Your back story

ModelRailroadForums.com is a free Model Railroad Discussion Forum and photo gallery. We cover all scales and sizes of model railroads. Online since 2002, it's one of the oldest and largest model railroad forums on the web. Whether you're a master model railroader or just getting started, you'll find something of interest here.


Aerojet

Aerojet

Active Member
We all build and run some form of model railroad. Whether freelance or the detailed scale model of the prototype. Have you ever thought of the back story on your pike? Ever work up some printed advertising for your road? Do you feature anything like piggy back service, container handling, or other special freight loading techniques?

Do you run a passenger train as well? How would you advertise that today in light of the competition from air lines and cars?

This is just a thought experiment and a chance to let your mind run free as if you were the advertising department of your road.

In the end it might also give you a more dedicated point to model - just a thought at this time.

In the future, on this post I will drop in some of my own advertising for my road. Let's see what you came up with !!!


The Aerojet
 
Mark:

Advertising department for the Milwaukee Northern Railroad? The road is so strapped for cash that it depends on word of mouth for advertising.

Seriously, not a bad idea to have bill boards on the layout advertising the railroad.

Greg
 
Since my railroad's era ends about 1960, the C.B.&Q. has all the advertising it needs in the form of the Zephyrs. Same with the parent roads, the Great Northern and Northern Pacific (which runs North Coast Ltd., and Empire Builder and other GN trains). Occasionally, I also run a Milwaukee Road Hiawatha (diesel-powered), and a C&NW commuter. While I don't have billboards on the layout itself, I do have copies of posters/ads for the Zephyrs on the wall in the train room.

In the beginning, though, I called my layout the Grashhook, Galesburg & Western R.R. My grandfather used to joke about going fishing up to Grashhook, Wisconsin, a ficticious place. In memory of him, I included the name. I even had a number of boxcars decalled with the name. Since I model the "Q", the G.G&W. became a division of the Burlington Route, just as many small branchlines did for real. For example, the Burlington & Missouri River, Colorado Southern, etc.
 
Last edited by a moderator:


Interestingly, my Northern Pacific Butte Short Line's history is the same as the Northern Pacific's! Go figure!
 
I had a story before I even started laying track for the layout. I had a good friend who was also starting a layout at the same time I got rid of all of my N scale equipment and moved to HO scale. We both wanted to model the local area and were interested in the transition era.

My friend, Robin, was a big fan of the Northern Pacific as was I hand we got out USGA maps to figure out where we would build out freelance railroads. Robin's railroad got named the Gallatin Canyon and Western. He had custom decals made and I custom painted a number of locomotives and freight cars for his railroad. The GC&W ran south from Gallatin Gateway, MT to West Yellowstone, MT where it connected to the Union Pacific.

In our twisted history, the ICC would not allow the Northern Pacific to cover this route, so the NP put up the cash for the GC&W. The GC&W even incorporated the NP monad, but in reverse for their logo. IMAG0259.jpg

My Logan Valley came into existence to connect the Northern Pacific to the GC&W. The Logan Valley connects to the NP at Logan, MT and runs south to Gallatin Gateway where it connects to both the GC&W and the Milwaukee Road. Any freight and passenger traffic heading south from Logan travels over the LV to Gallatin Gateway and transfers to the GC&W to head to points south.

Robin had a huge area for his layout, aboiut 1,800 square feet in the upper level of a building he had down the Gallatin Canyon. As I started my layout, I was also helping Robin with his layout. We got a fair amount of road bed down and some track started when he unfortunately suffered a fatal heart attack.

The over all plan really sounded good so I stuck with it. The LV serves four towns on it's route south from Logan and serves over 20 customers. The towns on the layout are actual towns, but with a little bit of modelers license, not only were real industries used, but also some that could have come about if rail service were available.

Also in my twisted history, since my friend unfortunately passed away, I stuck to the plan and the Logan Valley bough out the GC&W. I have quite a few locomotives and freight cars custom painted for the GC&W and these cars will be left in the GC&W colors as in the twisted history, the sale just occurred and nothing has been repainted yet. I do not model the route of the GC&W, but do interchange cars headed south from Gallatin Gateway.

This plan started over 30 years ago and work quite well for me. Plenty of switching and also through trains on the layout. I am glad that I did stick with it an not change much.
 
I have a fully conceptualized back story for the railway. Some of it I have written down. I have also developed maps, schedules (people), timetables (freight), forms, tickets, print ads, billboards, and stock certificates. But right now, most of it sits in files on the computer while I focus the small amount of available railroading time on building the layout.
 
I had to write up a backstory to justify the location and the oddball locomotives I've purchased. I'm a bit surprised that parts of my idea didn't happen in real life. Perhaps the Rutland would still be around today if they could've used my idea.
 
East Central Indiana
HO Scale Railroad
The ECI has been built and rebuilt several times (see Timeline). There have also been times when there has been no movement at all. Now the railroad has begun to move back in time to be able to run NYC, PRR and PC locomotives and cars.
The ECI is a 1970s short line operating out of Anderson in North Central Indiana southward over the ex-New York Central (CCC&StL) Michigan Division /PC North Vernon Secondary purchased from Penn Central. The ECI runs through Emporia, Rushville, Greensburg and terminates in the Southern Indiana town of Westport.
Connections are made with the CIW (Central Indiana & Western) at Anderson, and the N&W at Rushville, with a secondary connection with PC Greensburg. The ECI has rights between Anderson and Westport under control of the ECI Dispatcher working out of the South Anderson Yards.
The majority of customers are small industrial companies (pipes, plastics, autoparts, etc.) as well as several heavy grain operations and one small stone quarry sending occasional shipments off line to dealers nationwide from their quarry near Westport.
Although the line is not truly prosperous, it does make money and has an outstanding Service Facilities with a maintenance crew devoted to rebuild and maintenance with tender loving care. This is attested to by the Ex-NYC E7 that has been placed into service pulling an Excursion Train consisting of four refurbished passenger cars from Anderson to Westport monthly during summer months and the NYC GP7, and RS3 that have been put into service on the railroad. Also, thee is the 0-8-0 that does some freight work on the ECI. The ECI GP 38-2 is now handling the grain operation at Westport.
 
The Beady, Brothel and Western travels through an area of extremely active plate tectonics, that constantly reconfigures the landforms which, in turn, require ever-changing track plans. This is complicated by the fact that the constantly - shifting topography and ongoing subduction brings new mineral resources to the region on an irregular basis, meaning that the mix of industries is in constant flux. To make things even more difficult, all of this results in a steady fluctuation of population centers, both their size and location.

The BB&W has been able to survive economically by devoting entire trains to prostitution, allowing almost complete mobility, flexibility and availability for their operations, as well as forming an ironically firm economic supplement for their conventional houses of joy. The income from these fixed and mobile brothels means that the railroad is able to maintain steady operations that support the region's more - mundane industrial ventures and passenger movement regardless of the amount and frequency of change. In short, the BB&W's brothel operations ensure that, despite the challenging geology, the local population can count on being dependably serviced in every possible way.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 


Beady, how do your trains circumvent the law, or is "The Trade" legal in your area?

pun.jpg

To make up a train, the call girls pick up their call sheet. Then the typical 'trick train' consist has an 'escort engine' coupled to hooker hoppers, trailed by a cathouse caboose.
 
JazzDad said:
Beady, how do your trains circumvent the law, or is "The Trade" legal in your area?
Click to expand...
It's my railroad and the cops do what I tell them.

To make up a train, the call girls pick up their call sheet. Then the typical 'trick train' consist has an 'escort engine' coupled to hooker hoppers, trailed by a cathouse caboose.
Click to expand...
I like it.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 
Greg@mnrr said:
Beady:

You need to post a video of one of your operation sessions!!!

Greg
Click to expand...
Yeah, well, that's another story that has been told at great length over in Running Bear's Coffee Shop. Suffice it to say that the latest tectonic shift has been so violent that it's going to take several weeks, possibly months, for a new configuration to emerge.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 
JazzDad said:
I don't have any problem with the plates shifting. I model Pangaea - when it was totally stable.
Click to expand...
I'm more of a Gondwana Land kind of person myself, and into the glaciation of north Africa. Its fun making all those trestles that get wiped out each year as the glaciers advance.
 
How did this thread, which I think would be very interesting, get so far off track?
 
NP2626 said:
How did this thread, which I think would be very interesting, get so far off track?
Click to expand...
I was asked for my back story, and I gave it. What happened after that was beyond my control.

This signature is intended to irritate people.
 
I always get this itch in the one place I cannot reach.

I keep a sturdy pasta ladle in my nightstand - works great.

Frederick
 


NP2626 said:
How did this thread, which I think would be very interesting, get so far off track?
Click to expand...

Classic thread drift. Just look what happened in the thread on Modelling in 50s and 60s. It drifted up to the late 70's then someone commented on the number of pages in Model Railroader in 1977. It then turned into a discussion of the size and quality of MR. Yup, classic thread drift. :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.




Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)

Back
Top