Bringing this thread back because, well, Project 2021 could warrant adjustments to the railroad to make FHP more accessible. For context, I did work at Railroad for one full season, then occasionally during two other seasons, so I am quite familiar with the terrain and operations of Railroad. I have three ideas that I wanted to share, two of which have been discussed before, but I want to assess the mechanical/civil, electrical, and operational changes required to achieve each of these.
First, the most discussed: Regrading the Backside (hill from Rhine to Camp Wallace Crossing). First, this would take the existing hill and split it in two, with a flat section in the middle. Currently, google maps puts the track length of the hill at about 2100'. Now based on USGS Topo maps, there is about a 20' increase from the bridge to the crossing. This would put the grade at about 0.95% grade. This may not sound like a lot, but for a train, its a moderate to steep grade. With the train station taking about 230' of this, that would result in an average grade of 1.06%, which may still be ok, but that does not allow the train to gain speed. I am going to assume, base on my own experience, that the train will need about 200' of space to accelerate to the point it can make it up the hill. This puts the grade at 1.2%. Not impossible for trains, but is going to be improbable for the RR at BGW. If there is a current BGW Engineer reading this, I would love to hear your input of adding .25% grade to the Backside. As for electrical, nothing really would change, except adding the devices required at a station. Nothing other than making the additional stop would be required for operations.
Second, another previously discussed idea: Running counterclockwise instead of clockwise. This would mean that the Pompeii and Palace hills would be going up instead of down. I don't think this would be too bad, but I don't have time to calculate the grades of those right now. Now some people have said a reconfiguration of Caribou would be required. I do not think it would be very much if you make some operational adjustments. The water supply (not the tower) would have to be moved to the other end of the platform. Of course, all of the signals and crossings would have to be reversed and I don't think that blind corners would be an issue at other stations, though Tweedside may have to have a small platform extension. Now here is the big change: let operations or maintenance do minor switching work. In order to keep the locomotives under cover at caribou at night, allow switching to occur that will put the locomotives at the END of the train. Currently, the cars and locomotives are, for all intents and purposes, semi-permanently coupled together. Detach the engine from the front and use a run around track to put it on the other end of the train. where would this run around track be? Install a switch on the bull pen side of the caribou crossing and connect the front house track to it, making that spur, a double ended siding. switching might get tricky when you include the fact that a train would have to occupy that track , but it could get done.
Lastly, an Idea I've had for a while. Add an additional train that would be a dedicated shuttle between Germany and Caribou. Originally, I had thought of a dedicated track and additional platform at Caribou, but now that Invadr is there, that is probably not an option. My current idea is to put a siding off the mainline with a trailing spring switch (for easy access) which would allow a shuttle train to stop at Germany while other trains pass by. Could make it double ended for use as a run around, but that seems a bit unnecessary. My idea is to use a retired/restored logging engine (Shay perhaps) which is more adept at climbing terrains, which would eliminate any concerns about starting or stopping on a grade. Being logging locomotives, they would fit in with the New France theme. Electrically, the signal system would have to be a bit more advanced along the Backside, to avoid possible collisions between trains. Operationally, this would mean an additional crew just for the Germany to Caribou run and careful planning on the engineer's part to not block the mainline with the shay and hold other trains back on busy days.
All in all, the shortest construction time would probably be the last one, as regrading or rewiring the railroad could take a long time. I am not sure on what would be the best expense wise, as the time saved by the third would be off set by the acquisition of a whole new train set. Of course, I doubt that the park would do any of these, if they make a Germany station at all, but I'm just curious about what you all think of these ideas.
First, the most discussed: Regrading the Backside (hill from Rhine to Camp Wallace Crossing). First, this would take the existing hill and split it in two, with a flat section in the middle. Currently, google maps puts the track length of the hill at about 2100'. Now based on USGS Topo maps, there is about a 20' increase from the bridge to the crossing. This would put the grade at about 0.95% grade. This may not sound like a lot, but for a train, its a moderate to steep grade. With the train station taking about 230' of this, that would result in an average grade of 1.06%, which may still be ok, but that does not allow the train to gain speed. I am going to assume, base on my own experience, that the train will need about 200' of space to accelerate to the point it can make it up the hill. This puts the grade at 1.2%. Not impossible for trains, but is going to be improbable for the RR at BGW. If there is a current BGW Engineer reading this, I would love to hear your input of adding .25% grade to the Backside. As for electrical, nothing really would change, except adding the devices required at a station. Nothing other than making the additional stop would be required for operations.
Second, another previously discussed idea: Running counterclockwise instead of clockwise. This would mean that the Pompeii and Palace hills would be going up instead of down. I don't think this would be too bad, but I don't have time to calculate the grades of those right now. Now some people have said a reconfiguration of Caribou would be required. I do not think it would be very much if you make some operational adjustments. The water supply (not the tower) would have to be moved to the other end of the platform. Of course, all of the signals and crossings would have to be reversed and I don't think that blind corners would be an issue at other stations, though Tweedside may have to have a small platform extension. Now here is the big change: let operations or maintenance do minor switching work. In order to keep the locomotives under cover at caribou at night, allow switching to occur that will put the locomotives at the END of the train. Currently, the cars and locomotives are, for all intents and purposes, semi-permanently coupled together. Detach the engine from the front and use a run around track to put it on the other end of the train. where would this run around track be? Install a switch on the bull pen side of the caribou crossing and connect the front house track to it, making that spur, a double ended siding. switching might get tricky when you include the fact that a train would have to occupy that track , but it could get done.
Lastly, an Idea I've had for a while. Add an additional train that would be a dedicated shuttle between Germany and Caribou. Originally, I had thought of a dedicated track and additional platform at Caribou, but now that Invadr is there, that is probably not an option. My current idea is to put a siding off the mainline with a trailing spring switch (for easy access) which would allow a shuttle train to stop at Germany while other trains pass by. Could make it double ended for use as a run around, but that seems a bit unnecessary. My idea is to use a retired/restored logging engine (Shay perhaps) which is more adept at climbing terrains, which would eliminate any concerns about starting or stopping on a grade. Being logging locomotives, they would fit in with the New France theme. Electrically, the signal system would have to be a bit more advanced along the Backside, to avoid possible collisions between trains. Operationally, this would mean an additional crew just for the Germany to Caribou run and careful planning on the engineer's part to not block the mainline with the shay and hold other trains back on busy days.
All in all, the shortest construction time would probably be the last one, as regrading or rewiring the railroad could take a long time. I am not sure on what would be the best expense wise, as the time saved by the third would be off set by the acquisition of a whole new train set. Of course, I doubt that the park would do any of these, if they make a Germany station at all, but I'm just curious about what you all think of these ideas.
