Details
Early in my blog, I explained operations on my midwestern fertilizer transload spur. Business was good in the early 80's and switching inbound loads of potash and phosphate could easily occupy an hour or more.
Those were the halcyon days, which I'll return to eventually. But currently I find myself with extremely limited hobby time. So, I've rolled the clock ahead a couple decades creating a very familiar prototype scenario.
May I present: A Moment at Warren
It's the early 2000's. Our branchline is on it's 4th (or is it 5th?) owner. Daily switching of potash and phosphate is a distant memory. The unloading auger and car-moving winch sit dormant. The siding still serves a purpose: a convenient spot for a local company to unload single carloads of starch, trucking the product in pneumatic trailers to their nearby manufacturing facility. We are far from any mainline and it is impressive that the economy of shipping via bulk rail still makes this enterprise worthwhile. These white starch hoppers often sit here for a week or more. Ghost-like.
A distant horn confirms this is not an apparition. Seconds later a beige pickup rolls into the lot, confirming something is about to happen.
The driver is the train's conductor who, instead of riding in the locomotive cab, now runs support in the company pickup. Not unlike a bike race chase car, insurance for a sure-way back to Bluffton when he and the engineer reach their 12-hour limit, break down, or derail somewhere in the middle of corn-belt nowhere.
The previously mentioned airhorn belongs to ex-Iowa Interstate C420 850. Like the track she runs on, the 850 is now on her 4th (or is it 5th?) owner. It's a fascinating 20 minutes as the crew drops the inbound load down the main by gravity and swaps it with the empty.
Finally, sitting on the main with the empty. Brake test performed and ready to head back west. If it is late in the day the crew will tie the 850 down here. This affords us a great opportunity to check out the engine, now quiet save for the staccato rhythm of the "spitter" valves releasing condensation from the air tanks.
But most of the time the train departs. In reality, the model train slowly rolls through a grove of trees and into staging. But immersed in the scene and moment, we can't help but wonder if the crew will make it back to Bluffton before their 12-hour limit is up.
Back to reality - these random 15 to 20 minute op sessions fit perfectly into my current schedule. Sometimes cars really do sit on the spur for a week or 10 days before they are switched out...just like the prototype. I enjoy walking by the layout and pausing a few moments to enjoy the overall scene and details, even without a moving train...much like we encounter places in real life.
And when it comes time to run a train, operating with the Iowa Scaled Engineering Proto Throttle makes even simple operations like this super fun. I'm having an absolute blast with it!
Since the customer never receives more than two hoppers at a time, my rolling stock roster for the new era is minimal. Four Atlas Pressureaide hoppers cover it.
I've lowered the cars to look more prototypical and built new bolsters/coupler boxes. Next will be adding etched metal crossover platforms, cut bars, air hoses, and of course weathering. With a minimalist roster, I can no doubt accomplish these tasks in a reasonable amount of time, which is very satisfying to me.
(Left is original with high ride height and thick coupler box. Right is a lowered car with new bolster and coupler box.)
Eventually I'll regain my free time and can go back to modeling the busier 1980's. In the meantime, this era shift has been a perfect solution. Perhaps it's the added sense of place and feeling of history/backstory that makes it seem more poignant and real.
Thanks for following along!
Jack
