10-10-2011, 02:06 PM
Tyson Rayles Wrote:"Chuck Hitckcock did an interesting story on passenger operations at a passenger terminal (Argentine, KS) in Model Railroad Planning 1997 - he operated a dozen trains a day, coming in from different directions and either terminating in the yard at Argentine, or having cars swapped out - head end cars of mail or express goods, taking off a parlor-observation car from train #11 and putting it on train #211 and so on and so forth."
While this is true he has since ditched that and rebuilt the layout as a industrial switching layout.
Oh sure. His AIDRY (Argentine Industrial District Railway), which succeeded the Santa Fe Argentine District layout after the AD had lasted for 15 years (from 1986 until 2001), is one of the best switching layouts I have ever seen presented in print.
But the fact that Chuck switched to a switching layout that is all within yard limits, with no passenger traffic doesn't mean that passenger traffic can't be fun. It just means that for some of us, pure freight switching can be even more fun, Or maybe that a master like Chuck Hitchcock occasionally need new challenges, and starts over, doing something else.
Some pictures from the web page of Chuck's custom structure building business, showing industries on the AIDRY: http://www.chuckhitchcockstructures.com/photo_gallery
Smile,
Stein