The All Gauge Model Railroading Page
presents
The system railroads use is simple yet effective. Imagine, if you will, a train starting in Hoboken and scheduled for Buffalo. It is a regularly-scheduled freight train on the Lackawanna Railroad. The natural inclination would be to hook up all the cars headed for Buffalo and send it on its way. However, there is a more efficient way to make it work.
Sunbury
In our freight yard, we have cars bound for Scranton, Sunbury, Oswego, Binghamton, Utica and Ithica. They are all going to be added to the train. At Scranton, the Sunbury trains will be offloaded. Oswego and Utica cars get offloaded at Binghamton. Ithica train get offloaded at the Ithica line junction. For further efficiency, Buffalo-bound cars at those station will be added to the train.
What happens to the cars we dropped? Those at Scranton will be transferred to a scheduled local serving Sunbury. Those headed for Oswego and Utica will be passed to a scheduled Oswego-bound train at Binghamton. It will drop off the appropriate cars at the Utica line junction, where the scheduled Utica train picks them up. At the same time, our train picks up freight from Utica to Oswego. The same happens at the Ithica junction, where our train picks up Buffalo-bound freight and drops off Ithica-bound cars. Our original train reaches Buffalo with freight from all over the system. Along the way, it has dropped off freight and served the rest of the system. One train handled many destinations.
The final stage is when individual cars are gathered and taken to the industries or transfer points. A local train called a "drill" is assigned to one small area, where it drops off and picks up cars. The drill works there regularly. Thus we see how cargo is distributed, and how it is gathered for shipping across the system.
Not all freights make stops. Sometimes there is so much Hoboken cargo going to Buffalo that it would make a train itself. If this were a regular event, there would be a scheduled express to Buffalo. If not, a special freight, called an "extra," would be made up. It would have to be fit into the schedule. Trains might have to stop to let it pass, or wait on a siding. Signals and schedules make it possible to add an extra without causing a bottleneck or an accident.
What about freight going to places west of Buffalo? Those cars go to a transfer point, where they are handed over to the westbound railroad. In this case, it is the Nickel Plate Road. The cars are taken from the Lackawanna and assigned to a westbound Nickel Plate train. The same process is used between Buffalo and Chicago.
Passenger trains work much the same. A train known as an express or limited, because it only makes a few stops, would be scheduled to run regularly between Hoboken and Buffalo. It would only stop, perhaps, at Scranton, Binghamton, Ithica Junction and Buffalo. That would be fine for anyone going to one of those destinations. What about people wanting to go to a station between those points?
For instance, a passenger wishes to go to a point between Scranton and Binghamton. He would take the express to whichever city was closest to his destination, then debark and transfer to a local. The local is a slower-moving train because it makes all stops. The local would deliver him at his stop. That is much more efficient than having a separate train for each station, or to make every train a local.
These days, trains carry enough fuel to make it to a distant transfer point. In the days of steam, things were not as efficient. Every hundred to two hundred miles, the train would have to refuel. There would be a small facility to provide a steam locomotive with water, coal and sand. Water was provided from a water tower, and coal was dropped into the tender from an overhead coal bunker. Likewise, sand for the brakes was provided by a sand tower.
Before dining cars, trains would make a meal stop at a station which had dining facilities. The passengers had enough time to debark, eat, and get back on the train. The railroad's dining halls were expert in handling these quick meals. They could serve hundreds of guests within the allotted time.
The real expert of experts was a man named Fred Harvey, who provided dining halls along the Santa Fe line. Harvey's restaurants, called Harvey Houses, provided high-quality cuisine at an affordable price, within the train's schedule. Harvey was able to provide fine food and a comfortable place to eat. Part of his genius was to bring in young women from the East to work as waitresses. They would work for two years, according to a contract. Many never finished the contract. They married and settled in the towns nearby. So it is said that no Fred Harvey civilized the West.
Imagine a train hauling 40 hoppers of gravel from Hoboken, NJ to Buffalo, NY. It has a crew of three or four men, two locomotives and 40 cars. For the same load to be handled by trucks, you would need three to four trucks per hopper. At a minimum, that means 120 trucks and 120 drivers. Just the salaries alone, for an eight-hour run, are staggering. If the men averaged $15.00 an hour, those trucks would cost $18,000 as opposed to a maximum of $480 for the train crew. Then there is the problem of maintaining 120 trucks, and all their tires and brakes. The railroad only has two locomotives to worry about. Truck tires might need to be replaced twice a year. A wheel on a locomotive might last at least five and probably ten years. Trucks could be used for 15 years before they are too worn; locomotives last 30 years, and often as much as 50! Trains are cheaper to run. One train does what 120 to 180 trucks might do.
The railroad is still the cheapest way to ship!
Revenue cars are those which earn a railroad money. They include freight and passenger cars. By means of them, the railroad does the job for which it is paid. There are two ways this works. The first is simple: cars carry the freight which the railroad is paid to move. The second is unique to railroading: cars are leased to other railroads for a fee, usually based on mileage. Several railroads have excess cars which earn revenue through leasing to other roads. One extreme example is the Iowa Terminal Railroad. Only ten miles long, the small electrified railroad has a lease fleet of over 1,100 cars! Ironically, the Iowa Terminal does not have enough track to hold all its cars at once.
Car types are standardized for the types of freight which can be hauled. Here is a brief rundown:
Boxcars: imagine a shed on wheels. That is a boxcar, used to handle dry freight and packaged goods. Boxcars can be very colorful, for the owners would paint them as a moving advertisement for their services. Railfans and model train fans especially like boxcars.
Reefers: refrigerated cars haul perishables, and are something like a meat locker on trucks. The older cars had ice bunkers which were replenished at icing stations along the way. Today's reefers have mechanical refrigeration units. Like boxcars, they were often painted as billboards.
Stock cars: in shape, they resemble boxcars. These cars are slatted for ventilation. They carry livestock, from steers to sheep to hogs. You can usually smell them coming.
Tanks: tank cars handle fluids, from edibles to petroleum products and acids. They are literally tanks on trucks.
Flat cars: the flat car handles large, bulky freight that is not vulnerable to weather. This might include lumber, logs, heavy pipe, machinery, construction vehicles - anything that is more or less weatherproof. Stakes and bulkheads can be fitted for hauling odd-sized freight. A depressed center version is for objects that would normally be too high to make it through tunnels and other clearances.
Hoppers: the hopper is made to haul loose, granular dry goods. Uncovered hoppers carry loads which are not affected adversely by weather, such as coal and gravel. Covered hoppers are for items that would be affects: salt, concrete, grain, etc. Hoppers are loaded from the top, and unload from the bottom. A special ramp with an open space between the rails is used. Underneath are bins or waiting trucks. The hopper's bottom hatches are opened to allow the goods to flow out.
Gondola: the railroad's catch all, it can handle anything a hopper can, as well as many types of flat car load. The gondola is a large tub on wheels. I have seen them loaded with junk, iron ore, and even small vehicles. Gondolas are also favored for maintenance of way work.
Caboose: riding on the end of the train, the caboose is a conductor's office, mobile kitchen, bunkhouse and crew quarters. They are brightly colored for visibility - a train approaching from the rear can more easily see them. Cupolas on the roof or side allow crews to observe the train and watch for problems like hot boxes. Cabooses are getting rare, as modern regulation have replaced them with an "end-of-train" device.
Passenger trains are also standardized:
Coach: basic passenger car, fitted with seats for riders.
Baggage: special car for carrying passengers' baggage, equivalent to stowed luggage on an airplane. One big difference: railroads handled passengers' luggage far better than airlines do.
Combine: used mainly on commuter or short runs, a combine is half baggage car - half coach.
Railway Post Office - RPO: a rolling post office, armored, where mail is picked up and sorted. Because of train robberies, RPO crews were armed. The post office stopped using RPOs In the 1970s. Note that they are painted in the railroad's colors, even though they are post office vehicles.
Diner: kitchen-equipped restaurant on wheels
Observation: a car meant for the end of a train. Older versions had a small balcony on the end; newer ones have a round or flat end with windows. This is usually a lounge car. It can be a small social lounge or a tavern on wheels.
Sleeper: old-style cars had rows of bunks for passengers.
Pullman: better than a sleeper, a Pullman has roomettes and sleeping compartments for overnight passengers.
Vista-dome: a car fitted with a large skylight and upper level, so passengers could enjoy the scenery. Because of low clearances in the East, vista domes were only used in the West. (Despite this fact, model and toy train makers produce Vista Dome cars in Eastern railroad livery!)
Head-end cars: freight cars painted in the passenger car colors, and placed at the head of the train. These were normally boxcars and reefers. Boxcars handled small freight picked up at local stations; reefers picked up milk or other perishables en route, for delivery at the terminal. Amtrak has started using them again.
Revenue includes self-propelled passenger trains. Examples are:
MU cars: electric-powered coaches with a control cab in front. These draw power from a third rail or overhead wires known as a "catenary."
"Doodlebugs": a gas or diesel powered passenger car, common on short commuter runs in the early part of this century.
RDC: Budd built diesel-powered passenger car sets, used for commuters. (Believe me - they made a LOT of smoke!)
Railbus: a bus-like vehicle running on gas or diesel. Instead of tires it had flanged wheels.
Trolley and Interurban: passenger coaches powered by overhead wires, used between town and, for urban areas, and intra-city public transportation.
A railroad is a large enterprise comprising a huge amount of real estate and physical property. Because it provides its own roadways, structures and equipment, the railroad expends a large part of its assets maintaining itself. Compare a trucking company, whose freight terminal generally includes a gravel-paved yard, loading dock, warehouse, small maintenance garage and a couple of offices. The trucking outfit does not maintain the roads it uses, nor the signals or communications along the road. State and local governments take care of roads, while telephone service is in the hands of private utilities. Railroads have to maintain their track, their signals and their communications, among other things.
A railroad has locomotive shops for repair of its prime movers, and car shops to maintain rolling stock. There is often a separate electrical department for the wiring inside locomotives. A signal department maintains and repairs signals, while the track department is responsible for roadbed, switches, and the condition of track. The shops of shortlines are small, with crews handling a variety of specialties. By contrast, Class 1 railroads have small armies of workers grouped by specialties, supported by massive shops loaded with the latest machinery.
Because railroads are unique, they have their own peculiar machines and vehicles for maintaining their physical plant. In the days of steam, that included forges and steam power plants. Today's railroads have their own power plants, as well as industrial-grade machinery. Their fleets include ballast spreader, ballast tampers, track inspection vehicles, test scale vehicles and an assortment of odd scooters and buggies.
Wreck recovery is part and parcel of railroad equipment. An assortment of cranes, hoists and spotlight cars are fitted to lift derailed trains, repair damaged roadbed and structures. Alongside them are the track cars, from hoppers specially designed to unload ballast to a host of strange little buggies. If it is on the railroad, they have a car to fix it.
Most maintenance cars are mundane in appearance. They are usually older freight and passenger cars whose revenue days are over. Relegated to maintenance of way work, these cars are crudely repainted and refitted with the tools of the trade. Old cabooses and boxcars can be refitted as tool cars (moving tool sheds), bunk cars for crews working in isolated areas, hoist cars and boom tenders. Alongside the faded cars are the strange little vehicles that perform special jobs. Ballast spreaders do just that: spread ballast evenly. Ballast tampers press the gravel into the roadbed. Gauge cars make sure the rails are the proper gauge.
A modern improvement is the hi-rail vehicle - a normal car or truck that has retractable flanged wheels. By dropping the wheels, these cars can ride on the rails. They include crew cars, inspection cars, various trucks, and self-propelled cranes. Track is crucial to a railroad. It must be kept in perfect condition, and much is invested to maintain and repair it promptly.
Signal crews and construction crews also favor hi-rail vehicles.
Track gangs are one type of construction crew. Railroads also have structural ironworkers who maintain trestles and bridges, carpenters and masons for buildings, and an assortment of electricians for everything from interior house wiring to the locomotive's electrical gear. Every construction trade and specialty is represented on the railroad.
Higher up, civil engineers and architects oversee all buildings and structures. They are supported by teams of draftsmen. The railroad employs all levels to keep its physical plant in good operating order.
Work, recovery and inspection trains are called "non-revenue" because they do not earn the railroad money. They are part of the force which maintains the railroad itself. They are a necessary expense: a debit rather than an asset.