How do you think this road would go about its day?

Consider the following, poorly made, diagram.



The horizontal short line begins and ends its day at the wye.

Outbound is easy, drive to customer, snag cars, take them to interchange and drop off. How about the return trip with empties?

(Not shown is a Wye at the interchange.)

Push them 5 miles? Or take them to the wye, turn the loco, and drag them back down to the customer?

Would the short line put in a run around near the customer?

Its my own route, and I'm trying to decide how I should handle this according to prototype, which is why I'm asking here.

It would depend on the customer, as in what are there needs, how often do they needed switching, what's the rate that the new cars come in, etc. In general, I think it would be set up so that the crew end there day at the wye WITH the new cars. Then make the run, switch the industry, swap cars at the interchange, bring the new cars back to the wye, and tie down. This means they only have to make 1 round trip a day.

Of course, if there is no industry at that wye, or past it, its very possible that the line past the customer would be axed, and it be a 5 mile shove. Or maybe (if its worth it/ to many crossings) add a second switch to make that spur a runaround, with a bit of track past the industry and just turn the consist there.

I was thinking the most sense without building a runaround would be to take the empties up the line, then drop them off the next day when collecting any loads from the customer. Theres just that nasty per diem charge that kept nagging me and making me wonder what would happen IRL.

IRL its all about minimizing movements. If you only need to make 1 trip, make 1 trip. As long as the industry can handle a day without a run, so that the loads are staged properly, fairly sure that's what would happen.

Thats what I figured. Thanks for the validation of it.

Is there any revenue east of the customer? If not, that stretch would likely go unused or abandoned and traffic would just be shoved the five miles. Or use the salvaged rail to put in a siding at the customer if it would increase safety. Even steam engines ran in reverse a lot of the time.

Another question, how heavy is the customer's traffic? Would it merit a holding spur as well as the run-around?

:B~)

There is, several up at the wye plus several passenger stations.

"Customer" is on the order of maybe a few boxcars a week. The spur is mostly for them, but also a team track. The mill is a short distance away.

Also the entire main line is single track.

frogpipe said:

There is, several up at the wye plus several passenger stations.

"Customer" is on the order of maybe a few boxcars a week. The spur is mostly for them, but also a team track. The mill is a short distance away.

Also the entire main line is single track.

Click to expand...

Pan Am Railways would've shoved the whole move down the branch, pulled the old ones out with the new boxcars and shoved the new ones down the spur. Once completed, return to the interchange track. I've seen them do this numerous times on what was once a double track mainline reduced to a single track with track speeds now under 20 mph. The track was so bad that the locomotive and boxcars swayed back and forth like a dingy in the open sea.

Interesting... Esp since my road is 20 mph at the moment. The prototype I'm using for loose guidance probably never had a posted speed limit! But the only mention of one in the book I have on it says somthing about the "express" moving at a blistering 25 mph. LOL.

It was a rural road, with no fencing, so animals on the track was a common thing IRL. That alone would keep the speeds down.

It also didn't have such spurs AFAIK. Being only 10 miles long, I think everything came to the "wye" end to be loaded in reality.

In 47 years they never had more than one train crew on the payroll - and storys abound of how friends and friends of friends were allowed to operate the locomotive. They never had a caboose or brakeman, and when they entered the nearby "real" town, they literally took a boy onboard to satisfy the laws saying trains required them!

Kishacoquillas Valley RR was quite an operation!

I have ridden the passenger/tourist service on the Mount Hood Railway, which is not dissimilar except for the fantastic views of some Cascade volcanoes. Single track with some industrial spurs and a run-around siding at the south (Mount Hood) end. Originally a UP branch, when they decided to abandon it the customers bought it to keep their rail service. Runs one loco. Chief customers were a fruit processor and a fuel dealer about half-way and a brewpub at the end. I've seen a one-man crew hop in the cab, pick a loaded fuel tanker off the UP interchange at Hood River and run it up to the dealer, then return light to Hood River. The MHR has the last working switchback on a U.S. railway and the grades are significant. The fruit processor has since burned and I don't know if they ever rebuilt, but my daughter rode the passenger train last year. Oh -- on my last run I got to ride in the cupola of the caboose in the tourist consist.

:B~)