I want to Model a layout after Conrails Mon line that served as an as needed connection from CP Bell to pittsburgh. I however do not know much other about the Line. -What Trains operate and from where -Any Intermodals -Where does it connect at Pittsburgh and leave the Pittsburgh Line -Any Landmarks Photo from the CRHS Thanks
You would probably get a better response to your questions if you were to post this thread under "Conrail" in the Fallen Flags section of the site. :tb-wink:
The Mon line is the old Monongahela RR line that went south to the mines. My dad worked on it for a bit when it was NS. Only trains were coal, except for a local that went to Morgantown WV and flyash trains that went to an old mine, forget which one. So you'll never see intermodal trains on this line.
CSX NB Hot Shot, CP Bell? What town? NS, x-CR x-PRR runs from Conway, thru Pittsburgh to the Perry wye (CP?) The Pittsburgh Division crosses over the Monongahela River into the Port Perry tunnel to Altoona and Harrisburg PA. The Mon Valley line runs along the west side of the Monongahela River south from the wye to West Brownsville where it branches from there west into the Greene County and West Virginia coal fields along the x-Monongahela Railway (MGA) and Waynesburg Southern (WS). It also crosses over the Mon at West Brownsville to a wye w/track rights over the CSX x-MGA x-PLE to Morgantown and Fairmont WV. On the east side of the Monongahela River CSX operates from New Castle PA thru Pittsburgh and Port Perry splitting in McKeesport. The Yough Line runs South and East to Connellsville and eventually Baltimore Md. The Mon Line runs south to Brownsville PA and subsequently to Morgantown and Fairmont WV. Note: The PLE, PRR and B&O each had 1/3 share of the Monongahela Railway thus the current rights of ways. The NS side has the most variety of rolling stock. High Side Hoppers & tanks at Wilson serve Clairton Coke. There is a massive yard at Shire Oaks (coal). There are locals hauling plastic pellets (hoppers) tank cars, to Donora, steel to and from Allenport PA, (gondolas and covered gondolas), gondolas for scrap yards, also, hoppers (w/ceramic sand) to Charleroi, and box cars to miscellaneous customers along the way. There is coal side at California. Also, there is the famous West Brownsville Yard with its coal interchange traffic for both NS & CSX. CSX has customers high side gondolas for oil and gas pipe at McKeesport, plastic hoppers and tank cars to Bunola and Newell, gondolas loaded with scrap at McKeesport, Bunola, Elizabeth and Brownsville, and various hoppers to a Belle Vernon mineral terminal, high side hoppers to the Monesson coke plant (Note Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel operated the coke battery and rail mill in Monesson and the Allenport finishing plant. There coal hoppers to various river transfer facilities and miscellaneous box cars to various customers along the way. Both lines are primarily coal routes. URR’s Duquesne yard has gondolas with(scraps)(coil steel) and covered gondolas (finished steel), box cars (lumber) hoppers (lime) & various minerals. I'm currently modeling the NS-Line (X-Conrail, X-PRR) from Conway thru Pittsburgh to W. Brownsville and splitting to Cresson. I'm also modeling the east side of the Monongahela River, CSX (x-PLE x-B&O) from New Castle thru Pittsburgh and Port Perry to Brownsville. I interchange traffic with the Union Railroad (URR) for both NS and CSX. I'm focused on the Port Perry area. My railroad is a HO layout of the fictitious revived Pittsburgh Terminal (the real one was in 1923), using PRR and PLE locos, post merger. We serve CSX, NS and URR with leased units for interchange and transfer runs. I use a loop to a crossover loop for bi-directional traffic with various CP points. The primary route serves the Mon Valley. The loop system also allows me to incorporate intermodal traffic, for NS-Conway to Harrisburg, and CSX-New Castle to Connellsville runs. My system is DCC. The locos are CSX SD-50, CEFX SD 90/43, NS C44-8, CR SD-70mac, PRR RF-16 shark A&B, PRR RSD15, URR MP 15-1 and 2 PLE MP15-1. Please stay in touch so we communicate about our layouts and help each other out regarding layout and Geographic's.
I followed the Mon line today including the MGA and street running in West Brownsville. I have some photos which need sorted. E-mail me and we can talk about the Mon Line. tsalacri@verizon.net
