The release of the leased SD9043MACs by INRD got me to thinking about the roster I’m developing for my semi-freelanced model railroad.
A quick background on my RR: After much debate in what I wanted in a model railroad, I “believe” I have found my ideal modeling local. I wanted to model a regional railroad (so that I could model most of the roster), located on a real-life line, but with my own name. This would allow me to play the fantasy role while still incorporating realistics aspects of the operation. I wanted passenger and intermodal trains, but I didn’t want to model a huge Class 1 (as I couldn’t do it justification with my space). I’d love the model the rolling hills of PA or NY, but couldn’t find a reasonable line with sufficent industry and overhead trackage to make it fun (in my terms) to model. I suppose the great plains will do - I grew up in Northern Ohio after all!
With a small play on history, I am now going to model the “Ohio & Indiana Railroad Company”. The OIRC is a combination of the current day CFW&E and IORY. In the late 80s, CR was downgrading their Ft Wayne line west of Crestline, OH. Per my history, they sold the line from Chicago-Crestline in 1987. At this time, Amtrak still operated the Broadway Limited over this line (service stopped in 1990). The line had been single-tracked, but was still in relatively good condition and fully signalled - and Conrail had yet to drive away the customers. Picking up what would become the IORY from GT in 1997, the main shell of my railroad is now complete. NS & CR still installed the Triple Crown facility in Fort Wayne, so I can operate Roadrailers to interchange with Conrail in Crestline (where there was another facility). And after the CR breakup, a couple trackage-rights trains from NS and CSX will keep traffic levels busy. Finally, I even have an excuse to run steam - NKP 765 is based in F
I agree. The thing that I would do is pick a year that your RR existed and make sure you don’t run anything newer than what was available in that year. If you want to run some big power that might not otherwise run on a line your size, the excuse always exists that you company is leasing it from someone. So even the leased loco doesn’t have to conform with your color scheme and RR name.
On my freelance RR, I picked 1962 because I got a 1962 chevy police car. That sets the date, since most police forces used new cars. So now I make sure I don’t run any newer equipment that wasn’t made after 1962.
To figure out how many engines you require will take a few minutes of your time, plus a map and some “ciphering” as Jethro Bodine would say.
Figure out how long in miles it is for the ENTIRE route the trains will be powering is.
Figure out how long it will take for the trains to get over the road. Figure 25 mph for bulk trains (grain coal), 30 mph for general freight and 40 mph for intermodal.
Assume that at one end the terminal time is about 8 hours and at the end that the engines are serviced that terminal time is about 12-16 hours.
Figure out how many trains of each type you want to run per day.
So lets say that you have a 240 mile run and all you want to operate is manifest and you want to run 4 trains per day or a train every 6 hours.
Terminal time at the beginning is 12 hours, a 240 mile run at 30 mph is 8 hours, turn around time at the other terminal is 8 hours and the run back is 8 hours. So that means a engine cycle is 12 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 36 hours. Divide that by the frequency of the trains, 6, and you get 6 sets of power. What that is saying is that if you have a set of power run a train out of one terminal, by the time it can run to the other end, turn and come back, and be ready to go again, 36 hours will have elapsed. During that 36 hours you will have wanted to run 6 trains so you will need six sets of power to cover trains before you can start “recycling” the power.
If every train needs 2 units, that’s 12 units. Throw in 10-20% contingency for b/o’s and extras and you get a fleet of 13-14 units.
This assume you have a 'high speed" main good for 60 mph. If you main is only good for 45 or 50 mph (or less) or you have no signals and are restricted to 49 mph max, adjust you average train speeds down.
What you’re planning will work just fine as it is. I’d just use the big new power as run through or detour trains from CSX or NS and keep the Regional with it’s own power. A just take a look at what RailAmerica is running - plenty of variety.
I am actually using a few lines that exist in the SE - from the SRR, N&W and Chessie.
I’m modeling in HO, so all of the modern diesels are available thanks to Athearn, Atlas, and Kato. I was just curious as to whether or not the use of SD70M’s seemed plausible on a Midwestern regional. Considering what models were available in the late 90s/early 00s (I will be modeling 2003) for a railroad to pick up used (regionals weren’t buying new power at this time), the SD70M seems like the best choice. Thanks for all the help so far though - the roster size calculator is interesting - I’ll give it a try tomorrow!
Uhm, that would be My Rail Road, My Way. Nice thing about freelance, the bottom line is run what ever you want if it makes you smile.
I have a large freelanced railroad that I run between 2 era’s, all though mostly in a modern setting. Granted, some things are deinfatly more plausible than others and some stories will have a higher “fiction” factor. But one thing I have learned, is there is a prototype for everything and I have taken full advatage of it keep a plausible railroad running that his driven the most anal rivit counter nuts.
3 great examples of a modeler’s dream all in the last year…
Indy useing the SD90s, in their paint no less.
Iowa running Chinese steam engines for the occasional revenue run.
F7’s on KSC pulling mixed freight.
Whodda thunk?
SD70 for your railroad? I have seen stranger.[:-^]
My recommendation, if you’re modeling a regional (you mention 500-600 miles), is to look at other existing regional railroads today and see what they’re using. Not many of them are using the big wide-nose 6-axle locos. They mostly use the standard-cab locos the wide-cabs bumped off maniline service (thinking B&P, IAIS, etc.). I think SD40-2, 45-2, and even SD60s might look great on your regional, but I would save the wide-cab SD70s and Dash 8-44CWs for run-throughs (like NS). That’s also a great way to sort of tell the story of the difference between the mega-class-I’s and the regional you operate.
If you’re modeling the area of the former PRR mainline between Harrisburg and Chicago, you could even push plausibility a little and add a Conrail SD80MAC in blue with NS numbers - they’ll all be repainted into NS black by the end of the year.
Yes, it’s true, you can run whatever the heck you want. But you ask about plausibility, and plausibility comes with a price. The price you pay is that for someone else to believe what you’ve done (that’s what plausibility really means in this context), it needs to follow real prototype practice and not just one’s personal whims. Many folks in these fora don’t really care about plausibility, and that’s just fine. But for me and for many others, we care deeply that someone else looking at our layouts can understand completely what’s going on with little or no “backstory.” Backstory is fun, creative, and a hobby in and of itself, but the more magical and improbable it is, the more confusing and implausible the resulting layout tends to be.
Good luck! Plausible freelancing is hard; I used to do it. But I did it with HO turn-of-the-century steam, and so I went with standard Baldwin designs in 2-8-0 and 4-6-0 wheel arrangements. Standardizing cabs, stacks, number plates, domes, paint, and lettering (as
Idk if this will help, but the D-L has been all-ALCO for awhile. One of their largest customers is a grain facility 35 miles away from Scranton on their Pocono Mainline (some steep grades, but mostly 35 mph limits). The CP would deliver 35-40 car grain trains and supply the D-L with usually about 3 SD40-2s at their Scranton interchange to make the run. The D-L would provide the crews to operate the train. This ended a few years back when the D-L got some big Alco power running.
Here is an example where you can use a Class 1’s motive power, but use your railroad’s crews and operating practices. Therefore, you could use as much modern power as you want.
What you decide to run and why you run it is your own business. My layout scenery is set mostly in the present day as is much of my rolling stock. My primary motive power is E and F units. Why? Because I like them. Is it prototypical? No. Do I care? No. I have some more modern units that I run sometimes. They range from a SW1000 to an AC4400. Sometimes I’ll throw a steamer in just for kicks and if I want to get my neighbors goat (classic rivet counter) I’ll have a pair of SD40-2’s lashed up with a 2-10-2. That nails him every time. The railroad my layout is loosely based on no longer exists. It became part of the KCS back in the late 30’s. For any KCS fans out there, that railroad was the Louisiana and Arkansas (L&A).
A larger-sized regional railroad in good economic health could have new ‘big’ engine power, a smaller less-successful one might rely on what it could pick up in the used loco market. Either way of course, big leased power (say a Kato CEFX AC4400) wouldn’t be out of place.
I agree with Dave. Yes, you can have any locomotive you want on your roster, but for a regional, standard cabs would be more plausible. In your history you stated that your line started in 1987. I think if you had a fleet of SD45s, it would be very appropriate. BNs SD45s where starting to age and they sold there entire roster in the mid-late 80s. Around this time other class ones where thinning out there SD45s. The regionals that picked up most of these SD45s were MRL, and WC. But CNW also bought 114 SD45s from BN and CR.
Later on, about 2006-now you could retire some or most of your SD45s and pick up SD70ACes and ES44ACs, such as what MRL did.
A heavy SD40/40-2 roster would be more appropriate in the mid 90s-now. Yes you probably could have gotten some SD40-2s in the late 80s, but the SD45s would have been cheaper, and probably more plentiful.
In the end, you can run what ever you want. If your regional was very healthy, they probably could of picked up some SD80MACs, or SD70Ms. If the WC was still around, I think they might of picked up some of the CR SD80MACs.
Actually, if you’re interested in what locos Conrail might have made available at breakup in 1998/9, the Conrail Historical Society has a great new page of equipment:
You know, as I think of it, I’m doubting there was any way NS would have given up those SD80MACs; they’re still gettinga workout on the old Middle Division and around the curve!
Sounds like that stretch you want to model is the old Pennsylvania mainline from PIttsburgh to Chicago. It wouldn;t hurt to go back and see what the PRR ran in its heyday. Double headed k4s or a T1 on passenger trains. J class 2-10-4 and Q2 4-4-6-4 engines on freights. Later legions of GP9s with as many as seven or eight per train followed by SD40s and SD45s. throw in F uints, alcos, Baldwins and FMs. E7s and E8s on passenger trains. Just about anything could be seen. ITs kind of a case no matter what you want you ca n justify it on that stretch with one exception. Very little drag freight.
As I understand it, INRD is using SD90s becuase there’s a lot fo coal to haul, not neccesarily out of the mountains. Much of their buisness is for powerplants that feed on coal. Southern part aside, It’s preddy flat. So the Horsepower is strictly fastest with the mostest.
Also along this line, UP used a PAIR of DD40AXs with a SD40 splashed atwixt them. Because the local that had to be moved was just plain BIG not scaling a wall.
It would not be inconcevable for you to run big power on intermodal specials in that way, you MIGHt also see automotive soecials, I know I did when dad lived near Cinncinati. That’s justy a hair south though