Hello to everyone here at Model Railroad hobbyist. Always a visitor and never a member till now. 

My first post is about my fictional railroad that, ironically shares the same name as a real railroad, that I didn't know about until recently. 

My n scale railroad is the Central Illinois Railroad, based in Evans (ghost town), Illinois. Its locomotive fleet consist of:

Rock Island, 4-8-4, 5113

CNW, 4-6-0, 237

2 unlettered 2-8-0s

1 undecorated 0-8-0

2 undecorated Dash 9s

1 Susquehanna, Dash 8, 4008

2 Southern Pacific NW2s, 1313 & 1315

1 Pennsylvania NW2, 5912

1 undecorated SD26

1 undecorated MP15

1 undecorated C420 high hood

2 SD45s (Conrail 6146, Denver Rio Grande 5534)

2 sets of E8s/E9s for passenger service

2 0-6-0s

My railroad fictional background starts when the CIR owner and real estate mogul, LMD. Manning, started the railroad as a Class II railroad and after years of profiting and buying defunct short and former class I railroads (Southern Pacific, Illinois Central, Rock Island, Wabash, Chicago Northwestern, Chicago great western, and many shortlines), became the Central Illinois Railroad that it is today. The railroad then combine its current mainline (university park to chicago) with the bought railroad trackages and pull trains to both coast as well as the gulf and great lakes. The railroad livery is basic, all black with red lettering and numbering. The railroad freight trains "rocket" along it rails pulling anything from goods to bagged concrete from a medium-size plant. 

The two Southern Pacific NW2 operate the main yard in Evans, the Pennsy NW2 operate the small yard the eastern division (the Pennsylvania former yard), and the MP15 operate the western Division (Southern Pacific former yard). The Sd45 pull general freight, the Dash 9s pull coal unit train, the single Dash 8 pull the MOW train, the C420 pull cars from Evans to Chicago, and the SD26 pull goods from Evans to Southern Illinois. 

One set of Es pull the railroad long distance passenger train, the Central, and the other set, the Illinoisian, pull regional trains from non-Metra markets. The 4-8-4, 2-8-0s. and 4-6-0 pull special trains during certain national holidays as well as pulling touist train in the states that the railroad operate in. the two saddletanks work on the docks in Illinois, the only docks the CIR own where it would offer its fast-freight to their destination.

My layout with the shape I have right now, will depict the a compressed the city of Evans where some of the railroad employees work and live. the industries the railroad services around Evans are a steel mill (electric arc furnace), steel mill, lumber company (wood products and lumber), a quarry, cement plant, brick plant,a post office, truck and trailer manufacturing companies, a recycling plant, and a medium size brewery.