Might as well start asking goofy questions before the new network is up and running- - - - I think this may have been asked before, Is there anyone out there in trainland who runs passenger cars and trains only( no boxcars etc etc) diesel or steam but only passengers. AND if you do, what does your layout consist of? ? ? of course depots and stations but what else??? ( I’ll just take a guess that no one will reply that they ONLY have a passenger layout) not a passenger layout AND a freight layout, it must be only passengers ! !
A friend of mine models Cincinnati Union Terminal…All he does is switch passenger cars into trains and other passenger terminal work such as taking REA cars to the REA building and mail storage cars to the post office building for unloading and will add these cars to some trains according to the prototype train make up…Its a interesting layout to say the least…Trains either “arrive” from stagging or departs for stagging which is two 14 track return loops on each end of his layout…
Model Railroader ran a story some time back on building a layout based on passenger operations at the station in New Orleans. It might be worth looking up.
Mike
My N-scale layout (in the early construction stages) is about 99.9% passenger service --long-distance (intercity) and commuter, and tourist. I dream of having German ICE and Japanese bullet trains (as soon as I can afford to get them). Amtrak’s Acela is also on my list. For now, I have cars and locomotives for VIA Rail, and GO Train. I’ve got a locomotive for Algoma Central (but no cars to go with it yet); and a CP doodlebug for intra-city commuter service.
I plan to have one large-city station and 3 or 4 small-town/commuter stations on two decks. There will be a turntable and 6-stall roundhouse as well.
The remaining 0.1% might (and I emphasise might) incorporate some minor freight service. Primarily because I have started to collect Micro-Trains’ line of cars commemorating each of Canada’s provinces and territories. The thirteen 50ft box cars (with operating doors) will need something to do.
My layout has some freight but, is geared mainly towards business trains for the BNSF and UP in NE Kansas/NW Missouri plus there will be some Amtrak
Ch
I don’t know if this qualifies, but I have what are essentially two RRs. The lower level is frt only and the upper level is psgr only and there’s no connection between them. (The original idea was to build the terminal facilities for a main line to be built in an addition that never got built)
The psgr facility is an L shaped RR about 4 ft wide having a train yard for long (10 cars or more) trains which morphs into a 9 track depot, w/ two more yards (for short trains and “loose” cars) and a double track main line about 60’ long which enters a tunnel and becomes a 2 track staging/reverse loop w/ each track capable of holding 2 trains. It’s basically an out and back with the operation consisting mostly of building or spotting trains, adding or removing power and turning or yarding inbounds. It’s really just an elaborate stage for displaying my psgr train collection
In Linn Westcott’s 101 Track Plans, there was a small layout (4X8 I think) that was strictly a passenger operation. I believe it was based on the station in Richmond and it was geared toward commuter operations. It crammed a lot of track in a small space.
In the real world, it would be unusual to have a passenger only line. Moving people as never been a very profitable enterprise which is why so many airlines go belly up. Railroads need freight to pay the bills and most them were more than happy to turn passenger traffic over to Amtrak in the early 1970s. If you wanted to model passenger trains only, you could probably find a short stretch of passenger only track, such as a branch to a busy passenger terminal. To keep it interesting, you would have to pick an era and locale where passenger traffic was really humming.
I run passenger only, i model Amtrak only and have 1970’s equipment up to modern day stuff. I also include things amtrak runs/ran on their trains like express box cars, roadrailers, MHC’s, Auto Train boxes, etc. My main engine is the P40/42 but i also have E8’s, F40’s, a Dash 8 and a GP40. I run superliner cars, horizon fleets, budd cars(heritage), amfleets and a bi-level commuter train. It takes alot of room to run passenger stuff realisticly, unless you only model the station and a hidded staging yard but i find point to point layouts extremely boring so i chose to do a continuous running type setup which i find very enjoyable.