Alex is right. No matter how big the plastics factory, it's really not worth it to build a new line over the mountains to connect to a line something like 50 miles away...
Maybe that's no biggie in SC, but you've never seen the White Mountains... Think vertical granite cliffs several hundred feet high... Compare it to building a bridge to Hawaii because you want to serve the industries there...
EDIT: Look at the background hills in this photo of that area. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1306538
I'd abandon the DDWH from your scheme if I were you...it just doesn't make sense...
I actually have a pretty similar story to yours that I'd like to share:
My previous railroad was called the Springfield Central Railroad. It was actually the same layout as the WRS is, but a different prototype. It consisted of a freelanced bridge line over the Berkshires that was built on a new route via Pittsfield, MA, and a few freelanced cities. Then I discovered that CSX and GRS each had an almost identical route, so I abandoned that plan...
Alex and several others came up with the B&M's Northern Division as a route to model, from Nashua, NH, to White River Junction, VT. Alex came up with a whole bunch of names for the new railroad, but I ended up picking White River Southern because all his were too hard to remember...
Later, I was able to persuade a friend to pick a locale for his layout. I suggested Nashua, NH, to Manchester, NH, and he went with that, calling his road the Pennichuck Railroad (reporting marks PCRR). Now the WRS was from Manchester to White River Junction, connecting with the PCRR at Manchester and Alex's old Midland New England (MNER) and a few other roads (CN and/or NECR, I don't remember which one MNER ran over) at WRJ.
Later the PCRR expanded North to Concord, NH. That actually made more sense, because Concord had a larger yard and was a junction point between the WRS to the Northwest, PCRR to the South, and some railroad North to the tourist-hauling Hobo Railroad.
The WRS and the PCRR work closely together, hauling run-through trains from Nashua to WRJ. I'm not exactly clear what happens South of Nashua. So far, no locomotives run through, but that may change if we trade some WRS and PCRR locos.
In reality, the line from Nashua to Concord is owned by Guilford Rail System (GRS), while the WRS mainline to White River Junction is abandoned. The line up to the Hobo Railroad is largely unknown to me. I know the Hobo Railroad operates it near Franconia Notch. I think GRS owns the line up to there now. I've seen a New England Southern GP10 (NEGS is no more, Guilford killed their lease of the line and took it over again) up by the Hobo Railroad in Lincoln, NH.
My story hasn't changed since the PCRR expanded North. I don't expect it to for a long time either. I've learned to stick with one railroad and story.
The dust has ruined my shiny Arrow IIIs.... I used Alclad Chrome, and most of these photos don't do it justice. If it were outside in the sun, it would look just like the real thing.
Its hard to tell in the above photos, but the paint finish is like a mirror-
Modeling Conrail, Amtrak and NJ DOT under the wires in New Jersey, July 1979.
Yeah, uh, that doesn't work ;) WRS has connections with NECR/CN and PCRR/GRS. GRS and NECR are your only other options. Just let DDWH die, and the nimby's have their precious rail trail.
Alex
Well, SBRail is attempting to save the DDWH. That plastic pellet plant should bring plenty of traffic (tankers of chemicals in, hoppers of finished product out). Of course, I'll say we built a line to another RR, to save the WRS (aka Tyler) from having to accomodate unit trains of this hauled by two SD40s (1 in SCUP colors, the other in AS colors). Hey tyler, if you ever get to where you'd like the trains, I'll re-write the history, but for right now, I'll just go with laying track to another RR with access to a port.
EDIT: hey, that's what SBRail does; invest in small shortlines (or in the case of it's SC system, a regional whose debts caught up with it) and tries to make them profitable.
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
My question is, why would someone go and buy a tiny little bankrupt shortline in the middle of New Hampshire? I can see a larger road that could make back the investment and become a profitable enterprise, but a bankrupt TEN MILE SHORTLINE? It would take YEARS to get your investment back, if you even succeded.
The DDWH was formed when the old mainline washed out. That was the final straw for the B&M's Northern Division, which is now the WRS mainline. Service on the line would be really bad prior to the washout, as the line was nearing abandonment as it is. After the state funded a new line around the washout (present day WRS) they contracted the DDWH to operate the remainder of the washed out line. Industries would be untrustful of rail service.
The DDWH shouldn't be around at all... I'm stretching it as it is...
Railfan Alex Well the changes in history are interesting to say the least! Jordan! Don't order GP38 #3802, that tiny fuel tank will proove insufficient!
Well the changes in history are interesting to say the least!
Jordan! Don't order GP38 #3802, that tiny fuel tank will proove insufficient!
Interesting...but proto-typical? That's the biggest thing, if you don't think it's proto-typical you can tell me.
Awww, 3802 was my favorite, Ex MILW....
My Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JR7582 My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wcfan/
Well, sorry for the very late post but...
Since we are talking about our freelance lines...I made some changes to the WIN.
Here's a new, simplified map. Blue is CN, Yellow is UP, Red is CP, Light Blue is ELS, Grey is DME/ICE, Green is the WIN, and Maroon is WIN trackage rights.
Long story, but I'm now saying the WIN bought the GBW from East Winona-Green Bay, this was there start up line. The line from Shawano-Agronne got abandoned in 1998. Also, in 1998 the WIN rebuilt the GBW Bridge in Winona, and connected to the DME. This had to with the DMEs plan to build into the PRB. Let's just say the WIN wanted to tp off coal traffic off the DME if they ever built the line (Now we'll see if CP builds the line). The WIN also only owns one line in Chicago, the line from Leithton-MP 0.0 on that line.
I don't really like to add my name into the WIN history, I'd rather be a railfan of the WIN, but I suppose I am the creator...
Well, how do you like this new WIN scheme? I added an OLS logo to the end. All new painted WIN locomotives will have this.
Well, the SD60s need to be painted, so why not try it on one?
WIN 6001 will get repainted in the traditional WIN scheme, the weird double lighting stripe wasn't working for me.
Also, Tyler, letter your SDP35 in "WINX", that is the WINC (Wisconsin Illinois and Northern Cooperation) subsidiary that owns and leases equipment. Again, long story, lets just say I re-did the WIN. The MW SD40s are no more, the IMW also is not in with WIN history.
The MnE is great. The guy that owned the old LHS worked for it. I think that was the main reason why he closed, because he was too busy.
Anyway, late Christmas is GREAT!!! I got $75 tonight! Soon, I'll have to go to the LHS in Kenvil (maybe I'll see some MnE on the Chester or High Bridge Branches!) I'll probably get the Diner, some hoppers or tank cars for the bakery, or some replacement couplers.
As I thought, my F40 is a DCC plug, so that'll be easy. According to the diagram that came with it, my geep is hard wired, so ditch lights might be hard. At least that's what it seems like, but I can't be sure until I open it for myself. That is, when I figure out how to...
I also forgot to mention, for my lake, I planned to use real sand. I took some real Jersey Shore sand while I was down there last week. That'll probably be the next scenery step.
My Model Railroad: Tri State RailMy Photos on Flickr: FlickrMy Videos on Youtube: YoutubeMy Photos on RRPA: RR Picture Archives
TrainManTyLove the M&E...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymdMMUNZnlY Sawyer: You mean the DDWH created the AAT and all it's sister lines? Or just the owner? Remember that the DDWH is a tiny (less than 10 miles) one-locomotive short line created to operate an unwanted branch line. I don't think they could afford to just operate ONE branch line in SC, much less purchase and start up operations on 5 lines from a bankrupt company. Starting up a railroad from a bankrupt company takes a lot of cash. The track would almost definetely be in horrible shape at start up, as the predecessor road would've cut most or all track maintanance to stave off bankruptcy, and then you have to get locomotives, servicing facilities, crews, MOW employees, lease or buy maintanance equipment, and start to get the online industries to start shipping by rail again. For a one-loco shortline, coming up with the cash and the confidence to invest that much is near impossible. The DDWH is probably near bankruptcy itself; they're only interchanging a few cars a day with their only connection, the WRS and have a very limited industry base that can be easily taken by trucks. They're just barely hanging on to life like many small shortlines. They really shouldn't still be around at all. Look at the hoardes of New England shortlines (most the same size or larger than the DDWH) that went bankrupt and were abandoned.
Love the M&E...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymdMMUNZnlY
Sawyer: You mean the DDWH created the AAT and all it's sister lines? Or just the owner? Remember that the DDWH is a tiny (less than 10 miles) one-locomotive short line created to operate an unwanted branch line. I don't think they could afford to just operate ONE branch line in SC, much less purchase and start up operations on 5 lines from a bankrupt company. Starting up a railroad from a bankrupt company takes a lot of cash. The track would almost definetely be in horrible shape at start up, as the predecessor road would've cut most or all track maintanance to stave off bankruptcy, and then you have to get locomotives, servicing facilities, crews, MOW employees, lease or buy maintanance equipment, and start to get the online industries to start shipping by rail again.
For a one-loco shortline, coming up with the cash and the confidence to invest that much is near impossible. The DDWH is probably near bankruptcy itself; they're only interchanging a few cars a day with their only connection, the WRS and have a very limited industry base that can be easily taken by trucks. They're just barely hanging on to life like many small shortlines. They really shouldn't still be around at all. Look at the hoardes of New England shortlines (most the same size or larger than the DDWH) that went bankrupt and were abandoned.
No, no, no, not at all. The owner is a great businessman and grew the DDWH to be extremely prosperous, and when the owner heard how bad the SRR was, he swooped in, re-organized it, and creted the SBRail system. Or I could say a local businessman made the SBRail system, then bought the DDWH when it was in severe trouble, providing an SBRail locomotive for it. Yeah, I'll go with that. And since the DDWH is almost bankrupt itself, say it went bankrupt in 2005, SBRail came in, bought it, and brought online a major industry (say, a rather large plastic pellet plant?) to save it.
I was reading a book on New England shortlines, and the abandoned shortlines just went on and on... Springfield Terminal, Lamoile Valley, Hoosac Tunnel and Wilmington, the Suncook Valley, the Maine Coast, the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad (dissolved in 2008), the list goes on and on...
What if they were to invest in a startup, then have their only loco have a mechanical failure or something? They wouldn't have any money left to have it fixed (and don't have the facilities to fix it themselves) and would go bankrupt.
The only way I can see it happening is if the DDWH's owner is a huge tycoon and the DDWH is only part of his portfolio of properties. Then he might have enough money to try a startup.
It's your railroad of course, I'm just trying to provide a reality check here...
Tyler, your layout is looking good.
Love the sig., Jordan!
Happy 2009 ya'll. For SBRail (and consequently the AAT), there should be more locomotives painted for SBRail's 5 roads (latter in the post), the branch will be more scenicked, and the industries should start to get buildings. Also, the paint jobs will increase in quality when there is an airbrush (will get one next chance i get), and also, there will be DCC at the end of the year.
Now more on SBRail:
(As I was thinking of what to do with the rest of the line that AAT didn't get, I thought up the SBRail inc., and a good way to run it, and here's what I got now):
When the SRR went under, the owner of the DDWH, sawyer berry, decided to return to his roots in SC and help the SRR out. The SRR went under b/c many long debts finally caught up with them in 1992. SBRail came in and divided the lines of the SRR up into 5 railroads; 4 meet in Aiken and one branches off another in Columbia. they are as follows:
The Aiken-Augusta Terminal (AAT): created to handle the high traffic density of that stretch of line, the AAT also operates 4 branch lines. This line sees CSX interchange traffic and their own traffic with its own trains, and hosts many Norfolk southern Freights bound for Charlotte and Latta.
The South Carolina Upstate Railroad (SCUP): created to operate the portion of line from Aiken to Anderson, the SCUP hauls bridge traffic and loads from Aiken (which comes from all other points on the railroad) to the Pickens Rwy at Anderson, which then handles transporting that traffic either to their customers or NS and CSX. They also have several branch lines.
The South Carolina Midstate Railroad (SCMS): created to handle the midstate route ofd the SRR from Aiken to Charlotte, north carolina, the SCMS handles CSX bridge traffic and hsots Norfolk Souhtern freights. Alos, the Columbia Easten, which runs from Columbia to Latta, branches off in Columbia. This line has some online switching, but it's main industrial areas are columbia and charlotte.
Columbia Eastern (CE): Created to handle the line from Columbia to Latta, SC (In my world, latta chose to become a railroad hub, instead of remain a small town). This line sees no through frieghts, but plenty of rail cars from the Pee Dee River rwy. and NS (or CSX, whichever is in Latta). Plenty of online customers to keep crews busy.
Aiken Southern (AS): Created to handle the line from Aiken to Charleston, this is also a bridge route, handling traffic, etc.
map:
They all have different paint schemes, but the schemes share some common characteristics. SBRail also owns the DDWH, and the Indiana southern (operates ex-Monon, L&N, and Conrail line in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky). Schemes so far [all images posted w/ permission of author and MR (7/17/08)]:
AAT:
SCMS:
SCUP:
As promised here's the rest of the pix:
NS GP50 6558 (will be renumbered to 7058)
Main plant and office of Magic Pan Bakeries
Switching MPB
My geep and F40
Last night, I also finished the silos and transfer building for the bakery. I only built three silos (I lost half of the first one) but it actually makes switching easier. I still have to paint and attach some details, and decal and weather the buildings, but main construction is done.
I think I'm going to add some freight traffic from the Morristown & Erie. There are no painted models, so I'll probably get an Atlas C424 and repaint it as M&E 18. It will only run part of the line, which is three or four laps.
I need a decoder for my F40PH, which I'll probably (eventually) rebuild into a F40PH-2CAT (no rear platform, to make room for caterpillar engine). I'm still waiting to order my PL42. Also trying to figure out what I'll need for it. green elite cab, what drive did you/are you using for yours?
Also need to replace some couplers, probably all of them with Kadee #5s, because the "whisker" couplers are a PITA.
Need more freight cars. And passenger cars, probably mostly CVs, with some CIIIS and IVs thrown in.
Need to finish road. More scenery. As of now, I have no cars or people or anything, so I need some. And more structures. Miss Bettie's Diner is supposed to be there but of course its not, so we'll just pretend.
Now that I have a list of things to do, I realize how much it is. Ugh... Maybe I'll have half of it done before I graduate... in 2012!
TrainManTy Jordan: What did you do to your avatar? It used to be well lit, now the left side of the nose is in shadow... I like the new sig though!
Jordan: What did you do to your avatar? It used to be well lit, now the left side of the nose is in shadow... I like the new sig though!
Alright, Jordan has come to save the day! (Old one is back)
Thanks for the compliments of my new sig, I think it turned out alright. Although JEPG compression kinda killed it...
Tyler layout looks great!
Joe, you layout is really starting to come along.
Grrrr, because of MRs lack of detail on there SDL39 article, I must start over on my Conductors side long hood. I used the wrong thickness of styrene. Most of the hood doors where salvaged, along with the blower cover, and filter screen. There goes two months of work out the window!
I got some quick photos of the new scenery in WRJ. The ballast needs a bit of touch-up in some areas, and a few details remain to be added. I'm going to put a chain link fence by the tracks near that blue steel autobody shop and the building being torn down. Also I need to add wires on those power poles...
Those cheap Bachmann crossing lights at the railroad crossing are just stand-ins - I'm going to replace them with operating Walthers or NJ International lights, depending on which I can find for cheaper. Also, that pipe bridge by the green building over the tracks (disguising where the tracks go through the backdrop) is just leaning on the green building right now; it will eventually be a pipe connecting to the wall. This whole scene is still a work in progress...
Happy New Year guys!
I like that new sig Jordan!
Joe, the trees look awesome.
Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a great 08 and 09 will be even better.
Got some work done last night, so here's those pictures.
More to come later.
Well happy new year guys! We’ll see what 2009 brings; what new members to come, new projects, new locomotives, ect. I hope you guys have a great new year! The WIN wishes you all a Happy New Year too!
Winter vacation is too short, school starts back up in a week.
Sad thing is I didn't finish any of my projects because of work and car repairs.
However I ordered the shells for my C424s. After a month of pinesol and several weeks in alcohol, I gave up on getting the paint off. Probably should have gotten the shells all along since I could have gotten them with the money I used on pinesol and alcohol.
I spent a few hours weathering 7 cars today. I still have to do 30 more.....
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.
Packers#1TrainManTyI've got to teach him that the dirtier a car is, the better... Don't forget about locomotives as well.
TrainManTyI've got to teach him that the dirtier a car is, the better...
I've got to teach him that the dirtier a car is, the better...
Don't forget about locomotives as well.
Yes, they do tend to get rather grimy...
Demonwolf, what do you mean by a layout update? Like a fly-over video of the whole layout? I probably will do that once I get the camcorder fixed.
Jordan, do you mean video or photos? I have done some videography during sessions (see this playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F770B58ABB40831A) but photos are considerably more difficult. Also, if this is a full session, I'll have my hands full assisting the operators and/or operating a train myself. Only Alex can really be called an experianced operator on the WRS, and even he hasn't operated it since I've totally changed the operating scheme.
My younger brother Andy and I operated a bit today in the yard. He wanted to run the snowplow back and forth in the yard, so I helped him pull out the cabooses on the caboose/MOW/storage track in the yard to get to the plow. Then we pulled out the plow, shoved the cabooses back, and I let him run the plow back and forth in the yard. All of this was done with U23B #2306. Then we ran it over the whole layout and back into the yard. This offered me an insight into the op. session:
Hey guys.
Besides the decoder installs, I doubt I will do any modeling before school starts...
I'm swamped in projects I left last minute, and midterms are coming up. Should be busy to say the least!
Well looks like my parts haven't come yet. Tomorrow or Friday they should be here, so maybe I won't be able to get the conductors side hood for my SDL done by Friday; we'll see.
Tyler, you should do some "rail fanning" on your layout during on OP session
So here's what I've been up to lately
Working on building Magic Pan Bakeries, which I got for Christmas. Main building, office, and transfer building complete. Working on finishing silos and piping. Making and planting trees. I got scenery completely done in the corner. I'm almost out of trees, and I'm not sure when I can get more. Lots of time running trains w/ my new EZ Command. Not the greatest DCC system out there, but it sure beats DC by far.
No pictures yet, because the camera isnt working :(
I've done alot, despite my busy schedule. Hockey everyday really kills vacation. As most of you already know, I tried to have some fun by going railfanning yesterday, but it didn't go too well and I don't feel like going into details.
Maybe I'll get pictures tomorrow, if I'm not working on my term paper all day and if my dad has the other camera here.
TrainManTy Oh yeah...forgot about that! Let me tell you, 3 foot long sections of flextrack are a whole lot easier to solder than 9 inch straight sections and accompanying less-than-two-inch filler sections! There were a lot of joints to solder in the old yard...took me a whole weekend to do. The new yard took an hour. Now I want a bigger shop area... I have a ton of equipment that I can store or "repair" in the shop area, and the actual shop track will only fit two or three cars if I hope to be able to service active locomotives... Here's a short roster of cars that I can shop...some of them actually need work done on them... NH F7A ex-CN FP7 0-6-0 on flatcar and accompanying tender 1 section of an Impack on shop trucks Business car that needs repainting "Restored" 40' MOW boxcar* 40' bulkhead flatcar 2 gravel hoppers (the same ones in the epic runaway) 40' boxcar Wooden combine Snowplow Sadly, I have no room for these on the shop track, so they all sit on a track at the back of the yard where nobody can see them well. The only one that's in the shop is the ex-CN FP7.*The only reason the 40' boxcar is "Restored" and not falling apart with age (anyone who has seen how dirty I like my freight cars will know how dirty this would be) is that the car belongs to my little brother (4 in February) and he likes it clean... I showed him another identical car that was highly weathered and he seemed horrified that I'd do that to his car that he got at the Marlborough train show... I've got to teach him that the dirtier a car is, the better...
Oh yeah...forgot about that! Let me tell you, 3 foot long sections of flextrack are a whole lot easier to solder than 9 inch straight sections and accompanying less-than-two-inch filler sections! There were a lot of joints to solder in the old yard...took me a whole weekend to do. The new yard took an hour.
Now I want a bigger shop area... I have a ton of equipment that I can store or "repair" in the shop area, and the actual shop track will only fit two or three cars if I hope to be able to service active locomotives... Here's a short roster of cars that I can shop...some of them actually need work done on them...
Sadly, I have no room for these on the shop track, so they all sit on a track at the back of the yard where nobody can see them well. The only one that's in the shop is the ex-CN FP7.*The only reason the 40' boxcar is "Restored" and not falling apart with age (anyone who has seen how dirty I like my freight cars will know how dirty this would be) is that the car belongs to my little brother (4 in February) and he likes it clean... I showed him another identical car that was highly weathered and he seemed horrified that I'd do that to his car that he got at the Marlborough train show... I've got to teach him that the dirtier a car is, the better...
TrainManTy, do you think you could do a layout update? Also, you liked that Eastbound Surpise vid, I uploaded another like it, it's only a 5 engine lashup I think, but with a whole lot more cars, and also some weird dude that walked in front of the shot. LOL Anyway, I was running the train station that day, so I thought I would ask: Does anybody work their local train station some days? (Real, not models ) also could you teach my dad the dirter the better thing, he always says, "You sure you want to weather that engine, you can't get it back to normal!)
I went all out and spent nearly 200 bucks on speakers, enclosures and a Tsunami TSU-1000 EMD 567. Remember, I still have the Alco V12 251 on order as well!!
I worked all day, and I just got 5 more decoder installs to do, on top of the other two I still need to do!!!
Pictures coming later tonight mostlikely.
TrainManTyYou mean suggesting that I scrap the staging and classification yard and build a better yard there? That was definetely one of the best improvements the layout went through....
Yeah that, and the fact that your new yard is almost entirely built with MNER rail.
I like operating. Hopefully next time I'm there I'll have a CCRR S4 to play with, and a NEN 70 Tonner for you to find something to do with.
New intermodel track - 6 cars
Old intermodel track (ripped up when new one was built) - 3 cars
Caboose track - 5 cars, but only 2 without blocking intermodel track switch
A/D 2 - 4 cars
A/D 1 - 6 cars; train frequently extended all the way off the East ladder into the staging yard...
Classification 3 (local delivery) - 4 cars
Classification 2 - 5 cars
Classification 1 - 6 cars
Mainline
It was a pretty sad yard...it had mainline style ballast, and the tracks were of course way too short...
The new yard has this arrangement. I don't know the exact car count per track because I haven't yet filled any of them to that point! Back to front again:
Classification 3 (local delivery) - 10-15 cars
Classification 2 - 10-15 cars
Classification 1 - 10-15 cars
Through/Runaround track
A/D 2 - 15-20 cars
A/D 1 - 15-20 cars
Yeah, a big improvement... (no sarcasm intended) Now I can actually fit all the cars in the track they're supposed to go in!
The staging yard was pretty small too. They had a capacity each of about 7 cars plus two locomotives. By comparison, it fit in the space taken up just by my engine terminal! It was a great space saver, but the throats were all #4s and full of sharp S-curves. It was a nightmare running anything larger than a U23B on it, and that includes the Montrealer with a P40 and three Amfleets!
Now I stage my trains at crew-change points between sessions. There are two on the layout: on the double track between Dooley and Stude, and in the yard. Trains headed Westbound out of the yard or Eastbound out of West Formanek and Stude "wrap around" to the other end of the mainline. A train headed West out of the yard towards White River Junction proper (the yard is a couple miles East) appears as a train from Concord headed to the yard, and a train headed towards Concord through Stude and West Formanek appears as a train from White River Junction headed into the yard.
I haven't actually operated a session like that with it, as I haven't had a session since last summer, IIRC. I tore up the yard and replaced it (changing the operating scheme then too) when I was very frustrated with my layout and wanting to start over. Since then, I've made a lot of improvements to get the layout working a lot more reliably, as listed above. I have seen for myself how much better it is though.
Hopefully I can convince my crew to come back in April, after they were most likely met with disapointment at their first session. I have two first time visitors, and one session went okay, the other was a complete fiasco. I know one is still interested though. Alex is actually the second-most frequent operator, behind me.
For the April session I know of three people who would most likely be interested (assuming they're not busy), one operator who has operated before and his friend, one who I have no idea if he's into operation at all, and one other who really isn't into operation, and who has enough trouble remembering how to change the loco's direction. I don't think giving him waybills, an actual job to do, and the neccesity to obtain track and time is such a good idea... He might make a good brakeman or engineer if paired with another operator.