The Great North Central--2 feet wide and 100 years long

War Clouds Gather...

This one's a little bit short, covering the war years...

War Clouds gather…

As War Clouds gathered in Europe, it did nothing but good for the North Central. American industry slowly started revving up, and with it, the demand for wood, stone, and food. Additionally, the economic growth spurred more tourist revenue. Even the US Army Railroad experts came to take a look; 2’ gauge trench railways had done great things in the previous war.

The railroad also spent some of its vast reserve of political capital—more of the money for things like the CCC and similar programs went to the railroad than to highways. And—roads, bridges, and the like were built so as to provide feeders for the railroads, not to compete with them.

And then: December 7, 1941. Total War. By mid Sunday afternoon or early evening (reports vary) the senior officer of the line available had announced that there would be no charge for men traveling to recruitment centers to join up. Also, as men started to form lines at the recruitment centers, volunteers brought food, soda and water (and beer, of course)

The initial panic added some of the strangest cars seen in Northern Maine yet. One of the line’s senior engineers was also a logistics officer in the Maine National Guard, and “arranged” for a dozen .50 cal machine guns and a pair of 37 mm anti-tank guns to be deployed for defending against a German invasion or air raid.

(Note: invasion and air raid fears were rampant, even in places that were simply impossible to invade. There were rumors of Japanese carriers coming up the Red River!)

The 37 mm guns were less than practical for a 2’ gauge railroad line, but the machine guns were hastily mounted. 2 flat cars each mounted 2 twin mounts, and the other 4 guns were deployed at various critical locations. (Accounts vary as to where, and at least one ended up on a pintel mount on a caboose.)

As the invasion scare faded, the guns were quietly placed in storage, and the flat cars parked in a sheltered location, the guns under canvas. The flat car with a 37 mm cannon mounted to it, complete with outriggers, was only accidentally re-discovered, along with the second cannon, and the machine guns, much later. This equipment was the basis for several scenes in the 1960’s comedy “Invasion” about the early days of the war.

In the war years, the little line continued to provide useful service, extracting resources from Maine farms, quarries, and forests. Few new roads were needed; it was easier to expand a section of Narrow Gauge track…and Maine politics favored the railroad.

When the US Army developed “Transporters,” metal containers of standard dimensions for shipping various materials, which made the line vastly more efficient when they adapted the concept. Loading them in Maine, and simply trans-shipping containers all of the same size, saved on handling costs.

At the same time, tourism fell off during wartime—but not completely. And, to conserve coal, a few locomotives were converted to burn scrap wood. This wasn’t especially successful, but was still pointed out as people doing their part to conserve—and allowed tourist trains to run without burning any strategic resources.

The railroad’s financial officers were looking ahead to the post-war era, planning for a major housing boom. That would be all but inevitable, with the number of troops coming home, so everything needed to be very ready. Railroad-owned stretches of timber, plans in place, and more. Like Fairbanks-Morse, the impending end of the war allowed a certain amount of preparation to be done. Some coaches were refitted, made ready for high speed service again, and flat cars were made ready for the increased loads of lumber—and furniture from the factories.

Good times were coming…perhaps…
 
Why do I have the feeling that the age of the locomotive roster (and such factors) is just about to come home to roost?

Not enough to doom the GNC obviously - but enough to cause a sudden increase in the amount of hair dye purchased by its owners (grey hair does not look that distinguished).
 
Doing OK...

Well, the North Central has been building new locomotives, and will get more as the war continues. It certainly won't be approved for diesels--only a few lines could get diesels in the war years. But yes, the age will increase as traffic does, and older units get taken out of storage. Also, of course, it will loose some skilled railroad men to the US Army and its railroad department.

It's rolling stock that can suffer a lot, too from near constant use.
 
Well, the North Central has been building new locomotives, and will get more as the war continues. It certainly won't be approved for diesels--only a few lines could get diesels in the war years. But yes, the age will increase as traffic does, and older units get taken out of storage. Also, of course, it will loose some skilled railroad men to the US Army and its railroad department.

It's rolling stock that can suffer a lot, too from near constant use.

Yeah. This is where having money to make repairs will make the difference between "Oh crap." and "Permission to abandon?"

Even if locomotives can be repaired indefinitely, major work is major expensive.

And 2 footers are too rare to have a lot of options in terms of second hand locos.

Some options, but the 3 footers and standard gauge railroads are a lot better off - those who can even contemplate this option, that is.
 
Second hand...

Funny you should mention second-hand equipment--that plays a significant role in a decade or two, as two footers all over the world sell fine locomotives at scrap metal prices.

It will help that many of the locomotives--like the South African Garratts--were made in England, and hence, use SAE fasteners...
 
Funny you should mention second-hand equipment--that plays a significant role in a decade or two, as two footers all over the world sell fine locomotives at scrap metal prices.

It will help that many of the locomotives--like the South African Garratts--were made in England, and hence, use SAE fasteners...

There aren't that many two footers, unless something in the POD changed that, unfortunately.

Though some is better than none - the GNC doesn't need that many locomotives to keep running.
 
Not many--but some

There weren't a lot of two foot lines, and my POD hasn't changed that--but there were some. India had some, though their locos won't be too useful--tiny things like on the Djarling and Himalaya. South Africa did have a LOT of 2 foot gauge lines that will be avaiable as sources of equipment after the war, into the 70's and 80's.
 
There weren't a lot of two foot lines, and my POD hasn't changed that--but there were some. India had some, though their locos won't be too useful--tiny things like on the Djarling and Himalaya. South Africa did have a LOT of 2 foot gauge lines that will be avaiable as sources of equipment after the war, into the 70's and 80's.

That's a going to be mighty handy.
 
Big motive power

They went the same way my North Central is going--very large locomotives for 2' gauge track. Sure, 2' is inherently inefficient compared to standard--but I LIKE it--and in this timeline, the tax benefit and state pride is enough to offset it.
 
They went the same way my North Central is going--very large locomotives for 2' gauge track. Sure, 2' is inherently inefficient compared to standard--but I LIKE it--and in this timeline, the tax benefit and state pride is enough to offset it.

Yeah. As far as I can tell, while speaking efficiency, 3' works fairly well, 2' foot is probably too small.

But its telling that the narrow gauge (OTL) only died when traffic did - as long as it could carry stuff, that it was less effective wasn't crippling.
 
1950's--the war is over...

Using the US Army “Transporters” turned out to be almost ideal; everything from furniture to tombstones could be loaded into the container, and unloaded in Wiscasset, Boston, or even San Diego, Montevideo, or London. The problem of trans-shipment was massively reduced, as the Boston and Maine equipped some flat cars to easily load the containers. Other lines were hesitant to follow suit—but the Transporter was also how military shipments were being moved. Additionally, B&M flatcars ended up far away—and the sheer handiness was apparent.

In the late 40’s and early 50’s, roadbuilding was a booming industry—but not in Northern Maine, except right along the coast; it was still sparsely populated. Shipping the products of interior Maine by rail was so much less costly. At the same time, newspapermen that favored the railroads, disliked the teamsters, or were looking for a way to attract readers managed to keep the Teamsters—and trucking—tainted with crime in a way that kept the lines in a good light. Post-war prosperity also brought people to Maine to camp, hunt, ski—and also to ride the “cute little trains.”

Indeed, the North Central came to become a symbol of the state in the same way the cable cars became identified with San Francisco. Diesel and steam, even electric and gasoline powered jitneys brought tourists in. Yet, at the same time, the lack of property taxes kept the line economically viable—especially for easily transferred loads—containerized or that can be poured, such as gravel.

Although some locomotives were showing serious signs of wearing out, other narrow gauge lines worldwide were starting to vanish—and some fine, nearly new 2’ locomotives were available at near scrap prices. Also in the 40’s, new 2’ gauge locomotives were being made for industrial use. (In reality, the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum runs one made in 1949…a good, solid American made GE product.)

With steam starting to fade in the late ‘40’s and early ‘50’s, the desire wasn’t there to do as rapid a switch to diesel as so many lines were doing. But—the funds were there to acquire (at scrap or near scrap prices) some of the resources needed to maintain the locomotives. That would be needed in any event—the tourist trains almost required steam to keep the customers coming. Still, more diesels did start running.

It was during the changeover that people investigated the back of some little-used engine houses, and found a few buried treasures. The little vertical boiler Climax was one of them—small, slow, and could pull like nobody’s business. Rolled out to the main depot in Wiscasset, it was an instant hit—and shortly thereafter, was taken into the shop for a full overhaul.

By the beginning of the 1960’s, the North Central Steam Locomotive Shop was contracting out to repair and rebuild locomotives from throught the Northeast—anyone that wanted a classic locomotive done right brought it to the N.C. Shop. The shop’s motto, “Push, pull, steam, or carry: if you get it here, we’ll steam it home,” wasn’t a slogan, it was reality. They could rebuild anything that steamed. (The North Central’s shop was located at an interchange between standard and narrow gauge, so standard gauge could be rolled right into the shop—the shop had bays for standard and bays for narrow

Coming soon: The 1960’s and the "Flower Trains"

Note: I have had very little time for revision recently, but this is short because I seriously need to redo the 1960's segment...
 
Nice excuse to work in the climax.

:D

It seems the North Central is continuing to keep people Ship(ping) by Narrow Gauge, and with plenty of interested passengers (locals and tourists) - thank heavens.
 
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