Extrapolate

 I only worked two jobs in my Adult life. One was an “Overnight Package Delivery” company (1*) and the other was construction (2*). These two jobs taught me a lot of things I use in model railroading and I use that knowledge to “extrapolate” a lot of conclusions about railroad procedures.

Often these conclusions turn out to be wrong, mostly because railroading in the mid 20th century was guided by so many government rules and regulations, almost none of which made any sense in a business situation. As an example I’d use home heating coal being shipped to the northeast United States from West Virginia coal fields. You’d assume that this coal would get mined, get loaded into hoppers, and then trains would carry it to points Northeast.  Simple. 

But no. That coal traveled down to docks where it was loaded into coastal freighters, that sailed up to ports in the Northeast where it was unloaded into hoppers that took the coal to markets up there.

This is a gross over-simplification but basically it’s what happened. Government regulations of rates and routings dictated the railroad business until 1980. And it’s truly a wonder railroads survived. 

My point in this is that I grew up and worked in an era where freight hauling was unregulated, so when I want to simulate a procedure on my model railroad I look at the traffic and “extrapolate” a conclusion based on my life experience. 

What I’ve learned over time is that there is generally a lot more to it than meets the eye. 

It doesn’t hurt me that my college degrees are in pass blocking and history, in that order. The pass blocking degree allows me to keep people away from my quarterback, although lately I’m getting beaten to the outside, more and more. The history degree encourages me to look deeper into the industry that we simulate, and find out that these huge “engines of capitalism” did business in the most illogical of ways.

I do not think a month goes by that some procedure, that I have laid down carefully,  to simulate a railroad business practice turns out to be incorrect. Over time I’ve had to find ways to research ideas and this had become one of the more enjoyable tasks on the layout (I wish I could look at soldering drops in the same way).

I have made a lot of friends in the hobby who have become experts in each niche of this amazing industry call railroading. Many of these people I correspond regularly, mostly just to keep in touch.

I’m sorry that this is rambling, I still take a lot of information, with gaps in between, and extrapolate a conclusion of how a procedure is performed.


(1*) Armored Transport of California

(2*) Building scenery for motion pictures and television.

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