regular, is quite heavy and very slow, so there's no reason to offer the passenger service on it.
TA462 Sometimes I'll run a Ontario Northland mixed train, they call it the Little Bear. It hauls everything from people's cars and trucks to supplies for the tiny communities in Northern Ontario. They even have a car built just for canoes.
Sometimes I'll run a Ontario Northland mixed train, they call it the Little Bear. It hauls everything from people's cars and trucks to supplies for the tiny communities in Northern Ontario. They even have a car built just for canoes.
This reminded me of a picture I took last summer, Alaska Railroad does the same thing with rafts.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
Sailormatlac Funny thing, I thought I had edited my post and removed that sentence yesterday! I should have said stone instead of ore...
Funny thing, I thought I had edited my post and removed that sentence yesterday! I should have said stone instead of ore...
You had, Matt, but I couldn't pass up your slip up.
Mark, you got the eye of the tiger! The GESTAPO is after me I guess!!!
Anyway, I just wondered if there was particular kind of freight that was never carried with passengers... But in the other hand, mixed trains are rarely more than a very few cars long.
I think mixed trains are an excellent opportunity to run passenger service on a layout not designed for large passenger fleets.
Sailormatlac Anyway, I just wondered if there was particular kind of freight that was never carried with passengers... But in the other hand, mixed trains are rarely more than a very few cars long.
I don't have an authoritative or well-informed answer. However, I would be surprised if the Mina Mixed ever carried box-car loads of artillery shells from the Hawthorne ammunition depot.
markpierce markpierce Yeah, I drove along it some eight or ten years ago and the track (rail and ties) had been pulled. The former Mina yard was a bare expanse. The freight depot was still standing, barely. Finally found my photo of the Mina freight house. I'd be surprised if it is still standing.
markpierce Yeah, I drove along it some eight or ten years ago and the track (rail and ties) had been pulled. The former Mina yard was a bare expanse. The freight depot was still standing, barely.
Yeah, I drove along it some eight or ten years ago and the track (rail and ties) had been pulled. The former Mina yard was a bare expanse. The freight depot was still standing, barely.
Finally found my photo of the Mina freight house. I'd be surprised if it is still standing.
On the way back from Bluff, Utah, I passed throught Mina, NV yesterday. The freight depot was GONE. A local resident told me the depot was torn down perhaps 10 years ago, so the above photo was taken shortly before that happened. Long live memories of the Espee!