Who has written a history of their model railroad

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

This question is aimed primarily at the freelancers since the real world has provided the prototype modelers with their history. In my own case, I have written a short history of my own New York, Binghamton, and Western RR but it is really more of an outline rather than a detailed history. It covers the history of the road not just up to the mid 1950s when I am modeling it but also the later years when it was aborbed first by the NYC, then into the PC and Conrail years. I haven’t added a chapter since Conrail was divided up by CSX and NS, although I intend to do that. I haven’t even figured out which of those two giants would have ended up with that piece of Conrail.

Eventually, I would like to go back and fill in the blanks with much greater detail, including signifcant dates and events and their effect on my railroad, such as the Great Depression, WWI and WWII. Will such a history enhance operations. I doubt it but I believe it will create the feeling that my railroad really did exist which is something I think most freelancers aim for when they create their fantasy railroads.

2

Such as this one is, here is one I wrote a year ago:::

The History Of The Grimey, Black & Sooty Railroad.

The G, B & S is a steam operation, and covers a (broad) span of steam service time. Basically it would be around the turn of the last century…but the smaller railroads at that time kept and used equipment well, not always being able to afford new and scrap old. They also frequently bought the older equipment from the major railroads. So an 1860-80 4-4-0 loco might pull up along side a 1900 or a 1920 shining beauty. (as I understand it today cars can be in service for up to 40 yrs, being repaired and updated and re-labled- so this would not necessarily be amiss).

Virgil Grimey acquired a very large land parcel in 1850. (The general area would be middle upstate NY and NE PA.) Upland was a semi-flat spot where he laid out the plans for a township. The hillside and natural rock cuts were very darkish in color, and from a distance looked like black cliffs, the direct opposite of the White Cliffs of Dover, England, from whence Virgil came. The small city was aptly named, at his insistence, Grimey. Grimey was described as “a perfect little hamlet set upon the black cliffs of a fair country side”. By offering a discount on lots in town, he was able to attract some folks to settle there.

Virgil’s son, Hiram, knew he had to do something to make the town prosper. In 1860, at the age of 16, while away at school, becoming one of those ‘ed-i-kated folk’ he became aware of the railroads, and the profits to be made on the trails of the rails. He convinced his father that if the railroads came though, it might mean a good deal to the town. Hiram began to talk to the railroads (any and all who would listen) and was told a mainline could go near through there if there was a place to service the engines. They would need to take on water and coal, and perhaps a repair or two. In 1865 with

3

Since I fall into that grey area called, “Protolancing,” I wrote a totally fictional history of the totally fictional Kashimoto Prefecture of Central Japan, starting back in the early sixteenth century and ending in 1964.

The geography of Kashimoto Prefecture was also developed, since it varies somewhat from that of the prototype and combines real features several hundred kilometers apart.

Armed with the fictional history (which is much more political than economic, and doesn’t include any specifics of how the railroads were built - only why,) the fictional (based on real geology) geography, my own knowledge of the real area as of 1964 and a five foot shelf of Japanese railroad prototype references, I have formed a realistic plan for my final layout. It doesn’t encompass all of the history or geography (I have a garage, not a hangar) but it does include the things I want to model. One thing it HAS done is focus my acquisition of rolling stock to things that I actually saw in the area being modeled.

Possibly more important - it has provided a curb on my inclination to buy ‘cool’ things that DON’T fit the plan. I LOVE the Norfolk and Western’s big steam. I just don’t OWN any - except for a J that was a birthday gift from a relative that hadn’t gotten The Word.

The history? It was six pages long, and the one printed copy has vanished into the limbo where things like that disappear. I know it by heart, but I’m not going to bore anyone with the details.

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

4

“Protolancing” Yah, that’s the ticket!

5

Yes.

The concept and history of the GER was written when I lived in a small apartment.

A history was written from the beginnings of the railway right up to 1977, the original year the GER was set in. When Bachmann introduced their 2-8-0 and the GER went back to 1958, selecting even steam locos was fairly straight forward as I already had a history and knew what classes of steam loco was still running in 1958.

The original 1958 steam roster as been pretty much stuck to with only one real modification as the trade has introduced almost every loco that the GER requires. That was to add a class of light 2-10-0s for use down the St. Pierre Sub serving the Lecky Paper Ltd. plant at the end of the line. The St. Pierre Sub was always meant to be a lightly built branch with light bridges etc., requiring the use of 2-6-0s and 4-6-0s. However, the Spectrum 2-10-0 was introduced before a suitable 4-6-0 was available so I decided to add a light 2-10-0 to the roster for use down the branch.

I’m still waiting for a quality plastic 2-6-0 and a suitable 4-8-4 for dual service.

6

My railroading got started with a train around the Christmas tree, and after a while, I thought of a way the name Santa Vaca relates to Christmas. I will tell you in advance it is entirely made up.

The Legend of Santa Vaca

In one of the early Spanish missions established in Texas to convert the Indians, a priest was telling his congregation they should give to the church even though they didn’t have much to give. He said that God can use our gifts more than we know, and he told the story of the cow who gave up her feeding stall to make a place for the Baby Jesus to lay. He said the cow’s gift-- the manger-- became more a part of the Christmas scene than even the expensive gifts of the Wise Men.

But the Indians confused the cow in the priest’s Christmas story with a buffalo cow who was worshipped in their pre-Christian native religion and they began to bring back the cult of the Holy Cow. The Church tried to discourage the practice but could not stop it entirely. The village near the mission took on the name Santa Vaca, and it grew into a major city served by a subsidiary of the Santa Fe Railway.

At the cathedral in Santa Vaca near where the mission once stood is a stained glass window with the manger scene featuring the Baby Jesus, the Virgin Mary and the Holy Cow, each with a halo.

I haven’t built the city scene or the cathedral yet but I created art for the stained glass window and used it for a “company Christmas card” for my imaginary railroad.

7

I’ve written the history of the fictitious Grizzly Northern Railway in the form of a five- page article in the 1 July 1938 special edition of the Kamloops newspaper “The Caribou News and Chronical” (equally fictitious), as published in observance of Canada’s birthday.

The Grizzly Northern is described as a CPR subsidiary that runs between Rocky Mountain House in Alberta and Kamloops in British Columbia; that uses the Running Bear Pass in the Columbia Icefields to cross the the Rocky Mountain Range. The article tells of the economic circumstances leading to the building of the railway in the early 1900’s, and describes major historical events and the colourful cast of characters involved in its creation and construction. Send an email if you’d like a copy.

In the non-fictitious world the Grizzly Northern is operated as a 1930’s/1940’s era railway on the flatlands of our local club, with representative rolling stock and motive power (steam except for a Doodlebug). Trains are frequently double-headed and occasionally have a third loco as a pusher - after all those steep mountain grades are just out of view around the corner!

8

You mean like this??? It was hard to locate. I thought the only copy I had was on a floppy disk and I haven’t had a floppy drive on any of my computers for about 5 years now. I did locate a corrupt ZIP disk with some old CCRR files on it. Took me a while to scavange the disk and a lot of my original tale was lost, but for what it’s worth…

A Brief History of the Cache and Carrie Railroad Company

The Cache & Carrie Railroad Company was founded June the Eighth in the year Eighteen Hundred and Fifty One by S. Charles Cameron. The intent of this road was to connect the cattle rich town of Cache, Oklahoma, across the plain and over the coal laden eastern mountains, to the port city of Carrie, SC. Enabling the transfer of commodities between these three regions. Trackage was laid along the Cuthbertson Co. stagecoach route. Mr. Camerons Grandfather James, was a partner in the Cuthbertson Co. and bequithed his share to him upon his death in 1850. At seventeen years old, he convinced the other members in the partnership to invest in rail. Those who didn’t like the idea were bought out and in this way he gained controlling interest in the stage line. From its modest beginnings this road overcame a myriad of obstacles, from materials shortages to slave rebellion, becomming the preferred route through the mountains.

A mere 10 years after its inaugural run, the hostilities between the Union and Confederation of States broke out. The C&C RR Co. was pressed into service in a plea from Vice-President Alexander Stephens. It was responsible for moving supplies, munitions and troops from the tidewater regions over the mountains to the interior. It played a major role in the defeat of Union forces at Chancellorsville by hauling food, medical supplies, weapons and troops through the mountains to be rushed to the battlefront. General Sherman put and end to its usefulness after burning the city of Carrie to the ground and destroying t

9

I suppose you might say I’m “proto-lancing”, too. I don’t have my RR’s history ready made on computer, I’ll post what I have conveniently available on memory.

The Gainesville & North Western was built in the late 1870’s-1880’s, running from Gainesville, GA, to Clermont, GA, where it split, and continued north to Robertstown, GA (just north of Helen, GA). The other branch ran (and was initially a subsidiary known as the Chestatee RR) from Clermont to Chestatee, GA (about 5 miles east of Dahlonega). Chestatee was essentailly a company mining town, few traces exist today of its existence. The real RR folded in the 1930’s, where my version of history picks up (I model 1957). The Southern Railway bought the line (which almost happened in real life), and brought the main line to Robertstown up to standard. The branch running to Chestatee was sold to the mining company, and has only had minimal maintenance done since.

My history claims Chestatee was a booming mining town during WWII (producing copper ore), and produced a small trickle of ore into the mid 50’s. They finally hit the Mother Lode of gold ore in 1956. They currently ship out gold and copper ores, and coal. There have been talks about extending the line the last 5 miles to Dahlonega, but due to the geography, it would be quite expensive (as it’s sort of mountainous).

Robertstown was a logging and lumber town, named after the owner Mr. Roberts (can’t remember his full name). They owned a Shay and used temporary trackage to run into the woods to harvest logs. The sawmill was served by the G&NW.

Clermont is the only “junction” of sorts on the line. There is a small 2 or 3 track “yard”, a Hotel, a freight house, a small station, and a few businesses. The yard is really only large enough, and only necessary, to break down trains enough to separate cars going to Chestatee, and

10

Train City Herald Press Releases Circa. Sept. 1885

11

The Columbus & Hocking Valley Ry is owned and operated by the CDB Industries and is one of 8 short lines owned by CDBI.The C&HV came into existence in 1978 when CDBI bought the old Athens sub-division of the Chessie System.During this purchase 2 other short lines was bought,the Parkersburg & Ohio Valley RR that ran from Parkersburg WV to Athens Oh and the Ohio Midland Ry that ran from Jackson,Oh to Newark,Oh.These 2 roads was quickly merged into the new C&HV.By purchasing these roads the CBDI finally had the long sought after southern Ohio coal fields and industries.The CDBI relaid the track from Nelsonville to Athens which had been removed by the C&O some years ago.The old Logan yards was rebuilt and upgraded during this time as it would serve as the home shops and the only major yard on the C&HV since it was centrally located on the line.The second yard would be located in the old C&O(nee CHV&T) Mound Street yard and would require trackage rights over the Chessie to reach…A agreement was struck with the Chessie for those rights.The former P&OV yard in Parkersburg was upgraded as was the OM yards at Jackson and Newark.
The C&HV connects with the following roads.
Chessie(c&o) at Columbus.
N&W at Columbus.
DT&I at Jackson
Chessie(b&o) at Newark.
Scioto Valley Lines at Lancaster.
Ironton Northern at Athens.
Chessie(b&o) at Athens.
Commodities haul: Grain,Lumber,coal,coke,steel,fly-ash,food stuffs,sand,glass,corn sweetener,corn starch,vegetable oils,scrap,pipe,chemicals,paints,news print,pulpwood,wood chips and other general freight.Total cars handle 32,584 a year
Thanks to a aggressive marketing team freight traffic has climb a staggering 33% since the CDBI started the C&HV.

CDBI owns the following roads.
Cumberland,Dickersonville & Bristol Ry.Cumberland to Bristol VA.The CD&B is the flagship road.The CDB in CDB Industries is the same.
Kentucky Central.Cumberland Ky to M

12

I have on developing in my head, but the only printed version is the (overflowing) shoebox full of store receipts!

13

I’m modelling the Rio Grande so the history is already written. And I can tell you all that the history is a hobby in the hobby so to speak.

14

After, many years of dabbling in HO modeling I retired and built a train room. During that time I determined my layout plan and created about a 10 page document for my free lance RR. I covered reasons for its existance how the first track got started and how it grew into a short line (and how it was named) and then into junction with a main line (with its name) into a city. I gave names to the founders and brain trust, identified industries with names as the RR grew. I named towns and described what traffic they gave to or received from the RR and why. I took the history up to where the RR would be if completed.

Then I built my first bench work and layed the first rail.

I found this gives me real purpose as I work on it, and as each new extention is operational, it feeds into the history of what has been previously done. I’ve got trains runnning on about 1/2 half of the short line, and some how that fixed history inspires me to keep plugging along and having fun. I really do want to see it built and fulfill its prophecy.

Just something that has worked well for me.

Hal

15

I haven’t!!![:D]

My road is the Appalachian & Southern. I haven’t given it much thought, but thanks for the idea. [bow]

Getting a plan to run ACL, FEC, Seaboard and 13 other roads from California, the Mid-West and the Northeast into one area has not yet materialized in my mind. Besides this, only about 6 of my 300 cars are A&S! [:O]

But I have FUN!![swg]

16

Great work everyone. Although, I operate my layout in the mid-1970s, here’s the Penn Lake System’s complete history:

History of the Penn Lake System

During the mid 1920s, the Delaware & Hudson and the Reading Company, began to purchase the stock of an anthracite shortline named the Penn Lake Railway, in an attempt to increase their anthracite traffic. While neither road was successful in gaining complete control of the line, together they acquired the majority stake in it and were able to prevent the PL from falling into the hands of either the Lehigh Valley, or Lackawanna. However, the ICC prevented either company from exercising operational control. As a result, the Penn Lake continued to operate independently, much like the ACL and L&N’s Clinchfield.

Through the steam and early diesel era, Penn Lake’s locomotives carried Penn Lake marking, but followed the motive power policies of it’s parents. By the mid 1960s, Penn Lake’s independent image was disappearing. As it’s own equipment wore out, PL’s parents provided hand-me down equipment from their own fleets, primary Alco RS and C series road switchers. By 1970, PL operated completely with Reading and D&H locomotives. Penn Lake quickly gained a reputation as an Alco lovers paradise.

On April 1st 1976, the Reading’s interest in the PL transferred to Conrail. Conrail, uninterested in the line, soon sold it’s holdings to the D&H. The D&H integrated PL’s operations into it’s own, but never bothered to formally merge company . During it’s purchase by Guilford, D&H lost control of the PL to a group of Pennsylvania and New York investors.

The new ownership consolidated the Penn Lake Railway with other Conrail spin offs and renamed the line the Penn Lake System. Built during the late 19th Century, the PL had generous clearances. The PLS quickly rehabbed the track and instituted double stack service from the Port

17

I don’t have mine actually written down, but I do have it pretty much sketched out in my mind. While it does change from time to time it is fairly well set. Well, at least up to the point when the aliens land in the mothership, then things get a little dicey and hard to trace - what with the fall of civilization and all.

George

18

You can find a (short) history of the Flint Hills Northern Ry. by clicking on the road name. Fun to write. [:D]

19

New York, Binghamton, and Western RR

I don’t remember that one going through Binghamton!!!

20

Perhaps this is backwarsds, or maybe just in the other direction… But my model railroad is based on a series of short stories I wrote several years ago and plan to continue after the anthology is published… I love the whole history of model railroad thing… it causes you to think of it in real terms… if that makes any sense