Passenger Trains on the APRR

All of us love to see trains run on the layout. Some people only like freight trains, others only like passenger trains, and some like both. I’m the latter. Since I grew up on Long Island, all I really saw were commuter trains (the Long Island Rail Road), and when traveling around, Amtrak, Penn Central, the list goes on.

Here on the APRR, I wanted to have passenger trains run on the layout, especially when non-model railroaders came over. In addition, I want to eventually integrate passenger train service while having operating sessions, probably to the dismay of some of the guys in the group. Those guys who object, can always be shown the door and I tell them don’t let it hit you in the butt on the way out! I do have one friend from our group who loves to run any of my passenger trains during the session. Not only is it fun, but he likes to interrupt the guys who are running freight trains as passenger trains always take priority on the tracks in real life (or they’re supposed to – just don’t ask the people at CSX!).

The passenger fleet is quite extensive. Some of my favorites are the LIRR Greenport Scoot, a 5 car commuter train with a pair of MP15 engines on each end. This train was used to shuttle commuters and weekend tourists from Ronkonkoma to Greenport, especially during the summer months. At present, it is staged on the lower level on one of the stub tracks. I bring it out for guests who grew up on Long Island. Another train that is located on the lower level loop track around the helix is an Amtrak train. It’s comprised of 2 Amtrak P42 diesels and 6 Amfleet cars, 5 of which are coaches and one dinette/ club car. This is also run during an operating session and usually by the same friend.

Other passenger trains that can be run if so desired are many. This includes a couple of PRR P85 coaches with either a GG-1 or E7A diesel engine. I have a couple other PRR cars such as the fleet of modernism, and some corrugated cars. NYC is in the mix with some cars. Add to that a BN Green ‘Hockey Stick’ train pulled by an F45. The New Haven has the classic Heavy weight coach train pulled by an Alco PA, all in the McGinnis scheme. A have some of the later Osgood-Bradley cars as well. A D&RGW 5 stripe passenger trains has been in the collection for years. Quite some time ago, Walthers came out with an 8 car passenger train, and of course, we bought it. There’s one D&H passenger train set that I have in a show case, as it has cars with names on them. Those have special meaning to some family members. There’s a number of other LIRR trains that can be run, some from the World’s Fair era, some from the MTA. Metro-North, CDOT, NJ Transit, and some UP trains as well. If I had the space, I could probably build a yard just for passenger trains!

Now that you know I like passenger trains, where do they go on the layout? Are there stations on the APRR? Of course! The main station on the layout, and one which stands out is the Amtrak Union Station. It’s situated on the west side of the upper level of the layout and above the tracks. It was built taking 2 Amtrak stations and putting them together to make one large station. There’s an entire scene built around it. As of this writing, it’s about 80% complete. I need to finish some areas with roads, add street light and station lights. Once those are in place, it will be lit up. My friend who used to own the local hobby shop gave me an Amtrak lighted billboard sign, and I need to get that built and added as well. Below the station at track level are 3 long platforms, with steps leading upstairs. This needs some small details such as more passengers, trash cans, and a few other items. When the entire station is finished, this will be a great area to view and railfan! 

At present, I have 2 other stations on the upper level. Baskerville Jct. is located on the outside mainline track across from Cargill. This needs more details and lights.

Opposite the southern part of Rock Ridge Yard is another yet unnamed station. I would like to see if I have one more place to put a station, but I doubt it. We shall see.

On the lower level, is my version of the Morris Plains train station. This has the older classic train station look, very similar to what they have today. I added 4 tracks for staging commuter trains. I have some RDC cars I want to add and I keep one of the LIRR trains there as well.

I have one area on the lower level below the freight yard and Cargill that can get a small passenger depot. Just need to find the right kit. Trying not to have duplicate or similar stations on the layout.

Last, but not least, is another type of train that carries passengers. Subway cars! If you’ve seen some of my YouTube videos, there are random shots of the elevated subway line. The goal is to have these run from point “A” to point “B” along the wall of the layout. Looking closer, you’ll notice that the station stops resemble the NYCTA subways from the 70’s to present. I have 8 sets of the Life-Like / Walthers Proto subway cars, all of them 4 car trains. The goal is to have 4 sets of subway cars making a couple stops. At present, I have one completed section of 2 tracks in place. This goes from the southeast corner of the room to the center of the north wall. I intend to add another level slightly above it with 2 more tracks to go west and end at the Amtrak station. I have all of the parts needed to do it. Just more time to get it done. These 4 trains will stay on the same track, and work off a DC auto reversers. One for each track. The station stops are flat images of some classic NYCTA subway stations. The area on the north wall, where both sets of tracks will meet (one above the other) will resemble 161^st / River Ave. You will be able to see the underground stop, and the above ground stop, which is…YANKEE STADIUM! I found a guy online who makes cardstock images of subway stops. I bought a bunch of them that resemble stops in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and of course the stadium. When up and running, I think everyone will be fascinated on this area of the layout. I know I will!

Thanks for reading!

Industries on the APRR

Every model railroad needs some industries. If they didn’t have any, where would all the freight cars go? Running freight trains with no place to go is like having ice cream without a freezer, if that makes any sense?

I have quite a collection of freight cars that I bought over the years. The thought of what to do with them once I had the layout built never quite entered my mind. I took a look at everything I owned, types of cars and the purpose they serve. That being said, here are the industries on the APRR and who they serve!

Tropicana Juice Facility
This is one of the largest industries on the layout. The building is scratch built using sections from one company (no longer in existence). It has 6 tracks for freight cars; 2 of which go into the facility. One track can serve as offload from the outside. In addition, there is one track for the Tropicana engine. The facility receives cars from the main plant in Bradenton, FL and sends them to this plant for processing and further distribution. Maximum car capacity is 20 cars. This is a dedicated train, meaning no stops to pick up freight along the way.

American Power & Light (wholly owned subsidiary of the R.M.O. Electric Company)
A small 2 track plant which receives coal and processes into electric. Main customers are Tropicana and Cargill. They do supply power to Rock Ridge Yard as well.

Cargill Foods
This is another one of the largest industries on the layout. It was made with 3 Walthers kits; two of which are the grain towers and the other with the Red Wing Mill backdrop kit. 2 tracks handle covered hoppers with 6 cars maximum each track. In addition, there is a building opposite the towers that handle the loading and unloading of corn syrup for the facility. It is a Pikestuff building which has 2 tracks going in and 2 alongside. There’s an actual prototype of this building, which I found online. A total of 20-24 17,600 gallon trinity tank cars can be on the property at any given time. There are some larger cars that are sent there, and then the road crew from Rock Ridge Yard shuttles them back and forth. 

Ideal Auto Parts & Electrical Supply
This is a small supplier of auto parts. One track with a four car capacity. Switching handled out of Rock Ridge. This building has a familiar logo. Some of you may recognize it. Can you guess?

Marcal Paper
A flat building along a secondary track of the railroad. Ships and receives paper and paper goods. 2-3 box cars maximum allowed. Switching handled from Rock Ridge. I built this flat as I saw the real building off the interstate near Garfield, NJ. Besides, they always have good toilet paper!

Freihoefers Bakeries
This is a building I wasn’t planning on having, but I’m one that like to have things on my layout that others in my family can relate to. Some of the family spent time in the Adirondacks when they were younger, and the cookie of choice was Freihoefers. Since I needed a building to support Cargill and another industry, why not make a flat and add it to the layout? This handles 2-3 covered hoppers and other times some box cars. You know what they ship out? Cookies, cakes and bread! Yummy stuff!

Mikes Lumber & Hardware
Mike is my contractor who has pretty much rebuilt the house to its present state. While he’s not into trains, he is into collecting Caterpillar models and I will add them to the area once I finish some other ballasting and roadwork in the area. Centerbeam cars and thrall all door box cars are the loads going in and out. Serviced by Rock Ridge. 

C&P Restaurant Supply
This is a unique building on the layout. It’s close to 4 feet long, and has 2 tracks going into the building. One track is for refrigerated goods, the other for non-persihables. Each track can hold 4-5 cars inside and 3-4 outside. The building color is very unique. I painted it the colors very close to the DHL building colors in NYC. I like the colors. The building itself is kitbashed from 4 City Classics Warehouses. Took a good month to assemble. The owners are still playing around with the signage. They hope to have it up by the end of the year. Need to know what C&P stands for? Well, let me tell you this. Neal hates diners, so I felt it apropos to name it after a time when you eat something and then don’t feel well after eating it. 

Shapeless steel Works
This is a fun industry to switch. Has a 3 track building where coil cars and gondolas go in, drop off loads, and then ship out finished products. Six to twelve assorted cars are on the property at any given session. A leased switcher is on location and makes the moves to and from Rock Ridge.

Three Amigos Warehouse and Storage
Here’s another large industry on the layout, this one is a flat structure. The industry is located on a peninsula of the layout, along with another industry adjacent to it. There are 2 tracks for this building. It can handle 5 box cars on each track. There’s a set of MP15 switchers that serve this building.

Tank Car facility (Yet to be named)
A 2 track facility that will eventually have 2 tanks for loading and unloading various oils and chemicals, plus some tank car unloading racks for trucks. 5-6 cars per track depending on the size of the tank car. Serviced alongside Three Amigos Whse. 

Millers Auto Rack Terminal
A different kind of industry on the layout. More like a yard terminal, if that is the correct terminology. A dedicated train of auto racks are sent to this location, which serves a car dealership right outside of the terminal. Three long tracks, each able to handle 6 of those 89’ auto rack cars we all know and admire. Eventually there will be a couple of car unloading ramps to finish the area. A dedicated engine is on the property to assist in the moves.

Reynolds Intermodal Yard
The last of the servicing facilities on the APRR, based on the other side of the peninsula. A dedicated train serves the yard. 4 tracks each can handle up to 5 of the 56’ well cars or a combination of 48’ well cars with an additional 53’ or 56’ car. The set of switches on the peninsula do the switching when the train has arrived. 

Phipps Cement & Asphalt
A future industry on the APRR. Single track located on the south side of Rock Ridge Yard. Capable of holding 4 covered hopper cars. 

That’s all of the industries and facilities on the APRR, for now. There is one more being considered, and that depends on how the negotiations go with management as space would have to be acquired. Eminent domain may rule (and maybe a lot of cash between parties?). We shall see. 

More to follow! 

Tracks and Industries on the APRR

The APRR has 2 mainline tracks that go around the layout. Two tracks that go to and from staging and freight yard and/or the industries on the large peninsula. There are other sidings and industrial tracks and another peninsula on the layout which shall be detailed below.

The small peninsula is divided in two. One side has a 4 track intermodal yard and the other side has 4 more tracks; 2 for the warehouse and the other 2 service the tank cars.

In the northwest corner is the steel works with three tracks. To the east is a food warehouse with two tracks. Continuing east is the lumber yard, then south is a bakery building and paper warehouse. To the south is an auto parts supply. These industries are accessed off the outside main track with a secondary track to service all of these industries.

On the main peninsula, we have a large divider. On the west side, there is a juice facility, power plant and a grain/corn syrup facility. These three industries see a lot of action during an operating session. The east side has a double ladder with 12 tracks; 6 on each side. There are four other tracks in this yard for arriving and departing trains which the yardmaster uses to tear down an arriving train or build one for departure.

The west wall has one large structure, and that is the Amtrak train station. The station itself is situated above the tracks with steps leading to platforms below.

The lower level has one commuter station on the west wall, which will make a stop before going into the helix or coming down from the upper level. A four track passenger track storage area is located to the right of the station.

The rest of the lower level had 9 thru staging tracks, one passing siding track below the main peninsula, 8 stub staging tracks on each side of the passing track and main thru track, and another storage loop track around the bottom of the helix.

For a unique look of the railroad, check out this video I made using a small drone camera attached to a flat car sent thru the entire railroad pushed by an engine.

More to follow about each specific industry on my next post!

Wiring the Atlantic Pacific Railroad

The APRR is a wiring wonder, as I’ve been told by others who have taken a look under the levels. I was always into wiring as this was taught to me by my father. When my father did wiring, either around the house or at his work, he taught me a lot, something I will never forget. In his honor and memory, an industry is dedicated to him on a corner of the layout as you enter, Irving Depot.

The layout is powered by an NCC DCC Power Pro Radio system, a 5 AMP power supply. In addition, due to the size of the layout, and the number of engines on it at one time, I needed to divide the layout into what is termed ‘districts’. The upper level is one, the lower level is another, and the engine facility is the third. Each district is powered with 5 AMPS, more than enough to keep engines on the tracks. In the world of DCC, all engines are ‘live’ and will only run when you send a signal to a particular engine. If you google ‘running trains in DCC’, you will find hours and hours of reading material.

The layout is basically a two track dog bone layout with many crossovers. There are 2 tracks that go to/from the helix and freight yard. When you have crossovers going in opposite directions, you need to add some type of protection to the layout to prevent short circuits. In the world of DCC, they make a device called an ‘auto reverser’. This device detects when the polarity switches on the track when an engine crosses into that section. It’s protected by insulated gaps when you enter and leave the reversing loop. My layout has 10 auto reversers. There are 5 on top, 2 on the helix, and 3 on the lower level. In addition, the staging yards on the lower level have circuit breakers added to prevent against short circuits caused by derailments or some other issue with an engine or car. All of auto reversers and circuit breakers have on/off toggle switches in the event of a short that’s not visible, I can kill power to sections of the layout to see if the short still exists. It’s pretty much fail-safe.

Switches are controlled at various places of the layout. All track switches that come up from the helix and pass thru both interlocking areas are controlled in one area. This location is in the northeast corner of the layout and is the ‘dispatcher’s area’. All train movements are under the control of the dispatcher until they arrive at the freight yard, in the center of the layout. Once they enter the yard limit area, the Yardmaster takes over. Dispatcher and Yardmaster control the railroad. Once trains are sent around the layout to industries, the person running a local control those switches as these are off the mainline and not under the dispatcher’s jurisdiction.

Staging tracks are on the lower level. There are 9 thru staging tracks, each broken into two sections. This gives me the ability to store 2 trains on one track or one long train. In addition, if two trains are stored on one track, I’ve added on/off toggle switches to kill the power to them, if need be. Under the main section of the layout are 8 stub end staging tracks, all wired with on/off toggle switches.

The layout has a number of operating signals at both interlocking areas, all manually controlled by the dispatcher on the panel. These are PRR type signals, another sign of the ones used on the LIRR, PRR and others. In the freight yard, color dwarf signals are controlled by the yardmaster.

Last, but not least is that I’ve probably over-wired the layout, but I rarely have any electrical issues. As a final note, all wiring on the layout, from the main power supply to each district, reversing loop, circuit breaker, switches, signals and relays are all documented on paper for reference, if I need to trace a short that I can’t visibly detect. I probably have more wire under my layout than Verizon has on my entire block! 

The Background On The Atlantic Pacific Railroad

The Atlantic Pacific Railroad (APRR) is a freelance fictional railroad which came about in the early 80’s. While many people think it came from the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P), this is not the case. The name APRR is derived from some of my favorite railroads over the years. It started with Long Island Railroad, as I grew up on Long Island. Along came Santa Fe, then Burlington Northern and Penn Central. Add to the mix New Haven, New York Central, Pennsylvania, Southern Pacific, Conrail, and Amtrak. As I rolled into the 90’s, CSX became an exciting railroad to watch and model. I do have some Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific models here and there. All of this in HO scale.

A layout was never really built until my move to New Jersey in 1995. I had a small layout in the basement of a condominium. It was nice, but mostly just for running trains, especially when friends and family came over. Everyone loves to see trains run, who doesn’t?

Fast forward to 2001 when a house came into the mix. This was a priority for the future, but the space was cut back severely. A much smaller layout, but none the less trains were to be run again. The layout had 3 mainline track loops, a more rectangular look, a staging yard in the adjacent room (A/C heating system area), and peninsula on the other end near a wall. A different look to running trains and storing freight cars.

In 2005 the opportunity came about to add a room on to the back of the house for my train room. It had to be nice looking from the outside, yet be able to be turned into a usable room when the time would come to leave this house. A 20’ x 20’ room was created with a trey ceiling, high hat lights, and French doors which hid what was behind it when looking in from the living room. A perfect front!

As I drew up my plans for the ultimate railroad, things started to take shape. A two track mainline, a large passenger terminal, freight yards, industries, and more. Everything you wanted to see on a train layout. Up and running by late 2007, the layout was powered with 4 DC power packs. It was a single level layout, and it was huge! Passenger trains as long as 12 feet ran the layout, 2 at a time! The passenger terminal had 8 main tracks with 12 supporting tracks and engine facility. Freight trains were abundant. The 2 large industries that stood out was the Cargill Grain Facility, and Tropicana Juice Factory. I was happy, trains were running and I was having fun. 

During this time, my hangout on Thursdays (and to this day) is the local hobby shop. Comradre, friends, things to look at and buy. Over the years you develop some friends that stand out. I am fortunate to have two at that time. One was the owner of the shop at the time (he sold it) and my other friend and I moved to another ‘train friendly’ hobby shop. This other gent, who has been not only a great friend but has been more of a mentor to me, and I greatly appreciate his help and support to this day. He’s told me many things, one of them was the world of DCC and how you can many trains on the same track. Wow! How cool is that! I read so much about it, I figured down the road I would convert the layout from DC to DCC. The owner gave me a great deal on an NCE DCC Power Cab system, which is a great start. It sat in the box for many years. In the meantime, my friend asked me if I wanted to see his friend’s layout. This was more of an inspirational tour. During this time, I was changing the layout from DC to DCC and adding a second level. The lower level was to be used to store trains in full sets, meaning an engine and cars.

The lower level was going to be built right down the middle of the layout, similar to the way the LIRR runs trains into NY Penn station. Tracks on each side by Sunnyside Yard in queens, NY. This became very tedious, and despite having the correct tools to get the grade right, it wasn’t coming out like I had planned. Meanwhile, my friend tells me to come with him again to this ‘gathering’ as it’s named, and see the layout in action and get a private tour, along with running trains. The owner of the layout is quite the master, not only in designing his layout, but in making you feel part of the group.

While running his railroad after a couple of times, I knew that my railroad needed something to make it run right. It needed a helix! Since I’m pretty handy with wood, but still lacking a couple of needed skills to make this happen, I found a guy in CA who would build me the helix that I needed. Double track helix, two tracks around the top. This would eliminate my attempt to make the grade to the lower level, and still give me what I wanted. This was ordered in 2012 and took about 9 months to get. It was custom, built to spec, and made into kit form. Shipped to me with an instructional video, it took me 5 months of nights and weekends. Meanwhile, the more and more I spent with these guys in the group, I learned that I didn’t want to see trains run, I wanted to operate trains, just like the real railroads do, just without one detail, paperwork! This came from running on the layout of the leader of our group. His layout has many jobs to do on his railroad, all without paperwork. I like to call it ‘freestyle operation’. Another guy in the group who hosts sessions uses paperwork with trains staged with cars that need to be switched off the list. Still a fun session.

As the railroad was being built, I needed to have someone give me his opinion to see how the track work is coming along. Not so much as to how it looks, but as to how it would function running trains. I had cork roadbed down, track, switches, all in place. My friend and mentor comes over, looks at the progress, and challenges me to ‘follow an imaginary train’ on the tracks. He asked me to show him how the train would run in once direction. That was fine. Then he asked me to show him how it would run on the same tracks to make the same moves as before. I couldn’t do that. Why is that? The way I set up the switches, it was laid out to only run in one direction. He asked me for extra switches laying around, and within an hour or so, we had reworked to areas into ‘interlocking’ sections on the layout. I’m a firm believer that if you’re shown something that is functional and makes sense, it’s worth changing. So I ripped up a good months of track work (plus cork), and proceeded to make the changes. With his help and mentoring, the Atlantic Pacific Railroad was coming to fruition.  He quickly named these two interlocking as ‘West Harold’ and ‘Little Jamaica’. The latter due to the amount of switches in this interlocking area. Some additional suggestions along the way came from two other guys of the gathering. One of them laid out the tracks for the peninsula that would hold a large warehouse and tank car facility. The other suggested to add another loop track around the bottom of the helix, for storage of another train, or if I wanted, constant running around the lower level thru staging. These were both added during the construction process. The last part of the layout was to add the DCC system. During the time of construction, I was able to get my hand on a DCC system that was not only larger, but wireless as well. This way, guys running trains could move freely around the layout without plugging in to the system. Perfect! This part of the layout I will go into more detail in another post.

On October 24, 2014, I hosted my first session. Not so much to run trains (which we did run a few), more to show off the layout as I was not only part of this great group, but to be able to host operating sessions down the road. This is the start of the operation of the Atlantic Pacific Railroad.