mini-"Union" Station in HO scale

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

HO Scale

I am going to build a stub end train station that will support mulitple railroads. It will be a 4-6 track station supporting five railroads. I am planning on two additional tracks, once for head-end traffic and the other for “Auto Train” loading and unloading.

What could be some opperating steps as to how I could manage operations of this station? Does one railroad own the station and direct trains to specific tracks based on time of day and traffice flow or does each road own a track at the station to use when they needed?

I think I will have one RR responsible for switching the station. I might model an intermodel yard opposite the main line from the wye that enters the train station. One of the switcher jobs would be to switch the flexvans from the passenger trains and take them to the intermodel yard.

What are your thoughts?

2

Good Question!

Union Stations are used many times in terminal areas where coaches/baggage cars are swapped between railroads for further forwarding.

Sometimes the Union Station is jointly owned by the railroads that use it, and many times there is a ‘depot switcher’ painted/lettered for the Union Station company. Other times, the participating railroads supplied their own crews/engines to do the switching. St Paul Union Depot had their own switch engines, but several of the railroads used their own engines to switch out cars. The SOO, CGW, RI, and C&NW used the depot switcher option. The GN/NP/CB&Q and the MILW had dedicated switch crews/engines to service their passenger trains.

In your case, it is your choice. A depot engine in a flashy paint scheme may add to the enjoyment… BTW, the prototype Auto Train came after Amtrak assumed inter-city passenger operations for the private railroads.

Jim

3

Same situation at the old Dearborn Station in Chicago.

The C&WI, a jointly owned company by five railroads, owned Dearborn Station and C&WI switchers handled the duties for the five roads. The C&WI had its own coach yard and engine servicing facility.

Santa Fe leased trackage rights from the C&WI at Dearborn Station, but Santa Fe used its own switchers and had its own coach yard and engine servicing facility.

Rich

4

Good advice so far.

As for station operations, have you given thought to a coach yard or, more realistically, access to staging so that you can move trains in and out of the station without using the station itself as a parking lot?

Ideally, you would consider the station tracks as part of the overall staging for the layout. Most likely, you’ll have to settle for something less. I think you could get away with just a two track coach yard, plus the station, if you have space to do that. On the other hand, if you have staging nearby, that works. If it’s farther away, then you might think of a dedicated track or two.

I’m bringing this up because I have a similar situation where I wish I did have a coach yard, but have to settle for a track in the freight yard to hold trains that will depart later, but would otherwise tie up a station track until then. You don’t have much flexibility if you plan ops based just on the station tracks themselves as it tends to be last out – first in.

5

Great Conversation. I have not put much thought into a coach yard because I am not sure if I have space for one. I do have staging, but it will be all the way across the layout away from the station. I will look at possibilties for a two track coach yard, but with everything else I am trying to do that might be difficult to fit in.

My passenger fleet is a mixed bag of eras. I have modern Amtrak cars with 90s era locomotives (and a brand new Walthers E-8!), late 60s passenger trains, and two trains of heavyweights pulled by first gen deisels. So my passenger fleet is a mixed bag.

I have two projects I am working on for my GTW passenger trains. I am going to paint a SD-35P in black and red with noodle GTW. I am also going to build a dummy FP45B that will be GTW black and red as well.

I am a true believer in my railroad, my rules!

6

NILE,

Do you have a track diagram that you can post?

Rich

7

Yeah well, different places did it differently.

New York Penn Station, home to AMTK, LIRR, and NJT, but once upon a time it was PRR and LIRR was the stepchild of the PRR. Actually LIRR owned the franchise to build the East River Tunnels, and so PRR bought the LIRR to acquire that franchise which the LIRR could not afford to act on anyway.

So it was PRR’s station and PRR rand the show although LIRR used half of the station for its own operations. All interlocking towers were US&S pneumatics with PRR crews. They knew the LIRR schedules and when trains were coming and going, their own schedules were more fungible since moves to and from the Sunnyside yards could be more ad-lib as needed. All car-knockers were PRR personnel.

Then PRR seems to have run into hard times, they merged with NYCS to form the PC but prior to this they had already spun off the LIRR which was in its own financial doo doo. Penn Central went bankrupt, and the US government took it over calling the thing ConRail. ConRail still supplied commuter service to upstate New York and Connecticut. It was not a money making deal and eventually the MTA was formed and operated NYCT, LIRR and MNCR and in conjunction with CDOT, MNCR also ran some of the old New Haven routes.The State of New Jersey also assumed control of former PRR (PC, CR) commuter services. It is only recently that NJT also took over AMTKs Clocker Services.

Sometime during this time frame, I am not sure where, exactly, AMTRAK took over all long distance passenger service, but not the local, then still ConRail commuter service.

So the tenancy of NYP was fractured after the station was built. Even in the 1980s I recall that AMTK carknockers prepared LIRR trains for their trips, I assumed they did the same for NJT, Today with the construction of LIRR’s West Side Yards, LIRR crews took over the carknockers for LIRR. I assume NJT may have done likewise but of this I am not sure.

AMTK owns Penn Station lock, stock and barrel, and LIR

8

The Bangor, Maine Union Station may be something of the size you are looking for. It was built in 1895. It had 3 thru tracks to serve trains from the South and 6 or 8 stub tracks under a train shed serving trains to the North and East. 2 of the thru tracks were under the shed as well. The 3rd track allowed freights to bypass the terminal while passenger trains were loading / unloading without filling the shed with coal smoke. Between the station and the Penobscot River, there was a coach yard. ON the street side there was a Railway Express and bagage handling building. IN the 1950s, it served Maine Central and Boston & Maine RR (under joint ownership until 1955) from the south and east and Bangor & Aroostook RR to the North.

The staion was demolished in the late 1960s and replaced with a “modern” minimall which still stands.

Some photos (hopefully will show properly, Photobucket is doing an upgrade, and their beta site has a lot of problems):

The front of the station from a postcard circa 1900.

Aerial view showing station, 600’ long train shed and coach yard, date unknown, probably in the 1950s

Another view of the station and train shed from around 1950. Looking North from near the bridge crossing Kenduskeag Stream. Coach yard to the right. The steam locomotive places the photo for sure before 1954 - that is when MEC retired it’s last steamer. Note the windows removed from the right half of the train shed. Originally, they covered the whole opening, but half were removed, probably to allow coal smoke to vent from the structure better.

Inside the train shed l