[FONT="]Here’s the story of my Port Able HO Scale Railroad: If you go to the 3rd post in this thread, you'll get the full story without having to download any attachments. [/FONT]
Thanks Curt, You were able to read the story? I tried to download the document with the trackplan, but it ended up being put in as a link.
Let me try this again. [FONT="]The Port Able Railroad is a shortline located on the Massachusetts shoreline that took over an abandoned branchline of the Atlantic Lines in 1937. The end of passenger service after the closure of Neptune Park amusement park in 1935 and low freight traffic due to the closure of the Port Able Shipbuilding Co. spelled doom for the Port Able Branch. The line was originally 8 miles long, but it was cut back to 5 miles where the lines remaining freight customers were located. Trains went up the branch to Port Able locomotive first and returned to East Haven caboose first. Fearing that shutting down the rail line would put them out of business in an already depressed economy, the three remaining freight customers on the line, Regina Manufacturing, Whist Building Supply, and the Nemo Fish Co. purchased the branch from the Atlantic Lines. Along with the purchase were an 0-4-0 tank engine and an old wood caboose. The railroad has 7 miles of trackage (5 route miles) and serves the original 3 customers. Carloadings are over 300 cars per year and trains run twice a week (usually Monday and Thursday, or as needed). An interesting feature of the railroad is that it has no runaround track. Since it branched off of the mainline at East Haven and continued on into Port Able's waterfront for the Port Able Ship Yard and ending at the beach/amusement park (Neptune's Park). The layout is basically going to be a 72 inch by 45 inch loop of track with 5 turnouts, thus explaining the lack of a runaround track. Trains will be between 2 to 4 cars long plus the engine and caboose.[/FONT] [FONT="]I'm modeling the summer of 1979 because I love the shortline Incentive Per Diem box cars that were all over American rails during the 1970's. I also have a few steam switchers around (I love those Varney diecast Lil Joes), so I can switch to a steam era with very few changes. As an apartment dweller in Brooklyn, NY, space is at a premium. The name of the railroad explains its concept. The layout comes apart into 2 36 inch by 42 inch pieces to be (portable) and it will sit on my dining room table (por table). I've been toying with this layout design for 10 years and came to the realization that I was over designing my layout. I then decided to keep everything simple in design, concept, and cost. While it's not a groundbreaking design, it will keep me happy for many years to come.[/FONT] The Port Able Railway has only 3 customers, Regina Manufacturing Corp., Whist Building Supply Inc., and Nemo Fish Co. Regina Manufacturing receives up to 4 box cars (hardware, parts, and packaging) and ships out up to 2 box cars per week. Whist Building Supply receives up to 2 covered hoppers per week (building aggregate). Nemo fish ships out 2 reefers per week (frozen fish). The engine house has its fuel delivered by a local fuel company and pumped straight into the locomotive’s fuel tanks. Track Plan Building Guide A – Interchange with the Atlantic Lines Railroad B – Port Able Railway Caboose Storage C – Port Able Railway Office D – Port Able Railway Engine House & Shops E – Regina Manufacturing Corp. F – Whist Building Supply Inc. G – Nemo Fish Co. H – End Of Track X – hinge that allows the Port Able Railway to fold into 2 36"x42" halves. Regina Manufacturing Corp. Port Able Railway Carload Chart Inbound: 4 box cars (hardware, parts) Outbound: 2 box cars (manufactured goods) Whist Building Supply Inc. Inbound: 2 covered hoppers (cement, sand, & gravel) Nemo Fish Co. Outbound: [FONT="]2 reefers (frozen fish) [/FONT] [FONT="] [/FONT] The Carload Chart helps me to figure out how many cars my railroad can handle at max capacity. The chart helps me to figure out how many cars will enter and leave the railroad in one week. The railroad runs twice a week unless a special move is needed. In my case, the Port Able Railway handles a maximum of 8 cars a week inbound (two days a week, so a maximum of 4 cars inbound per day) and a maximum of 4 cars outbound per week (or 2 cars per day). If your railroad handles more traffic, then you can adjust the minimum/maximum carloadings on the die. I roll a die numbered 2 – 4 (blank dice with 2, 3, & 4 each on two sides of the die) to determine how many inbound loads are at the interchange. I then pull the amount of cards from an index card file box that are placed in a 2:1:1 sequence of Manufacturing to Building Supply. Blank die can usually be purchased at a teacher’s store, but gaming stores have a variety of multi-sided die for war gamers. [FONT="] [/FONT]
I was able to download the PDF -- I like the portability of the layout and of course, the inspired name. Aurelio
This looks good Mike, a plausible story and reason for the operation you can manage. I am a UK modeller who lives in one small room so for me I would be looking to model a fraction of this, but you have given me some good ideas. Thanks Ken
