Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway

[1165Valour]

As I've made a few threads now discussing "what-if" scenarios for the UK's railways, I suppose it only makes sense to now do the same for a company in my native country.

 

In the world of cutthroat business dealings of the 19th century, the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway put up a good fight, and lost. They managed to patch themselves up after the American Civil War, albeit with severe debts, and had their sights set on expansion out from Tennessee. They acquired the lease of the Western & Atlantic, gaining a connection to Atlanta, and set about consolidating the several small Tennessee lines they owned. They nearly gained control of the Owensboro & Nashville and the St. Louis & Southeastern Railroads, expanding into the Midwest, but their bitter rival, the mighty Louisville & Nashville Railroad, beat them to it. The "NC" was forced to be leased to the L&N, and was eventually merged into the latter in the 1950s.

 

However, my scenario assumes the NC was able to gain their road to St. Louis. 

Here is the map of the St&SE. Th NC&StL only tried to acquire the line between East St. Louis and Evansville, as well as the branch to Shawneetown.

 

I'm planning to model the line as it would have appeared in 1954, during the transition from steam to diesel. The NC would be a much more financially healthy operation here, with plenty of fast passenger trains, like the Georgian, Dixie Flyer, and Dixie Flagler. Locomotives include beauties like this, the J3 4-8-4, known as the "Yellow Jackets."

[1165Valour]

Here's a partial roster of NC&StL locomotives in the early 1950s. To account for the larger size of the railroad in this universe, extra engines will be added.

 

550-562: J1 4-8-2

565-569: J2 4-8-4

570-589: J3 4-8-4

600-628: L1 2-8-2

650-659: L2 2-8-2

660-671: L2A 2-8-2

 

1-4: ALCO S1

5-11: ALCO S2

15: EMD SW1

19-23: EMD NW2

24-33: EMD SW7

34-38: EMD SW9

41-44: BLW VO-1000

46-51: BLW VO-1000

60-62: BLW VO-1000m

69: BLW VO-660m

700-731: EMD GP7

750-754: EMD GP7

800-808: EMD F3A

809-831: EMD F7A

900-911: EMD F3B

912-919: EMD F7B

[The Bigbee Line]

Good evening

 

Sorry about the delay in liking the post.  It is a road I have an interest in..  Although now mainly in 7mm, I found I still had quite a bit of US HO stuff when we moved house...

So resurrected some other track already on a board, into an HO south eastern, location to be decided line...

I have a Bachmann NC&StL combine so wondered what diesels were about..

 

Thanks

 

Ernie