So what kind of railroad do we want?

So now that I've determined that I want to forge ahead with a model railroad project of my own, the first question is: What kind of railroad do I want?

This is closely tied to: How much room do I have? And how much money can I spend?

In planning at least, the issue of space is more important... Can't fit a 40X30 railroad into a 10X12 room now can we. Money will certainly be an issue, but I can work with that issue later.

There is also the issue of skill. I've worked on other railroads, but I've never built one from the ground up. And while I might be familiar with most of the skills involved, it will be a learning experience for me, so I'd better at least try to keep my ambitions in line with that.

But of course on top of all that, I want it to be a satisfying railroad for me to use. I could make a loop with one passing siding. It would be easy, small, and cheep, but I would not really be interested in using it for more than a few minutes.

So the planning process will be a balancing act of all these factors, and I've no doubt I'll screw it up at some point. Most likely by going too far, rather than not far enough.

So... what d'ya want? eh?

I have no interest in a loop and watching trains go round and round. There's nothing wrong with that, if that's what you enjoy (and I know many people do). But that's not for me. Any railroad I build is likely to be a point to point railroad. If all of the above factors were not factors, I would have a large point to point railroad with long runs as well as lots of switching at it's terminuses, and probably along the way too. So, no loops. This is good from a space perspective as it makes narrow shelf layouts a distinct possibility.

Next what do I like? My favorite kind of railroading is dense urban switching, mostly modern (though there is something to be said for the old 0-6-0T trundling down 39th St in the midst of traffic). I also really enjoy street running. And I get a kick out of those old brick warehouses and other buildings that are built around the tracks, curved walls to accommodate sidings, trains running to the interior that kind of thing.

So an urban switching layout, maybe some street running (though that my challenge my modeling skill, I think it will be worth it.)

One other thing I'd like to throw in there is a car float operation. Car floats? you ask. Yeah, they're just neat. Growing up in Detroit, the Norfolk Western had a Car Ferry that ran across the river to Windsor with haz mat and over height cars until they improved the Port Huron crossings and the Ferries were no longer needed.

Several years ago I stumbled on the operations of the "Cross Harbor Railroad" in New York. (I dig that name a lot, I'll talk about my pension of naming things in a future post). Now known as NYNJ Rail LLC as of 2006, the Cross Harbor operates a Car Float (or Float Bridge) from New Jersey to Brooklyn NYC. They primarly move Haz Mat and over size loads to Brooklyn where they interchange both with the MTA (the NYC Subway, at one point they were the MTA's only connection to the revenue rail network) and with the freight arm of the Long Island Railroad. Though it has since changed hands, they are talking about expanding NYNJ Rails operations due to the demand for that kind of rail traffic.

Basically the Cross Harbor is everything I love about railroad. Tight, urban switching in an older area, street running, and even a car float. So why not model that? Oh I considered it. I'm not especially interested in modeling a prototype railroad. Mostly 'cuse my own sense of "correctness" would force me to do things in the model to be true to the prototype that probably wouldn't be fun. So I'm definitely going freelance rather than prototype, but that's not to say that I won't be throwing in several aspects of the Cross Harbor into my operation.

The only other active car float operation in the lower 48 (The Alaska Railroad is only connected to the rest of the rail network by a car float operation to Seattle WA, but that's a different kettle of fish) is the Bay Coast Railroad in Virgina. It operates a float operation across the Chesapeake Bay, from Norfolk to Cape Charles. That operation has been going continuously since 1885.  It's not quite as neat, no Urban Switching, but it is a short line railroad, the kind of thing I plan to model.

So that's what I want, a tight urban switching layout, maybe with a car float. Sounds doable right? Yeah actually it does. There might be some modeling challenges in there but that's ok. My biggest concern is getting good satisfying track work, that operates well, I can worry about what the buildings look like later. And in the end it's all intended as a learning experience anyway, so even a failure will provide some useful experience. Though I'd really rather have something I can play with a little huh?