American & Canadian Passenger Train Operations on your model railroad

[AntonioFP45]

Leighant,

NIce! Couple of years ago, Model Railroader featured Chuck Hitchcock and his Santa Fe based layout. He runs on a prototype type schedule simialr to what you just listed. A lot of switching manuevers on a tight schedule keeps things "cooking" on his road.

[Anonymous]

As I model a fictional museum line, I run short passenger services as tourist trains, along with the odd freight (CSX has track rights on the line as well). These are either formed of a couple of superliners or a bilevel cab car and coach.

[leighant]

I only have doodlebug service on my small layout representing a Santa Fe secondary line in East Texas. Hope to have a "big" layout someday with a Mission-style station, 3 major Santa Fe Texas trains, the East Texas doodlebug and a slightly anachronistic connection with the Texas Mexican.

The Passenger Schedule at Santa Vaca

7:30 AM TexMex#2 arr from Corp Christi/Laredo(via Belt Railroad)
switcher grabs sleeper from TexMex#2
7:55 AM #16 TEXAS CHIEF arr from Karankawa
#16 motive power pulls clear of head end cars
switcher places sleeper on #16
switcher pulls baggage-express from #16
adds baggage-express & RPO
8:00 AM #5 Mail train arr from Kansas City (Norton staging)
#5 power pulls clear of head end cars
#16 power couples back to its train
8:10 AM #16 TEXAS CHIEF dep for Chicago(Norton staging)
** TEXAS CHIEF NB and CALIFORNIA SPECIAL SB trains making rolling pass in
double-track territory
outside station
switcher grabs 2 baggage express cars from #5
8:15 AM #76 CALIFORNIA SPECIAL arr from California (Norton staging)
8:20 AM #5 Mail train dep to Karankawa
9:05 AM Motor #205 EastTex dep for Lost River (staging)



6:10 PM #206 arr from Lost River (staging)
6:45 PM #75 CALIFORNIA SPECIAL dep for California(Norton staging)
** trains pass in double-track territory
outside station
7:00 PM #15 TEXAS CHIEF arr from Chicago(Norton staging)
7:10 PM #15 TEXAS CHIEF dep for Karankawa
8:00 PM TexMex#1 dep for CorpChristi/Laredo (STUB)
9:10 PM #6 Mail train arr from Karankawa
9:25 PM #6 Mail train dep for Kansas City(Norton)

As you can see, I LIKE passenger operations.

[Anonymous]

I am going to have a pair of CNW commuter trains. Hopefully powered by BLI E7's.

[Anonymous]

4884bigboy, you're right. Amtrak wasn't around until May 1st, 1971. My model railroad will have Amtrak and freight, with business trains behind an A-B-A set of F units and excursions behind Pennsy K4 Pacific 1361.

[Anonymous]

My CSX layout will have 2 Amtrak runs aday (Amtrak's Chicago-Grand Rapids Pere Marquette) along with a few steam excursions.

[CP5415]

How about all of the above in regards to the poll.
Since it's my railroad, I've decided to run CP, D&H, B&M, VIA & Amtrak for passenger service.
For intercity service I'm going with all of the above.
Commuter service I have a CP & B&M Proto RDC3.
For excursion I have a CPR 4-6-2 with matching maroon heavyweight cars, a Virginia & Truckee 4-4-0 with matching cars & a NYC FA2 that will be used for excursion service
as well.
Call me crazy, but I just don't want to see the same equipment on the tracks all the time.
I like to see variety.

Gordon

[Anonymous]

I have several Amtrak trains running on my layout. An E8 AB set with 8 to 10 cars most of the time. Another E unit running 4 or 5 cars plus several F7 A and B's. This is the normal set up. I have passenger equipment for UP, RI, SOU, ATSF that make appearances or get changed out. My Freight most of the time is RI and BN.

RMax

[johncolley]

Cacole and AntonioFP45, I agree 100% In addition to my 50 plus car freight with 4 unit FT and sometimes a 2 unit FT helper 2/3 way back, I have a 15 car Great Northern "Empire Builder" pulled by my new BLI E-7. The sound is fantastic and I am getting a second unit the end of Jan. On my now 2nd re-build layout I will have a passenger yard with commissary, Pullman facility, and post office spur on one side of the main and freight yard with engine service on the other. Ought to keep me going another 15 or 20 years. johncolley tholcapn sailnrail Port Townsend, WA

[cacole]

I run Proto 2000 Illinois Central A-B-B-A sound-equipped HO-scale E-8 locomotives with a 15-car IC passenger train on the Cochise & Western MR Club's layout in addition to freight trains pulled by mostly steam engines. The C&W's basic theme is the transition era, so members are free to run whatever they want.

[Anonymous]

I voted pre Amtrak and Freight, but I actually mix it up. I run PRR trains as well as Amtrak. I like passenger trains and I'm am working toward a true Union Station - PRR, B&O and NYC.

[michaelstevens]

Lots of passenger equipment, available on my layout.

4 ea. long Amtrak consists and a CSX business train for US sessions, then

7 ea. British passenger sets (steam and/or diesel), for when I revert to "a modicum of normalcy" !!

[ClinchValleySD40]

No passenger equipment on the railroad anywhere.

[RhB_HJ]

I've been modelling Swiss railways for a l-o-n-g time. Lots of passenger trains and the freights better get out of the way for the crack trains.

Used to be like that in NA many, many years ago, too.[;)][:D]

[Anonymous]

I voted for pre-Amtrak passenger trains and freight, though I have little freight rolling stock. Passenger trains are my FIRST love and have always been. I'm nuts about streamliners and that's clearly evident by the number of passenger cars (and the locomotives that haul 'em!) in my train room. Heavyweight consists get equal treatment. I collect Amtrak equipment too and often will run a vintage consist on one track and Amtrak on the other. I like to pretend that trains of the past are still operational--and that Amtrak was created in later years to supplement the old because the demand by the traveling public for passenger trains is so tremendous that the privately held railroads can't accommodate the legion of riders! When I have the extra space, I want to incorporate a large station with at least 10 stub-end tracks feeding into it. Imagine the explosion of color and equipment from many different railroad companies. I also can't wait to get a my hands on the HO scale Super Chief currently offered by Walthers![:D]

[Roadtrp]

I love passenger trains and that is what my first train is, although I plan to add a freight train in the next month or so.

I'm running an F40PH locomotive with 4 full-length dome/lounge cars. I would have liked a Superliner set, but the only one I could find in N scale was from Kato, and that was more than I wanted to spend on my first cars. So I thought the full-length domes at least looked similar. I know there has probably never been a passenger consist of only full-length domes anywhere, but if anyone asks I'll say it's an excursion train on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It's my world, right? [:D]

[AntonioFP45]

[:)] Hey, Amigos!

Having ridden passenger trains in my early childhood, I've always enjoyed watching them cruise by.

[8D] How many of you run some type of passenger service on your layouts? Do you enjoy modeling the local, long distance trains, commuter, or a combo of these? Heavyweight cars, MU Railcars, Streamliners, Subways, Trolleys or a lone RDC on a branchline? How many cars are on your passenger trains?

Pre-Amtrak & VIA Rail, or modern? I like the fact that VIA in Canada still uses the classic Budd cars and seem to take good care of them.

Freight is emphasized so much more in this hobby but running "varnish" can add so much more to making operations interesting on layouts regardless of size or time period. [:D][:)][8D][:I]

With good looking passenger cars available from several manufacturers HO and N scales, it's so much easier now!

I sure like those Walthers HO Budd cars! Am still buying them one by one.[;)] The Proto NYC subway cars are beautiful. I rode the prototypes as a kid!