Making it pay


Aerojet

Active Member
Passenger business went south in the late 60's and early 70's with Amtrak taking over the biz. So how is a road likely to make it pay?

By getting the equipment to fit the amount of passengers it will carry.....


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Here is how we haul 40 passengers per trip from Chicago to St. Paul twice a day each way. Make that 4 trains a day. Two day trains and two night trains.

Starting with motive power which matches the load it will haul. One does not need super big locos to haul three or four cars. Express still work for us and we move a lot of LCL / small packages via our Railway Express and deliver it ourselves. Yup it still works in the Kickapoo Drift-less Region.

A 35 passenger coach with Slumber Coach seats works for this haul - and the shortened observation car with three compartments and an all day lunch / bar works for the food service. there is also a lounge at the back of this unit.

Makes money for us!

Aerojet
Superintendent
Royal Point Division
Chicago and Northwestern
 
Mark:

Only us Wisconsinites know what the Kickapoo Drift-less Region is and where it is located. Been there many times.

Looks like a fun train to run.

Enjoy.

Greg
 
I wouldn't want to be one of the 40 passengers crammed into those 2 cars. Or do you mean 40 passengers, for the whole trip, with the seats turning over several times.

How about 2 double deck cars. one a coach, and the other car is a lounge/diner/sleeper?

As I recall, your motive power of choice ought to do 200 scale mph, with that train.
 
otiscnj - Don't grasp your throttle too tightly there! LOLOL .... This is a fun thing - and those are Walthers Oscar and Piker with a Hustler to pull them all in Amtrak paint. Which I guess is rare. Just having fun with the pike. I will post out a bit later the real train, pulled by a pair of F7's and full compliment cars. Okay? Just for now go with the flow and have a laugh on me. I am working towards finishing off the frontal part of the new board where the old depot is and this is my take on an old problem, just having fun as it was. Watch for the "Down by the Depot" post later this month.

The Aerojet
 
"Mergers are such a waste of time repainting everything - just use what you have and get new stuff lettered as it comes on the pike!"

There is a lot of truth to that my friend!

Having worked as a coal sampler in my younger days here in Baltimore at the coal piers just after the hey days of mergers I saw all kinds of stuff on the former B&O, WM and PRR lines. Often they would just block out the old numbers, paint on new numbers and leave the paint scheme intact. I seen just about every paint scheme from every road that Chessie and Penn Central, later Conrail were made of. It was a colorful time to say the least!

It's still true to this day. I see lots of rolling stock still in the original scheme of many fallen flags, especially boxcars and covered hoppers. They are a bit worn but still visible.

Thanks for sharing you fun road, it's one of my favorites!
 
Okay I finally got the stupid box back on line ... don't ask ... anyhow - here is why I use the smaller passenger train ---

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The problem is the small passing track in front of the station. This is on the main line by the yard - and there is lots of room for it there, but not on the smaller station track on board 2.

AND for you rivet counters, there IS a dome car in the train. Yes the C & NW did have one - it was old Milwaukee Super Dome # 53, which was repainted by the C & NW and ran in the business train but on the 400 to the twin cities during the fall color season --- A photo of that unit - Powder River.

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It is not the half dome, like most but the full one. Today?? I am not sure where it is at. It was absorbed by the UP and it disappeared. But I have on in my train set. So .. Just to show why I run the little train set and have fun with it. Okay guys?

The Aerojet
 
Aerojet:

As I do more and more rail fanning its sad to see less and less rolling stock from fallen flags and see more container cars. I don't doubt that soon box cars will be gone from the tracks replaced by containers from overseas.

I really enjoy seeing an old SOO Line or even a Milwaukee Road box car or a C&NW covered hopper.

Fallen flags rolling stock continue to live on the model railroads that we create.

Greg
 
Aerojet, don't worry, it was all meant in good fun.

I love the old Life Like full dome-wish/hope Walthers continues to make them.
 



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