02-14-2012, 10:19 AM
I apologize to those that have already read my original post.
The Port Able Railroad is a shortline located on the Connecticut 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 Company, spelled doom for the Port Able Branch.
The line was originally 6 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 the interchange at Twain Street 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 Port Able Warehouse & Dock Company. 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 still serves the original 3 customers. Car loadings are about 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 Park).
The Port Able Railway has only 3 customers remaining: Regina Manufacturing Corp., Whist Building Supply Inc., and Port Able Warehouse & Dock 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 (cement). The Port Able Warehouse & Dock Company receives and ships out 1-4 cars per week of various commodities. The warehouse/dock serves as a sort of team track that allows for a mix of cars coming in or out. The engine house has its fuel delivered by a local fuel company and pumped straight into the locomotive’s fuel tanks.
The layout is basically going to be a 76 inch by 38 inch loop of Atlas Code 83 track with 3 Snap Track turnouts. Trains will be between 2 to 4 cars long plus the engine and caboose.
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 two 28 inch by 38 inch pieces and one 20x38 inch piece 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.
I plan on using the Walthers Backwoods Shop for the engine house, Atlas' Middlesex Manufacturing for the Warehouse, IHC Ready Mix for the building supply, and DPM components for the manufacturing company. The red buildings are just storefront apartment buildings.
![[Image: 09330000003083.gif]](http://www.walthers.com/prodimage/0933/09330000003083.gif)
![[Image: MiddlesexBuildingBoxShot.jpg]](http://www.atlasrr.com/Images/Structures/midmanufacturing/MiddlesexBuildingBoxShot.jpg)
![[Image: 902.jpg]](http://www.ihc-hobby.com/files/3834618/uploaded/902.jpg)
I’m going with a smaller layout and small trains because I’m building this layout on a budget as well as justifying an 8 hour shift for the train crew. With 2-4 car trains plus the engine and caboose, you need a minimal number of freight cars. The loop allows me to build up mileage as well as use the curves for double duty as switching leads and interchange tracks. I run 1 1/2 laps to achieve my mileage.
If I’m showing off the layout or breaking in an engine, I can just have the engine run round and round without having to monitor the layout diligently.
Port Able Railway Track Plan
![[Image: 6875809053_a98dc2d65f_b.jpg]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7183/6875809053_a98dc2d65f_b.jpg)
Port Able Railway Carload Chart
Regina Manufacturing Corp.
Inbound: Outbound:
2 box cars (hardware, parts) 1 box car (manufactured goods)
Whist Building Supply Inc.
Inbound: Outbound:
2 covered hoppers (cement)
Port Able Warehouse and Dock Company
Inbound: Outbound:
2 various cars 2 various cars
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). If your railroad handles more traffic, then you can adjust the minimum/maximum car loadings on the die.
I roll a die numbered 1 – 6 to determine how many inbound loads are at the interchange. I then pull the amount of cards from an index card file box with each customer shuffled randomly.
I also worked out a schedule for the train crew for the days that they are running:
Schedule:
0800hrs. Start up at the engine storage.
0900hrs. Pick up the train at the interchange.
0930hrs. Travel to the customers at Industry Avenue.
1015hrs. Switch the customers.
1130hrs. Lunch.
1230hrs. Switch the customers.
1345hrs. Travel to the interchange.
1430hrs. Drop off the train at the interchange.
1500hrs. Shut Down at the engine storage.
1600hrs. End of shift.
Let me explain what all of this mumbo jumbo means. I will be working with a 12:1 fast clock ratio which means each hour is scaled down to 5 minutes and each mile is scaled down to 5 feet.
At 8AM, the engineer gets the engine started & warmed up while the conductor gets the paperwork together with the switch lists, waybills, and wheel reports. At 9AM, the crew goes out to the interchange and releases the manual brakes on the freight cars. The crew then returns with the train to the engine storage and picks up the caboose. We then do an air brake test and proceed
At 9:30AM, the crew takes the train down the line to its customers. The mileage on this part is 4 miles and the train will be traveling at 10 mph, so the journey will take 21 minutes. There are 7 road crossings along the route, so I figure that it will take 3 minutes for the train to come to a stop, the conductor comes off the engine, flags the crossing, lets the train cross, climbs back on the engine, and continues on. This brings the total trip to 45 minutes.
We then switch the customers while hooking and unhooking the air brakes, processing the paperwork, and most of all, coupling & uncoupling. We’ll take a 1 hour lunch break at 11:30AM and then reverse the process, except the conductor will ride in the caboose while the engine shoves the train back to the interchange.
The Port Able Railroad is a shortline located on the Connecticut 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 Company, spelled doom for the Port Able Branch.
The line was originally 6 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 the interchange at Twain Street 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 Port Able Warehouse & Dock Company. 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 still serves the original 3 customers. Car loadings are about 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 Park).
The Port Able Railway has only 3 customers remaining: Regina Manufacturing Corp., Whist Building Supply Inc., and Port Able Warehouse & Dock 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 (cement). The Port Able Warehouse & Dock Company receives and ships out 1-4 cars per week of various commodities. The warehouse/dock serves as a sort of team track that allows for a mix of cars coming in or out. The engine house has its fuel delivered by a local fuel company and pumped straight into the locomotive’s fuel tanks.
The layout is basically going to be a 76 inch by 38 inch loop of Atlas Code 83 track with 3 Snap Track turnouts. Trains will be between 2 to 4 cars long plus the engine and caboose.
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 two 28 inch by 38 inch pieces and one 20x38 inch piece 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.
I plan on using the Walthers Backwoods Shop for the engine house, Atlas' Middlesex Manufacturing for the Warehouse, IHC Ready Mix for the building supply, and DPM components for the manufacturing company. The red buildings are just storefront apartment buildings.
I’m going with a smaller layout and small trains because I’m building this layout on a budget as well as justifying an 8 hour shift for the train crew. With 2-4 car trains plus the engine and caboose, you need a minimal number of freight cars. The loop allows me to build up mileage as well as use the curves for double duty as switching leads and interchange tracks. I run 1 1/2 laps to achieve my mileage.
If I’m showing off the layout or breaking in an engine, I can just have the engine run round and round without having to monitor the layout diligently.
Port Able Railway Track Plan
Port Able Railway Carload Chart
Regina Manufacturing Corp.
Inbound: Outbound:
2 box cars (hardware, parts) 1 box car (manufactured goods)
Whist Building Supply Inc.
Inbound: Outbound:
2 covered hoppers (cement)
Port Able Warehouse and Dock Company
Inbound: Outbound:
2 various cars 2 various cars
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). If your railroad handles more traffic, then you can adjust the minimum/maximum car loadings on the die.
I roll a die numbered 1 – 6 to determine how many inbound loads are at the interchange. I then pull the amount of cards from an index card file box with each customer shuffled randomly.
I also worked out a schedule for the train crew for the days that they are running:
Schedule:
0800hrs. Start up at the engine storage.
0900hrs. Pick up the train at the interchange.
0930hrs. Travel to the customers at Industry Avenue.
1015hrs. Switch the customers.
1130hrs. Lunch.
1230hrs. Switch the customers.
1345hrs. Travel to the interchange.
1430hrs. Drop off the train at the interchange.
1500hrs. Shut Down at the engine storage.
1600hrs. End of shift.
Let me explain what all of this mumbo jumbo means. I will be working with a 12:1 fast clock ratio which means each hour is scaled down to 5 minutes and each mile is scaled down to 5 feet.
At 8AM, the engineer gets the engine started & warmed up while the conductor gets the paperwork together with the switch lists, waybills, and wheel reports. At 9AM, the crew goes out to the interchange and releases the manual brakes on the freight cars. The crew then returns with the train to the engine storage and picks up the caboose. We then do an air brake test and proceed
At 9:30AM, the crew takes the train down the line to its customers. The mileage on this part is 4 miles and the train will be traveling at 10 mph, so the journey will take 21 minutes. There are 7 road crossings along the route, so I figure that it will take 3 minutes for the train to come to a stop, the conductor comes off the engine, flags the crossing, lets the train cross, climbs back on the engine, and continues on. This brings the total trip to 45 minutes.
We then switch the customers while hooking and unhooking the air brakes, processing the paperwork, and most of all, coupling & uncoupling. We’ll take a 1 hour lunch break at 11:30AM and then reverse the process, except the conductor will ride in the caboose while the engine shoves the train back to the interchange.
Mike Kieran
Port Able Lines
" If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be " - Yogi Berra.
Port Able Lines
" If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be " - Yogi Berra.
![[Image: 7048504319_1dcac9db70_b.jpg]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7048504319_1dcac9db70_b.jpg)
![[Image: 7611478454_1d83198d1f_b.jpg]](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8027/7611478454_1d83198d1f_b.jpg)
![[Image: 7612991020_db09baa8c5_b.jpg]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7107/7612991020_db09baa8c5_b.jpg)
