carknocker1It is the oldest continuely operated railroad in Indiana
carknocker1The railroad follows Indian creek through some very hilly countryside and watching a little 44 ton switcher lug 86 ft box cars trough these hills is just begging to be modeled .
Then model it! Hee hee. I'm re-writing the Madison railroad histry, cause I wanna watch a 60 casr coal train go up a slight "Hill" It's technically a shortline, they own about 35 miles of track, but the larger porton is stuck in a closed Proving Ground with live bombs still in it.
The shortest shorltine I can think of, owned something like no track at all, probbaly 500ft of temporary siding. It was a logging company, and every seaosn they shoved their engine out of the mill, ran up the SP to some spot where the woods were getting thick, through down a temp track, logged it, and witht hier own crews, cut back to the mills.
Actually, a logging railroad could be any lentgh you needed it, as could a mining road, or a ombination. The mines dried up, the track came out, then someone decided that was a dumb idea since there are trees, put the track back in, found a new mine under the forest... but that's creativity, not cooky prototyping
-Morgan
I am building a fictitous short line set in the 1970's. The scenario is that this short line, The Toledo Erie Central (TEC), never actually reaches Toledo. it is approximately 7 mile segment of old N&W trackage between the fictitous town of West Sandusky (the main focal point of the layout) and the real named town of Trowbridge, Ohio (no prototypical resemblence). Conrail had acquired the branch and wanted to abandon it but the industries along this line still wanted to be served by rail, so they (the industries) got together and bought the segment of this line and established their own RR which the "fleet" consists of an EMD SW1500 and a caboose, based out of the small depot in West Sandusky. The line interchanges with a class 1 RR (could be Erie Lackawanna, Pennsy, Chessie, etc.) where cars come onto the layout via The Class 1 equipment in a push-pull switching move (cabooses required). The TEC then takes over from there, sorting and distributing cars to the 6 industries that it serves, including a large brewery complex (the Mud Hen Brewery, named after the minor league baseball team, the Toledo Mud Hens).
I could go on with this but you get the idea. You can have fun creating your own short line. I will spend many many hours creating and building this small switching layout, which is L-shaped, 9' x 2' along one wall and 5' x 1' along the other. Have fun!
carknocker1 There are 3 in Southern Indiana , AW&W which survived up until 2003 which served several coal mines and a tie treatment plant , it used Alcos in the 1960's and early 70's and then had 4 SD 9's it got from the Southern RWY . It was headquartered in Oakland City , IN , I am not sure of the total miles , but not very long . Then there is the Ferdinand RR which pulled up it's tracks in the early 1990's it was 7 miles long that ran from Ferdinand , IN . to Huntingburg , IN , it served several furniture and cabinet plants and at one time a small grain elevator . It used a 44 ton switcher until it shut down , before that it was one of the last Railroads to use a 4 4 0 steam locomotive in the 1950's . it also had a gas doodle bug for passenger service . Then there is the LNAC in Corydon , IN . also 7 miles long. ( my personal Favorite ) it is still in operation but it is currently very limited . It serves a large furniture plant in Corydon , as well as several other plants and warehouses including a small chemical plant . up until 2005 it also had 2 large Ford parts plants , 1 being a frame plant for the Ford Explorer and a brakes parts plant that recieved 86 ft box cars . There main power was also a 44 ton switcher as well as several alco switchers and road engines , through the 1990's they ran several RDC's for a tourist line as well . They interchange with the NS at Corydon JCT . It is the oldest continuely operated railroad in Indiana , in the days of steam they operated 2 , 4 4 0 steam locomotives they also had a branch line that crossed Indian creek by running through the creek instead of a bridge , this brach served a grain elevator and a stone quary . The railroad follows Indian creek through some very hilly countryside and watching a little 44 ton switcher lug 86 ft box cars trough these hills is just begging to be modeled .
There are 3 in Southern Indiana , AW&W which survived up until 2003 which served several coal mines and a tie treatment plant , it used Alcos in the 1960's and early 70's and then had 4 SD 9's it got from the Southern RWY . It was headquartered in Oakland City , IN , I am not sure of the total miles , but not very long .
Then there is the Ferdinand RR which pulled up it's tracks in the early 1990's it was 7 miles long that ran from Ferdinand , IN . to Huntingburg , IN , it served several furniture and cabinet plants and at one time a small grain elevator . It used a 44 ton switcher until it shut down , before that it was one of the last Railroads to use a 4 4 0 steam locomotive in the 1950's . it also had a gas doodle bug for passenger service .
Then there is the LNAC in Corydon , IN . also 7 miles long. ( my personal Favorite ) it is still in operation but it is currently very limited . It serves a large furniture plant in Corydon , as well as several other plants and warehouses including a small chemical plant . up until 2005 it also had 2 large Ford parts plants , 1 being a frame plant for the Ford Explorer and a brakes parts plant that recieved 86 ft box cars .
There main power was also a 44 ton switcher as well as several alco switchers and road engines , through the 1990's they ran several RDC's for a tourist line as well .
They interchange with the NS at Corydon JCT .
It is the oldest continuely operated railroad in Indiana , in the days of steam they operated 2 , 4 4 0 steam locomotives they also had a branch line that crossed Indian creek by running through the creek instead of a bridge , this brach served a grain elevator and a stone quary .
The railroad follows Indian creek through some very hilly countryside and watching a little 44 ton switcher lug 86 ft box cars trough these hills is just begging to be modeled .
The AW&W was recently absorbed by NS, I believe. The LNAC is active, as you pointed out. Another short line in Indiana is the Kendallville Terminal Railway, KTR. 1.1 miles long. Serves a Kraft marshmallow plant and is quite active. A SW8 is motive power. Formerly a subsidiary of Michigan Southern. A link to short discussion and pictures.
http://www.zealot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103880
Another in Indiana is the Dubois County Railroad, which is a for-profit affiliate of the Indiana Railway Museum in Franch Lick. 16 miles long. Has had an increase in traffic over the past few years due to a large feed mill being constructed. Two Alco's, an S2 and S4, are its motive power. A link to info and photos. Interestingly, the S2 used to be owned by the Michigan Southern, and that loco is in the same basic color scheme as KTR's SW8 above.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=142932
http://indianarails.com/photos/pbm.asp?model=S2
http://alcoworld.railfan.net/dcrr.htm
- Douglas
I'll nominate the Graham County Railroad as a unique, scenic, easy to model shortline. The railroad used two shay locomotives through much of its troubled history. The line ran through the steep Smoky Mountains from Robinsonville to a connection with the Southern's Murphy Branch (now the Great Smoky Mountains RR).
Info on the shay locos: http://southern.railfan.net/ties/1966/66-9/shay.html
History of the line: http://www.grahamchamber.com/history_railroad.html
The Cedar Branch & Western--The Hillbilly Line!
The shortest I know of is the Grand Forks Railway. 3.7 miles.BN drops cars at the Pacific Abrasives site where the GFR picks them up and drops them a various industrial sites on the south side of the Kettle River in Grand Forks.
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
Yes the LNAC is the same company and I previously did model it and I may be again in the near future as there is a move in my near future .
carknocker1 Yes the LNAC is the same company and I previously did model it and I may be again in the near future as there is a move in my near future .
Athearn makes a recent run of a LNAC boxcar, as you may already know. A run of a boxcar for that small of a short line is pretty cool.
A bit off topic.
Also, attached is a link to ex-Maine Coast RS-11 #367, which sits on the property. Its very accessible for photographing. This locomotive is a favorite of some of the Alco fans on other forums.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=29464&nseq=1
I did mean that with a little humor behind it, if it didn't translate. I apologize. Call me a supporter of the shortlines though, it does sound pretty magical.
No offense taken It is pretty magical
Atlas also ran some LNAC box cars , I have these as well as several custom painted ones as well .
In August, 1954 the Santa Fe donated an steam engine and tender, #1108, to the city of Ardmore, Ok. It had to be moved 3/4 mile - from the nearest rail line to its final location. Temporary tracks were laid, the engine and tender moved, then the tracks were taken up from behind and placed in front and the process repeated. The crews worked 24 hours a day for three days to complete the job.
So, was this really a "short line"? It certainly was short in terms of distance as well as time "lived". Since it only carried one engine and tender, it was also short in service. My grandfather was the Santa Fe Agent in Ardmore, Ok at that time. I have all of the pictures that were made during the move. His is in the foreground of the picture on the right side.
Cheers, Bill M.
back in the late 1940's, there were 2 shortlines listed in the official guide as common carriers less than 1 mile long; the Valley RR in pennsylvania, and the Virginia Central, a 1-mile remnant of a 35-mile route. the Valley was shorter but was mostly an in-plant switching line. incidentally the san luis valley central still exists, complete with home-made locomotive, but as a busy junkyard spur, not a common carrier. -big duke
Minnesota, Dakota, and Western in International Falls MN. This railroad basically connects the Boise paper mill to the CN tracks at Ranier and the former BN tracks in I Falls. Besides hauling paper boxes, pulpwood, covered hoppers, and tank cars from and to CN, it also shuttled wood from the wood yard to the mill and shuttled cars across the border / river to a facility owned by the same company in Ft Francis Ontario.
A link to Google Maps of the area:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=International+Falls+MN&sll=48.60168,-93.399163&sspn=0.00354,0.009624&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=International+Falls,+Koochiching,+Minnesota&ll=48.596138,-93.401985&spn=0.056197,0.15398&t=h&z=13
Motive power is Alco switchers and new to the railroad ex UP hammerhead SW's.
Total milage is about 5 miles along.
Also you might consider the Duluth and Northeastern in Cloquet MN. It mainly handles switching for the former Potlatch, now Sappi paper mill off of BNSF. It once interchanged with DMIR, GN, and NP, as well as going way out into the woods as a logging railroad. Current milage is about 3 miles. Motive power is currently SW's, including an SW1, they ran steam until 1965.
Redore Minnesota, Dakota, and Western in International Falls MN. Motive power is Alco switchers and new to the railroad ex UP hammerhead SW's.
Minnesota, Dakota, and Western in International Falls MN. Motive power is Alco switchers and new to the railroad ex UP hammerhead SW's.
Redore:
Very Timely. Occasionally I search Railpictures for recent shots of old Alcos. IA recent search produced this:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=317989&nseq=2
Looks like they are active and profitable, judging from the condition of their shop.
The Sand Springs Railway (reporting mark SS) is a class III railroad operating in Oklahoma.
It provides freight rail service between Sand Springs and Tulsa over a 32 mile route. The company primarily hauls steel, pulp, scrap iron, scrap paper, petroleum products, plastic, and lumber. It interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway and the South Kansas Oklahoma Railroad.
The SS was incorporated on February 6, 1911 and was opened west from Tulsa to Sand Springs on 8.6 miles of track that May. The railroad was powered by electricity until 1955 when it discontinued passenger service and changed over to diesel locomotives.
http://www.trainweb.org/southwestshorts/ss.html
And check out some other shortlines here: http://www.trainweb.org/southwestshorts/home.html
how about the Manufacturers Junction Railway in Cicero,IL, on the east end of the Burlington
yard in Cicero,IL. It originally served the Western Electric plant (Bell System) for many years.
It is a mile long at best, right on the western edge of Chicago.
Chuck
Not sure if this RR fits the bill, but the Cedar Point and Lake Erie RR at the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio has a very unprototypical closed loop RR that has two stations, is served by three real steam locos, still apparently uses link and pin couplers, seems to actually use coal in the locos, and has been claime to be the ride that carries more people in a day in a park that is noted for the size, number, and variety of it's roller coasters. And I believe it's narrow gauge to boot. Current roster shows a pair of Vulcain 2-4-0, a Porter 2-4-0s, and a Plymouth B diesel kitbashed to resemble an 0-4-0T. They run two trains of about 5 or 6 open excursion cars at a time. They run 7 days a week from the time the park opens around 10 AM to closing around 11 or 12 PM during the summer season.
It's definitely an operating ateam passenger shot line RR
how about an active railroad, the Morristown & Erie with a 10.5 mile mainline in northern NJ. There's also good write-up in wikipedia, Morristown and Erie Railway.
But if you go back to the 1800's, I'd bet there were many small railroads, such as the Millstone and New Brunswick, now an unused branch of what was the PRR, as early investors attempted to make their fortunes. At least in New Jersey, it appears that most of the well known fallen flags were actually a collection of these smaller short lines. see List of New Jersey railroads.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
The Pioneer & Fayette Railroad. Pioneer, Ohio. About 1,000 feet of track. connected to the Wabash. Had a Plymouth with a Buick engine in it.
K. borg
Brent,
You could try checking out the Effingham Railroad, Effingham, Illinois, [EFRR.com] which is a shortline I am currently researching and starting to model. It is about 4 miles long and interchanges with both CSX and CN to provide cheaper switching services for various businesses in the railpark and surrounding area. The main business served is Total Quality Warehouse [TQW.com] which uses a rail spur through the warehouse to provide unloading and warehouse/distribution services to many varied businesses making it a "universal industry". TQW also provides open air transload facilities for a bio-fuel dealer as well as other on demand customers. EFRR also serves Hodgson Mill which produces stone ground flour and cereal mixes. Mid Illinois Concrete receives unit rock trains from CSX for unloading by EFRR at their stockpile plant. EFRR also has railcar storage facilites which are currently being used to store covered hoppers used by a now bankrupt ethanol producer.
The real kicker is that the line also served a Krispy Kreme Production and Distribution Plant.
Yes folks, a shortline with its own donut factory.
The EFRR commenced operations in 1999 and uses two locomotives; EFRR 2716 [SW1200] and later joined by sister road Illinois Western 7570 [GP10] and in the decade of operation have handled over 15,000 railcars.
The railroad runs alongside CN Effingham yard and the CN/CSX interchange track and siding, which could provide more modelling/operating possibilites.
Check out the following websites; EFRR.com, TQW.com, Agracel.com [project portfolio] and CN.com [shortline partners]. Google Map TQW and you will be able to see the trackplan.
Mark
I think i win. As far as i've seen, nobody has mentioned the Vatican. The Vatican has its own shortline, something like a thousand feet long, with no rolling stock of its own. It only has six turnouts, one of which isn't fully in the "country" (i hesistate to say country, cause i'm not sure that's how you address the Vatican). Pretty neat, actually, and yes, it is a operating railroad.
'Bout half way down: http://www.carendt.us/scrapbook/page93a/index.html
Your question begs for the definition of a shortline railroad. Back in the early 1900's, to be refered to as a railroad, there had to be at least 10 miles of track. The shortest railroad that fit that bill was the Cadiz railroad, which went from Cadiz, Kentucky to Gracey, Kentucky. This link http://westernkyhistory.org/trigg/rr.html will give you a story written about the Cadiz, but this is quoted from it; Across the tobacco fields and grazing lands, Gracey is no more than eight miles away from the Trigg county seat but, back in 1901 when the line was organized, a company had to have more than 10 miles of tracks to be classified officially as a railroad. So William Cleland White, the founder, constructed two extra miles of curves to get the line over the 10-mile-long minimum. He didn't want anyone to say that Cadiz didn't have a railroad. I had the opportunity to walk part of the old right of way with Stan White, grandson of the founder and last president of the RR.
Your question begs for the definition of a shortline railroad. Back in the early 1900's, to be refered to as a railroad, there had to be at least 10 miles of track.
The shortest railroad that fit that bill was the Cadiz railroad, which went from Cadiz, Kentucky to Gracey, Kentucky.
This link http://westernkyhistory.org/trigg/rr.html will give you a story written about the Cadiz, but this is quoted from it;
Across the tobacco fields and grazing lands, Gracey is no more than eight miles away from the Trigg county seat but, back in 1901 when the line was organized, a company had to have more than 10 miles of tracks to be classified officially as a railroad. So William Cleland White, the founder, constructed two extra miles of curves to get the line over the 10-mile-long minimum. He didn't want anyone to say that Cadiz didn't have a railroad.
I had the opportunity to walk part of the old right of way with Stan White, grandson of the founder and last president of the RR.
Strasburg RR in SE PA
Still in existence --From Strasburg to Paradise --RD Trip about 9 miles
Pics can be seen by clicking in my Sig
51% share holder in the ME&O ( Wife owns the other 49% )
ME&O
watch?v=rUzOUcLEHhU
The Portage Flyer....1 and 1/8th mile.....
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Nice video, Barry!
Equal to that line is the Chiemsee-Bahn (Lake Chiem Railway) in Bavaria, connecting Prien Train Station with the ferry dock on the lake. Total length, is 1.91 km. The line was opened in 1887 and still operates daily, using the equipment bought in the opening year. Nice to see a 125 year old loco still in operation on a regular schedule.
Chiemsee-Bahn video
Some years back, you could by a custom-built N scale train set, at a mere $ 1,500
How about the Brooklyn Dock & Terminal Ry.? Plenty of operations in a space best measured not in miles, but in yards. And that coal dock grade is something else!
http://members.trainweb.com/bedt/indloco/bdt.html
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Steven Otte How about the Brooklyn Dock & Terminal Ry.? Plenty of operations in a space best measured not in miles, but in yards. And that coal dock grade is something else!
That does look a little steep!
It's probably not the shortest short line, but it did have plenty of operation for its size. It was called the Toledo, Angola & Western, but I don't think it ever reached Angola IN and didn't get outside of the county. I remember seeing it operate in the mid 1960s, as it ran behind my dormitory at UofT. There was an interchange yard behind the dorm with the NYC and a littler further on, there was another interchange with the Toledo Terminal RR that ran around the city and interchanged with all of the railroads in the area. In the 60's, it ran at least one train per day from the end in Silica, OH to the interchange tracks. There was an interlocking tower that controlled access to both interchange yards and the crossing of the NYC and TTRR roads. There is a web site devoted to the line at:
http://taw101.home.comcast.net/~taw101/indexold.htm
Jim - Preserving the history of the NKP Cloverleaf first subdivision.
Wow, I don't know how I missed this thread last year...
Anyways, someone mentioned on Page 1 the "Quincy RR" in Massachusetts. It was actually called the Quincy Bay Terminal Co. (QBT), and it was merely the State contractor operating the State-owned Fore River Railroad (FRR) that operates in the former Fore River Shipyard (closed in 1987). They lost the contract to the higher bidder, Twin Rivers Technologies (a former Proctor & Gamble plant located onsite) which formed a new operating railroad contractor called "Fore River Transportation Co." (FRVT). They did hire all the QBT workers who wanted to stay on, which was nice of them.
QBT's roster included S-4 #19, SW9 #20, U23B #21, and B23-7 #22 (which stayed in Conrail blue). These followed FRR's numbering, with their S-6 #17 and S-4 #18 left on the property (#18 was recently cut up for scrap after suffering a main generator fire 20 years ago, and #17 is down for repairs). The ex-PRR N-5 caboose #100 on the property is owned by some of the employees, not the RR.
FRVT's roster includes B23-7 #101, B23-7 #102, and GP38 #7750 (Juniata Shop switcher). They are or have been the single largest customer for CSXT in New England with around 25 loads a day of both fatty acids (a soap product) and fertilizer pellets (made from Boston's Deer Island sludge plant). Traffic can vary wildly depending on the economic times, however, but 25 a day was the norm at one time.
There are some cool websites for anyone who cares to look:http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/03sewer/html/railroad.htm - Official State Website
http://www.forerivershipyard.com/historylong.php - History of the Fore River Shipyardhttp://www.capecodrails.com/cccx/cccx062.jpg - QBT #19 after being transferred to Hyannis. The solid brass bell isn't missing, it was removed for safekeeping while it was in transit. How do I know? Because I'm the one that helped removed both it and the airhorn (out of site on Engineer's side). I was working for Cape Cod Central at the time, and the owner of QBT and CCC was the same.
Paul A. Cutler III
SteamFreak One of the shortest I'm aware of was the Hoboken Shore RR, which was under a mile long. It served the industries along the Hoboken waterfront, and started out as the Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad.
Fascinating little railroad.
A not so short railroad is the Lousiville and Wadley in Georgia. It connected the textile mills in Lousiville with the Central of Georgia in Wadley. It was originally 10 miles long. A true Petticoat Junction type operation. Today there is no track to Louisville due to a fire on a trestle that was never repaired/replaced. The line is only 2 miles long, from Wadley to one industry (don't remember the type). They have an ex Southern SW1 I believe. They make their money from their car fleet in interchange pool services. I actually saw one of there gondolas here at Union Station in Denver a few years ago.