My layout has a purpose - we move coal from mines to a port facility. Plus the occasional run-thru by assorted thru trains. Somehow the coal keeps ending up back at the mines...
During WW-II the Boston & Maine needed traffic access with a port on the Gulf of Mexico, so it executed a 99-year lease with the Saucier Central. The SC, headquartered in Saucier, MS, served the MS State Port at Gulfport. The SC also connected with Class-I railroads, IC, KCS, L&N, and SOU, which provided access to the eastern 2/3 of the US via trackage rights. Consequently the B&M now could trade with South and Central American ports, bypassing the crowded ports of Boston, MA and Portland, ME, at the same time reducing ocean shipping costs and time. The Saucier Central kept its name because it was a 75 year-old family-owned railroad with the owners and all employees living in and around Saucier. However the B&M brought in some of their own power, and also repainted and lettered some of the more reliable SC power. The SC has since been upgraded to Class-IV with 115 Lb. welded rail, allowing 49 mph between the port at Gulfport and the Class-I connections at Hattiesburg. The reduced labor costs and faster running times paid off the cost of upgrading the line long ago, and now is making a handsome profit for the owners and employees who own the company outright.
My layout depicts the places that I spent most of my life and the things that are/were important to the Rails of those places during my times there. From the East Coast to the Southwest. So mainly people moving to begin with and on to Freight moving out in the Southwest. Period covered is mid 70's through today. Selectively compressed of course
