Comments Q&A

RALPH COMMENTED ON THE BLOG ABOUT MILK TRAINS


 Paul, as always, another thing we both have interest in modeling (why is it we didn't cover this at ProRail? Oh yeah, I was too busy drinking beer and eating BBQ!)

WELL, I WAS DRINKING MANHATTANS…


Anywho, my milk terminal was exactly that, a terminus for finished dairy products (mostly milk) the LV ran a hotshot freight (until 1947) from northern PA, as most milk on the LV was produced in NY State to Jersey City, where all they had was a platform. Not wanting to model "just" a delivery platform, I have chose instead to model small processing plant where processed milk COULD conceivably be turned into other products. 

BECAUSE YOU CHOOSE TO MODEL, OR COPY THE LV THIS GIVES YOU THE OPPORTUNITIES TO MODEL DEDICATED MILK TRAINS. I AM GOING WITH JUST CAN-PICK UP AND DROP-OFF BECAUSE ITS PLAUSIBLE FOR MY REGION. I WHOLE HEARTEDLY AGREE WITH THE “SCOPE CREEP” OF ADDING THE PROCESSING PLANT TO PRODUCE OTHER DAIRY PRODUCTS. 

This train will run ON to the layout in the wee hours of the morning session, and drop it's entire train in the yard, where the local power will move the cars down to the platform and a few to the team track (those pesky flatcar to truck milk containers like the NYO&W and NYC had). The unloading process will finish up by the time the city wakes up, and then the empties get pulled to go back West, otherwise they will really clog up the works on the branch (the train is 7 to 10 cars long), which can be a good or bad problem to deal with, depending on how you look at it. 

I AM INTERESTED TO LEARN HOW THIS TURNS OUT OPERATIONALLY.

Since this was a First Class train, so all other movements best get out of the way, lest the Terminal Superitendent (me) get involved!

As with all other planned operations "activities", we shall see if this too shall pass the ops test when we're back running later this year.

Ralph

I’M PAINFULLY AWARE OF THE OPS TEST. SEVERAL PROCEDURES I WAS DEVOTED TO DID NOT PASS MUSTER AND WERE DISCARDED. A COUPLE AFTER EXPENSIVE INVESTMENTS IN STRUCTURES OR ROLLING STOCK. THERE ARE A LOT OF PROCEDURES COMMON PLACE ON THE PROTOTYPE THAT DO NOT SEEM TO TRANSLATE WELL TO THE MODEL.

THANK YOU RALPH FOR THE COMMENTS.

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