Alternative Railways

NAME OF COMPANY: The Cape To Cairo Railway

GAUGE: Irish Gauge (1600mm, 5'3")

PERIOD OPERATIONAL: 1873-Present

MOTTO: For Africa and Its People

HISTORY/ DESCRIPTION: The beginnings of the Cape to Cairo began with the massive expansion of railways in the Cape Province starting in 1873, where a massive set of differences over the rail gauge led to the adoption of the Irish Gauge (OTL, they went for the much-narrower Cape Gauge) for the purposes of lines into the interior of South Africa, feeling that the massive loads of the anticipated traffic into South Africa's mineral-rich interior would be a major deal for the railroad, and that it was better to get the railroad's engineering right from the off instead of having to go fix it later. Influencing this was the man who was the first great engineer of the railroads, legendary British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who was living in South Africa in an attempt to help with his numerous health problems. Hurting as he was, Brunel's genius was manifest, and the Cape Government Railways expanded massively from its outset in 1873 into the interior. While Brunel's death in 1881 did hurt some of the engineering of the project, the company's success was very real, and the works in South Africa drew major money from Europe, a fact that frequently inflammed tensions between various populations, but led to changes for the better for many.

The biggest developer of the railroads was legendary entrepreneur Cecil Rhodes, the ardent British nationalist and industrialist who began his plan to build a railway to cross the continent in 1884. The world's economic growth of the time fueled his dreams, and the discovery of the vast Witwatersrand gold veins in 1886 turned a rush into a flood. After more than a million British and Irish people landed in South Africa between 1888 and 1900, Rhodes found his way of looking forward. Injured by a high-pressure locomotive explosion in 1893, Rhodes' savior (and subsequent life-long friend) Mohandas Gandhi was a major player in pushing the idea. Rhodes' pushing for the project led to it stretching across the territory named in his honor by 1907, while a second line from Alexandria, Egypt to Kampala, British East Africa, was finished in 1911. After the 1905 decision by the World Zionist Congress to set up their homeland in British East Africa, immigrants flooded East Africa, and following Germany's defeat in World War I and the integration of German East Africa into the British Empire, Rhodes' dream was finished in the post-war era, being completed in 1921.

The Cape to Cairo came to be an economic lifeline for most of Africa and indeed much of Europe. Africa's spectacular economic growth in the 20th Century turned the Dark Continent into one of the wealthiest areas on Earth to live, and the Cape To Cairo Railway, which became part of African Railways System in 1926, became the spine of a network that grew to include over 75,000 miles of track across South Africa, Rhodesia, South West Africa, Angola, Mozambique, East Africa (which became the State of Israel in 1941), Congo, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Libya and Palestine. The Cape to Cairo remains the longest Broad-gauge railroad on Earth, and industrial development and swelling passenger traffic led to much of it being double-tracked in the 1930s, with some parts in Africa needing four-track lines to handle the traffic. The line also operated the immense Class 125 Garratt-type steam locomotives, the 4-6-6-4+4-6-6-4, oil-fueled double-tendered monsters being the largest steam locomotives ever operated on Planet Earth. The line was also an early proponent of electification, with a licensed and slightly modified variant of General Electric's GG1 electric locomotive entering service in 1939 and remaining in operation until 2005. The line's high-quality of engineering has endured despite the explosion in traffic over its routes.
 
I assume this comes from your supermegaawesomepissedashellitsnotOTL Afircan Superpowers TL? Its just I've left you a PM on that supject.

Also some minor nitpicking, 4-6-6-4+4-6-6-4 as a wheel arangement is simply insane even for a Garret, or Garret-mallet as this would be. I think it would be more likely for a 4-8-4+4-8-4 combination would be used, Or a better idea, an african "Big Boy"! I'd die from the Awesome!

Plus you say there double tendered, this is my inner nark talking, Garret don't use tenders, the correct term would be Coal Bunker, in way garrets are (Very big) tank engines.

Just some minor observations.
 
NAME OF COMPANY: Confederacy Pacific Railroad

GAUGE: Standard (1435mm)

MOTTO: See Dixie's Wild West!

PERIOD OPERATIONAL: 1919-Present

HISTORY: Although the Confederacy had gained the Arizona Territory in the Treaty of London in 1885, they were still without a Pacific coast. A deal was initially struck, where the CS-based Texas & Pacific RR interchanged with the US-based Southern Pacific RR in Yuma. T&P trains were granted trackage rights over the SP in exchange for SP trains being granted trackage rights over the T&P, allowing for the inauguration of the New Orleans-Los Angeles "Sunset Limited" and the "Southwestern Limited" from Chicago to Los Angeles (the ATSF was jointly owned by US and CS businessmen). However, following WW1, Mexico, as a member of the defeated Central Powers, was forced to cede Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas to the Confederacy (the latter three being reorganised into the state of Sierra Madre). This allowed the Confederacy to build their own Railroad to the Pacific, from Houston through Monterrey, Chihuahua and Hermosillo to Guaymas. Two spur lines were also built, linking with the Texas & Pacific at Nogales and with the Southern Pacific at Mexicali. For Rail-fans visiting the CSA, it is described as the 6 trains they must ride (along with the Hummingbird, the Crescent, and three tourist lines: the Tallulah Falls RR in Georgia, the Tweetsie RR in North Carolina and the Ozark Northern RR in Arkansas. The Confederate Railroad Museum in Atlanta is also worth a visit-but be quick, as 60010 Dwight D. Eisenhower is being returned to Britain next year for the 75th anniversary of the Mallard's record-breaking run.)
 
Huge Garratt...

The idea of a 4-6-6-4+4-6-6-4 Garrat sounds decidedly impractical, but many things have been tried. I could see one being built as a test, perhaps a few more. That would be an excessively huge loco for sure! As for double tendered, there's no reason a Garratt couldn't pull a tender along with its integral coal/oil and water supplies...

I'd rate this as very possible to try, most likely impractical, and awesome. As for a reason to try, instead of double heading--even an enormous Garratt, especially oil fueled, only needs one crew...
 
I assume this comes from your supermegaawesomepissedashellitsnotOTL Afircan Superpowers TL? Its just I've left you a PM on that supject.

You may wish to send that again, as I didn't get any PM from you. I'll gladly read it when I get it, though. :) That doesn't exactly come from African Superpowers, it's a mix of Zionist Uganda by David bar Elias (still among the best positive TLs out there) and African Superpowers. In African Superpowers, the railroads are well-established by the time of my POD, so any freight railway in Africa in that world is gonna be the Cape Gauge tracks so common at the time.

Also some minor nitpicking, 4-6-6-4+4-6-6-4 as a wheel arangement is simply insane even for a Garret, or Garret-mallet as this would be. I think it would be more likely for a 4-8-4+4-8-4 combination would be used, Or a better idea, an african "Big Boy"! I'd die from the Awesome!

A Broad-gause track allows for a higher center of gravity, which means the boiler can be mounted higher and allow a 4-6-6-4+4-6-6-4 arrangement to be done in a locomotive roughly the same size as a Big Boy. A Big Boy is, with tender, 133 feet in length. The biggest Garratts ever made are South African Railways' GL class, which are 91 feet in length overall. I'm anticipating the Double Challengers being about 125 feet in length, and with a tender (an actual tender) for extra coal and water, as this monster would require a helluva lot of both. SAR considered a class of 2-6-6-2+2-6-6-2 units IOTL.

Plus you say there double tendered, this is my inner nark talking, Garret don't use tenders, the correct term would be Coal Bunker, in way garrets are (Very big) tank engines.

Just some minor observations.

Point noted above. You are correct, of course. I'm thinking that one of the Class 125 Double Challengers will have to be like the Kenyan Mount Gelai engines, lovingly cared for even when in active service. Be a helluva museum piece when its operational career is over.

The idea of a 4-6-6-4+4-6-6-4 Garrat sounds decidedly impractical, but many things have been tried. I could see one being built as a test, perhaps a few more. That would be an excessively huge loco for sure! As for double tendered, there's no reason a Garratt couldn't pull a tender along with its integral coal/oil and water supplies...

I'd rate this as very possible to try, most likely impractical, and awesome. As for a reason to try, instead of double heading--even an enormous Garratt, especially oil fueled, only needs one crew...

That pretty much is the idea. Wider gauge means wider corners and wider clearances, which makes the idea possible. The boiler on this one will be higher than any original Garratt (made possible by the wide track gauge and the fact that this line will be built with a really tall loading gauge), allowing additional room under the boiler and making it easier to jam in the wheels. The Cape to Cairo in this world is a critical lifeline and extremely densely trafficked as a result, effectively an African version of Shermam Hill on the Union Pacific of IOTL, a rail line that needs immensely powerful engines to not have to multiple engines and multiple crews. I've also been thinking of ways to get a certain Argentinian engineer to come to Africa and help them build steam locomotives for this line....
 
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North Central

Name of Company: Sandy River, Wiscasset, and Farmington, later North Central
Gauge: 2 foot
Period Operational: 1870’s to the present

Motto: “Two Feet Wide and One Hundred Years long, and growing”

History/Description:

When the Maine Central attempted to prevent the Sandy River and Rangely Lakes from linking up with the Wiscasset, Waterville, and Farmington, the court case started getting ugly—until demands from the people of backwoods Maine spoke loudly enough to force the legislature to act, and the link-up was forced through. In addition, railroad service was in so much demand, that the legislature passed a law providing that “The right of way, and all buildings necessary for the operation, of 2 foot gauge railroads, shall not be taxed.”

That act insured that the 2-foot gauge railroads would have a place for a long time. Although a law like that sounds odd, it was a sure-fire way to encourage the growth of the little trains into parts of Maine that could only grow with rail service. Among other things, it encouraged potential stockholders, who would know that the big lines wouldn’t encroach, then take over, as soon as it looked like there was a major profit to be made.

Additionally, one engineer proved that it was very possible to run these narrow gauge trains at speeds in excess of a mile per minute. (OTL, one engineer routinely ran at these speeds, but the ride was very rough.)

Although the ride was rough, getting from one town to another at this sort of speed was exhilarating—and the President of the Line decided to take a chance. With profit coming in nicely—for now, anyway—a portion of the line was upgraded, and a few coaches were modified for a more comfortable ride. The “Waterville Flyer” was a huge success, especially with parlor car service added.

In the days right after the Great War, the line was fortunate enough to hire several de-mobilized submariners—including a few engineers. As a result, when someone suggested diesel locomotives for certain purposes, there were already experts in place to run them. No one ever thought they would replace steam for most purposes—but for switching in the yard, they might be useful, simply because they could be started in moments, used for an hour or two, and turned off.

A pair of war surplus diesel engines were obtained, dirt cheap, and soon were mounted on improvised flatcars, shunting cars around the Waterville yard. Of course, open-air locomotives were not the most practical in Maine, but nicely enclosed, they seemed useful enough. The clunky boxcabs were indeed slow—but also reeked of modernity and progress. That was a mixed blessing in Northern Maine—the locals accepted change but slowly—yet valued thriftiness as well.

The boxcabs were used mainly at smaller yards and plants—ones that needed their own switchers, yet might only use them for a few hours at a time. They also needed to be stored in a heated engine house in winter—diesels don;’t do well in sub-zero temperatures. More often, they simply weren’t employed in the bitter cold; traffic in their yards was also slower.

As the line grew, both in length and traffic volume, there was soon a need for either double headed trains, or bigger locomotives. The occasional double-header made good economic sense, but as the loads increased, the need for locomotives bigger than the 2-6-2’s became glaringly obvious. At the same time, replacing several hundred miles of track with heavier rail would cost, and cost a LOT.

Even as diesels were being contemplated for switching, so too were for bigger, better road engines. Three basic ideas were contemplated.

The first option was to order some fairly normal 4-8-2 steam locomotives, which would increase pulling power by a third without increasing axel loading.

The second option was to order one or more Mallets, in a 2-6-6-4 configuration, for heavy freight (or what passes for heavy freight on a 2 foot gauge line.)

The third choice almost didn’t get brought up—but Beyer and Peacock and Company was hoping to get into the American market, and offered to build a pair of Garratt locomotives at a good price. (It turns out that they offered to build them at a very slight loss to get American exposure.)

All three options were executed between 1919 and 1927. Of them, the 4-8-2 was a fine locomotive, but, in places, had some difficulty with the tight curves. Still, with good power and excellent reliability, they hauled plenty of freight and passengers over the years.

The Mallet was a daring choice, supposing that traffic would suffice to support such a costly investment—but it also paid off nicely. Successfully hauling huge loads right into the 21st century, the first two Mallets were joined by several more over the years. They, however, needed a wye or new turntable at each terminus; they were too long for the existing turntables. Thus, their runs could only terminate at certain locations.

The Garrets were, in many ways, the best heavy locomotive for the system—powerful, able to manage tight turns, reliable, and fast. But—being imported, maintaining them posed a potential problem.

Garratts did have the key advantage of being fully bi-directional—no new turntables needed. Another pair was ordered later. The massive capacity and versatility of these locomotives worked wonders through the years of the Second World War, as heavy loads might need to be taken anywhere on the system.

The last set of special locomotives was the Baldwin 4-6-2 Pacific express locomotives. The big, high stepping engines could exceed 75 miles per hour on the straightaway, and ran smoother than the smaller Prairie 2-6-2, taking curves at a faster clip.

As the line grew, reaching southern Quebec, and also extending into Vermont in places, some were referring to it as the “North Central,” and the name change became official in May of 1928.

In mid 1929, the North Central was growing ever more prosperous, and northern Maine along with it. But, two great threats were looming, one seen, one unseen…

Next: Surviving the Depression and the Automobile…

(This is a possible basis for my model railroad that's in the works--to the point where I'm comtemplating what would be needed to scratch build an Americanized 2' Garratt)

Anything to help me make this more convincing--at the same time as it being a 2 foot gauge wank--would be much appreciated...
 
Hmm, I don't think I could help you NHBL, My interest in narrow gauge gets about as far west as Ireland. However the good chaps on the forum bellow would be able to help out.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/

On a different note what do you think of this piece of madness offered by Speer.

Breitspurbahn

Must...Resist...temptation to nod.
 
More trains? And more North Central

Does anyone else have ideas for more trains? And here's more of the North Central...

Surviving the Depression and the Automobile…

In the 1920’s the automobile was becoming a significant means of transportation—but roads in Maine were far from the best. Sure, a motorcar had its advantages—but also moved at most, 30 mph, was slowed down by rain, snow, and worse, MUD. And trucks—useful locally, but not so much long distance. (With a better—and growing—railroad network, less money is going to roads. And the taxes the railroad would have paid on its land otherwise—aren’t getting paid; the railroad’s exemption has been sustained.)

And, at one point, a passenger paid the railroad to transport his car—and soon enough, many passenger trains have a flat car or two with motorcars—or even trucks.

Also as the 20’s moved on, double track mainlines started to appear. But—each track was signaled for two way traffic, so that the express trains could proceed with fewer delays if one train was running behind schedule, and so that longer, slower freights didn’t slow the traffic as much. In short, the North Central Railroad was acting just like a standard gauge line…or a “broad gauge line,” as the Locals in Northern Maine called the bigger trains.

Unlike many railroads, the North Central has avoided excessive bank loans, preferring instead to build up its cash reserves, then simply write a check for major purchases like a new locomotive. In many cases, the funds are invested in the booming stock market until it’s time to make the purchase. At the end of September, 1929, the CEO cashes in every stock the line owns, preparatory to ordering 3 new Mallets, a class of 6 2-4-4 Forneys, 2 more diesel switchers of an improved, yet experimental design, and 4 new high speed express steamers.

The railroad, as a result, had massive cash and gold reserves when the depression hit—and no deadly loans sitting around ready to crush the line at a banker’s whim. Unless the depression is unusually long and severe, the company should survive—perhaps even thrive. No one will be buying Detroit’s latest. And, if coal gets too costly, steam locomotives can burn wood—and if Maine has a lot of anything, it’s wood…

One side effect of the crash: A few locomotives that were stored for future use, years ago, and about due for the scrap heap, were , instead, shunted aside, where they could be used again if needed. In particular, the small, vertical boiler Climax that’s so popular with railfans and Hollywood moviemakers alike would never have survived to the present day.
 
NAME OF COMPANY- British Rail War department division (BRWDD)

GAUGE- Varied

MOTTO- N/A

PERIOD OPERATIONAL-1985-1994

HISTORY/DESCRIPTION- The British Rail war department devision arose out of the Railways relationship with the Royal engineers, who had been largely responsible for the running of rail supplies in Europe during WWII. In that conflict the Railways valiant performance played a vital role in turning the tide of the war.

It should be recognized that the War Department Devision (WDD) was entirely separate form the former system, WDD was more rigged for the supply of a land war against the Soviets in Europe and was not to interfere with the daily running of the system in Britain, However BREL was to come under its jurisdiction.

The foundation for the Devision was laid by the Callaghan Government in the wake of the Soviet backed Revolution in Mexico. It was finally activated on September the 3rd 1985, the day after the Soviets launched operation "Красныйрассвет" the invasion of North America.

Three groups of the devision were to see service during the War, Devision Group CANADA (Later ALASKA) Call sign Napier. Charged with the resupply of the Allied Forces in British Columbia and the Reconstruction of of the rail systems there. Group AMERICA, Call sign Sam. Charged with the resupply of Front lines in the Mid west and Group EUROPE, Call sign Little Bird, created during the European Crisis of 1987-1991, Charged with reconstruction efforts.

Like their predecessors The devision also produced there own Locomotives, namly. The WDD20/37/47/56/58/80 all austerity versions of the class 20/37/47/56/58/08 respectivley.
 
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North Central--the rest of the Depression

This thread has fired my imagination as I work out the histroy of my new model railroad layout. So--here's the rest of the Narrow Gauge North Central Railroad's histry through the Depression--more will be coming. Anything to help make it more p0lausible would be appreciated...


Business fell off as the depression set in, but the road managed to keep running—the reserves of cash intended to purchase new locomotives and rolling stock kept the line through the various glitches. And with adequate locomotives and rolling stock, wreck damage could be handled as the workforce became available, rather than either rushing it at ruinous expense, or cutting back service. This allowed the line to maintain decent levels of service, although cut back when appropriate. In some cases, railbusses filled in on less used lines—but no lines were abandoned. But—profits, though slim, never quite vanished altogether.

Even in hard times, there’s people with funds for vacations, grand hotels letting rooms for low prices—in short, some tourist trade for the little trains. Adding more parlor cars helped draw trade, and wasn’t an overly expensive job. Regular passenger coaches could have their interiors gutted, and finer fittings installed. With names like Rangely, Wiscasset, Sandy River, and other towns along the line, the parlor cars were a great success. In the mid 20’s, dining cars had been added, though the smaller coaches meant that dining was not at the same level as on the palace cars; they were essentially snack cars with decent food. The improvements made the little railroad an even more pleasant way to travel than before—and vastly superior to road transport.

Likewise, people always need food and lumber—and the little line brought both of those to the city in abundance. In short, the Great Depression was a hard time for the North Central, but it came through in a reasonably strong position. By 1939, traffic was slowly growing, but the cost of locomotives and rolling stock was still low, so several multi-purpose locomotives were ordered, including 3 modern diesel-electrics for switching, and also for helper service in a few spots.

Also in the 1930’s, railfanning brought passengers to the little trains, bringing in more needed revenue.

For helper service, diesels could be almost ideal. A helper might only be needed once or twice per day, for a long heavy train on a hill, yet a steam locomotive takes a long time to fire up, and just as long to cool down. A diesel can be turned on in a matter of minutes, and turned off likewise. In winter, it should have a heated engine house; they are notoriously difficult to start in the biter cold. The use of the diesels for tasks like this is another savings. And as one of the first railroads to use a limited amount of diesel power, the North Central Railroad diesels are some of the best in the country…

In fact, by the mid to late 1930’s, railroad men from several standard gauge lines are paying visits, learning about the practical uses of the new technology, and paying consulting fees.

Through these hard times, the North Central made some money—and management wisely plowed most of the profits into keeping the line in outstanding shape, knowing that, when prosperity returned, the North Central could be well poised to take full advantage of it…

Coming up: War Clouds gather…
 
NAME OF COMPANY: Virginia & Truckee Railway.

GAUGE: Standard. 4'8.5"

PERIOD OPERATIONAL: 1869-present.

MOTTO: The Silver Shortline.

HISTORY/ DESCRIPTION: OTL till 1950.

Arguably, the V&T was on its last legs in 1949. The silver that had made the shortline so rich in the 19th century had become so unprofitable to mine that the Carson City to Virginia city branch had been abandoned in 1938, and torn up in the months before WW2. The railroad had sold off its last brass bound 4-4-0 the Reno to hollywood just before the end of the second world war, and the rest of its historic equipment, and the 1905 4-6-0 #25 had followed not long after. Anyone who looked at the railroad in the years following the war would have guessed that by 1955 it would have been gone, but fate would hand the railroad another chance.

When it was announced by Gordon Sampson that May 31st of 1950 would be the railroads final day, the counties of Douglas, Ormsby, and Washo entered into negotiations with the Mills estate to purchase the line, and were even negotiating with the Western Pacific railroad to operate the line, but the Mills estate decided there was more money to be had in scrapping the line. This proved to much for Ormsby county, and on April 30th the county legislature passed an ordinance that effectively forbade the removal of any railroad infrastructure in the county for a period of five years. Needless to say this caused the Mills estate to file a law suit against the county, and the date for the court case was set for may 31st. Washo and Douglas quickly sided with Ormsby county.

For better or for worse, the case would never get to trial. In order to preserve the only railroad that served the capital, and to avoid the possible humiliation that would could come if the state court ruled in favor of the Mills estate, Carson City used eminent domain to gain ownership of the railroad (a move condemed as socialistic by the head of the FBI), and forced the Mills Estate to accept $20 million for the decrepit line. The Mills Estate proved unwilling to sue the state of Nevada, so the railroad transfered into public ownership on may 30th 1950.

Chapter X.

As June 1950 dawned, the state of Nevada found itself the proud owner of three run down steam locomotives, rolling stock that had scene better years, fifty miles of railroad that needed redone and hadn't turned a profit since the war years, and a public who would be forever greatful for saving the railroad from abandonment.​

With this in mind, the government in the state capital spent the summer making big plans for thier new railroad, but all of this was hindered by a lack of money to throw at the project. Eventually it was decided that it would be best to get the railroad back in good order before anything more grandious would be attempted. In September, locomotives #5, and #27 were sent to the Southern Pacific shops in Sparks for a complete rebuild, while locomotive #26 was put to work rebuilding the fifty miles of track from Reno to Minden. For the duration of the reconstruction the railroad was all but shut down until the 5 and 27 returned.

Work on rebuilding the line progressed slowly through the winter of 1950, but in December the railroad got a Christmas present as the state was able to track down and purchase the former Esmerelda, a 1875 Baldwin 2-6-0. The locomotive has been sold off over 30 years ago, but she would become the first of many pieces of former V&T equipment to be returned to the railroad in the 50's and 60's.

In Febuary of 1951 the #27 returned from her rebuild followed by the #5 a month later. With thier return the #26 was sent to Sparks for a rebuild of her own. Again with two locomotives, regular mixed train serveis returned with the #27 handeling revenu freight while the heavy consolodation handeled the rebuilding of the line.

More to come later.
 
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Long time lurker, here-but if I may venture a maiden effort in this intriguing thread:

NAME OF COMPANY: Pennsylvania, Rock Island & Pacific

GAUGE: Standard. 4'8.5"

PERIOD OPERATIONAL: 1800's-present.

HISTORY/ DESCRIPTION:
General (IOTL):
In the aftermath of WWI, many nation's railroad systems suffered from varying degrees of accelerated wear to track & equipment and deferred investment. IOTL, one of the major changes resulting from this situation occured in Great Britian where the nation's railways were amalgamated into four larger systems. The grouping was ordered by Act of Parliament but the terms of the consolidations were left to the companies to work out.

In the US, a similar idea was floated in the Transportation Act of 1920 wherein the Interstate Commerce Commission was ordered to embark upon a study of "consolidation of the railroads into a limited number of systems". The ICC hired one Professor William Z. Ripley to gather information and submit a draft proposal the the commission. Prof. Ripley suggested merging the major US railroads into 21 systems (and a few dozen terminal companies in major cities). Among the criteria was to provide competition in and among major trading regions (with the exceptions of lower Michigan and the New England region) and to combine financially stronger lines with weaker ones to provode the resources for needed developement. This, with some minor modifications, was accepted by the ICC at the end of the 1920's.

And there it died.

SPECIFIC (ITTL):
Instead of 21 regional systems, the ICC decided that the historical extension of US railroads from east to west was the basis for reorganizing the US railroad network into a series of transcontinental lines, providing competition between all major intermediate and endpoint cities, along with minimizing terminal costs and delays and minimizing the division of long haul revenues among so many carriers. By combining the six Eastern trunk lines (the Pennsylvania, New York Central, Baltimore & Ohio, Erie, Wabash and Nickel Plate) with the six 'transcontinentals' (Great Northern, Northern Pacific, Milwaukee Road, Union Pacific, Southern Pacific and Santa Fe), a network of half a dozen truly transcontinental rail lines were formed (the lines south of the Ohio River/Potomac River & east of the Mississippi River were handled seperately).

First among these was the Pennsylvania, Rock Island & Pacific. Assembled out of the Pennsylvania Railroad; Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific; Southern Pacific; Denver & Rio Grande; St. Louis Southwestern and Chicago & Eastern Illinois, the PRI&P in 1929 was capitalized at $2.975 billion, with operating revenues of $1.296 billion.

The general economic boom of the 1920's gave all the newly merged companies breathing space to sort out the giant jobs of consolidation and reorganization that each had to undertake. As with all the newly minted transcontinentals, though, the Depression was another story. While the former SP and PRR lines were able to provide sufficient cash to keep afloat the system afloat (and the former PRR's record of never missing a dividend remained unbroken), much of it was diverted to maintain operations on the midwestern lines inherited in the merger. Some of what could be spent for improvements went for CTC projects on former RI and D&RG lines, which was to prove a godsend later.

WWII was a period of intense, sustained traffic growth on all American railroads as gasoline rationing and mobilization threw tremendous traffic back onto the rails. The former SP lines throughout California and the former PRR lines in the east were the twin foci of staggering amounts of traffic either being manufactured or collected for shipment overseas. Sadly, the lean years of the 30's all too often caught up with the former RI lines than made up the middle of the PRI&P's system. Too many streches of too long single tracks caused unending delays of all but priority freight. Massive investments in CTC and diesel locomotives made the lines fluid again, but barely.

Postwar economics signalled a massive change in the world in which the PRI&P was going to have to live. (An early sign was the rumor that only profits from former SP lines traffic prevented the company posting a loss in 1946.) As shorthaul traffic deserted lines in the east for truck haulage and oil dethroned King Coal as a revenue source, the long hauls of the midwestern and western lines (especially the former SP in booming California) shifted the railroad's center of gravity away from 30th Street, Philadelphia...but Market Street, San Francisco, could not quite get it in it's grasp.

Throughout the 50's, 60's & 70's, more diesels, more CTC and more sunbelt boom kept revenues ahead of expenses but ominous trends would not be denied forever. As midwestern farm products and California produce switched to trucks, passenegers flocked to airports & Interstates and transpacific shipping gravitated to Los Angeles, deferred maintence on the tremendous amount of undeutilized plant was not enough to make up for the deficiencies in investment that had been put off by the cash tight railroad. The formation of Amtrak in 1971 relieved the company of huge passenger losses but a series of spectacular derailments of chemical laden tank cars in the mid 70's helped focus public attention on the plight of the industry.

Relief did not finally come until the Staggers Act essentially deregulated railroading as it had not been since the early years of the century. Under the leadership of W. Graham Claytor, Jr., the PRI&P shed unproductive brances, lifted underutilized tracks, scoured the property for every pound of salavagable materials and slowly began to turn things around. A $100 million FRA loan to upgrade the former Sunset Route helped jump start efforts to grab a share of the Los Angeles-Chicago intermodal traffic that predominantly travels the Chesapeake, Wabash & Santa Fe's double tracked route between those cities. In the meanwhile, Tennessee Pass is quiet (perhaps forever), there are only three tracks on the Broad Way over Horseshoe Curve and the only freight service on the west shore of San francisco Bay is a daily local dodging Caltrain commuter runs ("scoots" in old SP parlance). But if the PRI&P is no longer the undisputed 'biggest' of them all, it is still a formidable competitor in the 21st Century.
 
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Here's mine:

NAME OF COMPANY: Japan National Railways Narita Shinkansen Line from Tokyo Station to Tokyo Narita International Airport

GAUGE: Standard (1435 mm, 4' 8.5")

PERIOD OPERATIONAL: 1988-present

MOTTO: The fastest way from Narita Airport to Tokyo

HISTORY/ DESCRIPTION:

Built despite considerable delays due to opposition from local landowners and the time needed to get the right of way to construct the line. the Narita Shinkansen now travels between Tokyo Station and Narita Airport in 20-22 minutes with a top speed in some sections as high as 240 km/h (149 mph). The first trainsets were refurbished 0 Series trainsets (the ones originally used on the Tokaidō Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka), by 2002 they had switched to the E2 Series trainsets, where they remain in service today.

(NOTE: In the real time line, the Narita Shinkansen project was abandoned because JNR couldn't get enough right of way plus the overrun costs from other Shinkansen projects. Interestingly, the Keisei Electric Railway was able to secure much of the right of way land that JNR originally purchased, and that was used to build the Narita Sky Access rail line from Ueno Station to Narita Airport, with a top speed to 160 km/h (100 mph) on some parts of the line. Today, it takes about 38 minutes to travel from Keisei Ueno Station to Narita Airport.)
 
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