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Contemporary Shortline Operatons (USA East Coast)


trisonic

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Dear RMwebbers,

 

Took me a little to confirm it's "East Coast" (my geography is a bit rusty),
but the Alexander Railroad in Statesville, NC has been a longtime fave...
(all-black SW1500s, and green/yellow Alco S-series switchers, what's not to love?)

 

http://goo.gl/maps/6nHH7

 

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=alexander+railroad

 

 

 

 

 

Pay Particular attention to this one, A quick check in XTrkCAD suggests that this scene in HO could fit in the same basic size and distinctive "down the throat" viewpoint/form-factor as F-Unit's "Schillers Point" layout...

 

 

 

Proto-nook?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

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One of our customers, who posts on several groups, thinks not - and has commented to that effect, saying that ISL layouts have far too many in proportion to the total traffic.

 

The car mix depends on the industies on the line.

 

The major traffic on the Wellsboro and Corning is fracking sand/chemicals to Wellsboro Junction (large numbers of 2- or 3-bay covered hoppers), but it does still work the Osram-Sylvania plant in Wellsboro, so there are a couple of covered hoppers and a couple of boxcars a week into there.

 

The local switcing job (not a shortline, but shortline-style traffic) on the former CN Newmarket Sub (now owned by Metrolinx/GO Transit) would be mostly tank cars (fuel depots and a couple of plants) and covered hoppers (plastics plant), but with the occasional centrebeam car and the even more occasional boxcar (lumber yards).

 

There are certainly a lot of boxcars on the main line trains in the east, and they have to go somewhere.

 

Adrian

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I visited the Yadkin Valley RailRoad in 1989 when they were still independent. The locos were a fetching shade of Pink (faded red). A local advised me that the President would not paint them because she like the shade.....

 

Best, Pete.

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According to this study http://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/ITS-08.pdf there were 103,895 boxcars in the US rolling stock fleet in 2010 (table 6 on page 28). The numbers had declined quite sharply over the previous five years, and were nowhere near what they had been in the 70s, but that's still quite a few boxcars.

103,895? I'll need to put another 4foot board on the end of my layout :)
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I visited the Yadkin Valley RailRoad in 1989 when they were still independent. The locos were a fetching shade of Pink (faded red). A local advised me that the President would not paint them because she like the shade.....

 

Best, Pete.

Dear Pete,

 

What "pretty pink units"?

 

http://www.railpictures.net/photo/199334/

 

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=393621

 

YVRR3614_elkintrain_elkin_121504_1024x68

 

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=41954

 

6981.1070913900.jpg

 

 

Oh, you mean like This

 

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=320514&nseq=3

 

8418.1271045624.jpg

 

 

3153.1208912083.jpg

 

4243.1202695200.jpg

 

 

 

;-)

 

Happy Modelling,

Aim to Improve,

Prof Klyzlr

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I can't find the bluddy things, Prof!

 

Maybe this will interest you. The Raritan Central Railway of Edison New Jersey. http://www.raritancentralrr.com/operations.html

 

Clicking on the map will make it bigger and legible..........

 

 

The movie is from April, 2013. Interesting turnouts - I can't quite make them out.

 

 

 

Best, Pete.

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Dear Pete,

 

If these are the turnouts you are referring to (6:06 - 6:15)
 

 

they appear to be the "Self Guarding Frog" turnouts being discussed on other current threads.

 

The key is that there are no obvious guard rails, and the frog appears to have raised "lips" on each side,
(these lips act on the outer face/edge of the wheel tread, forfilling the same role as a trad guard rail)

 

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

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Many boxcars are no longer on the railsa because many of the commodities they hauled now ride in containers, many of the colorful IPD, cars from the 70s have been scrapped due to being over 40 years old and the remaining cars often handle paper products, roll stock (for newspapers)cardboard boxes and scrap paper. The majority of boxcars in the last few years were in paper service but because many mills have closed (when was the last time you read a newspaper for news rather than the internet?)they too are in declining numbers and the railroads often, don't want to spend money replacing them for one way loaded moves.

When I started my railroad career 47 years ago boxcars were the most common car but are increasingly beinging replaced by covered hoppers, tanks, flats,some gons and reefers. However, the railroads are busier, more financially healthy and are building/re-building track like never before. Don't let the US press misguide you about the oil traffic as even if pipelines are constructed this business is going nowhere but "up" due to the railroads safety and flexibilty in delivering crude oil to any refinery which has track rather than just a few with pipeline ability. The future of American rails has never been brighter.

 

Barry

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Here's some boxcars carried by CP less than a month ago>>>>>>

 

 

 

I still see some around the New York area but, you are right, they are not as prevalent as they once were  for sure.......

 

Best, Pete.

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Here's some boxcars carried by CP less than a month ago>>>>>

The green cars are CP Rail newsprint cars (those ones seem to have Quebec Central reporting marks) so I suspect most if not all of the boxcars in the clip are also in paper service as Barry says.

 

One point for modellers, papers cars have to be weather tight, so even the scruffiest looking cars will have their roof seams resealed regularly. It's something I keep meaning to do to mine!

 

Nick

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And if you look back in this thread you'll see one of at least two Southern - "Serves the South" boxcars that are still seen frequently in New Jersey. What's in them? Who knows...

Thanks, guys!

 

Best, Pete.

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