An Overview of Passenger Terminal Operations

Passenger operation is a central theme of this layout.   To many of the local modelers with whom I interact, passenger operation is dismissed as boring and silly.  My dream of building a layout featuring passenger operation has earned me the reputation locally of being 'that passenger guy.'  Usually the label is not meant as a complement, and it is based on the presumption that passenger operation is nothing more than running trains in a loop as a hazard to freight movements.  Being the sole passenger train modeler in my community, I have had to become the expert in order to model them. 

It was only after I started visiting renowned layouts and being invited to operate on them while traveling outside of Utah did the idea of a passenger operation meet with respect and encouragement. Visiting the La Mesa Club, for example, introduced me to a whole community of modelers as passionate about passenger trains and their operation as I am, an experience that opened up a whole new level of modeling.  Just a glimpse of the La Mesa Club layout shows the possibilities of modeling passenger operations.

Bakersfield was a major passenger operation in the 1950s, where helpers were added or removed for the grades ahead.  This intermediate depot saw a lot of passenger train switching, as mail, express and car servicing were conducted here.   

A section of the La Mesa Club layout showing the mainline and a local depot.  Impressive as a model, the smaller depot serves as a feeder and customer of mail and express in and out of Bakersfield.  Smaller depots can generate a lot of traffic for an intermediate depot, which makes it an interesting operation in its own right and an operation that easily can fit the needs of an intermediate-sized layout. 

My recent trip confirmed my belief that there is something to passenger operation after all.  Being a central theme of the Overland Terminal Railway, passenger operation is not at all about running passenger trains around a loop, boring everyone to hell and getting in the way of the freight movements.  Quite the contrary, passenger operation is about complex scheduling, interchanges, set-outs and pickups - especially in the secondary trains that handled mail, express and passengers.  This complexity is what makes a working terminal such a fascinating experience not only worth modeling, but also considerable research, planning and testing to carry it off.  Passenger operations at intermediate terminals, which is what I am modeling, are switching puzzles par excellence, a friend recently told me, where complex moves must be managed on a tight schedule without mishap. But these 'puzzles' are based entirely on how the prototypes had to operate, which forces the modeler to enter a whole new league of sophistication. 

Earlier posts have covered the construction of the passenger terminal.  Now I turn my attention to the operation required to support it.  Here is where history, deep knowledge of railroading, construction and art come together to make a layout interesting for visiting operators.  As the layout has taken shape, Southern Pacific operation of the 1950s has matured into its governing model.  Having fallen in love with the sheer diversity of Southern Pacific passenger trains, equipment and movements of the 1950s, I have a rich source of information on which to draw for designing the layout's operation.  Southern Pacific passenger trains and equipment are extremely well-documented, with many detailed volumes for consultation. 

Prototype-Grounded Versus Proto-Freelancing

Elsewhere I have described this layout as 'prototype-grounded freelance.'  Though similar to the more well-known concept of 'proto-freelance,' prototype-grounded freelance modeling has some notable differences.  Proto-freelance is a faithful reproduction of a specific prototype that uses freelance techniques to reconcile the necessities of modeling in scale with the prototype.  (The Great Model Railroads 2019 issue has an excellent description of proto-freelance in its story about modeling the LA Junction.) Prototype-grounded freelance, by contrast, is a completely fictional place with its own terrain, place names but with an operation that faithfully reproduces a prototype's operating rules, practices and history to govern its operation.  

Completely fictional, such a layout is operated 'as if' the prototype railroad has built it for this specific place and time.  Good prototype-grounded freelance layouts must balance creativity with a grounded understanding of a prototype operation - that balance being the 'art' of building great layouts.  Accordingly, the premise of the Overland Terminal Railway is a dirty, busy city in the LA Basin that moves a significant amount of freight through its streets and alleys, the centerpiece of which is a busy intermediate terminal at the junction of multiple roads.  

The inspiration for this operation is San Bernardino, which handled Union Pacific and Santa Fe trains on shared track (operated by Santa Fe). Throughout the Basin, railroads came together, crossed and shared spaces.  Riverside, for example, handled Union Pacific, Santa Fe, Southern Pacific and Pacific Electric all within a few blocks of each other.  This fact was necessitated by shared track arrangements and the competitive nature of the fruit packing industry in the Southland.  

The Overland Terminal is a plausible 'what if' scenario where the passenger operations of the three reigning roads (UP, ATSF, SP) were consolidated and operated by an independent company owned by the three roads.  In this terminal operation, the Depot is modeled after San Bernardino's popular mission style but with its own distinct character (railroads built many of their stations by a common design in an effort to save time and money).  It's actual operation is based on the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal (LAUPT) Rule Book of April 1, 1956 (a joint operation of Southern Pacific [Majority operator], Santa Fe, Union Pacific).

A Day of Operation and Its Trains

The Overland Terminal, situated in the fictional town of Monte Vista, California (its name derives both from my love of mountain views and it being the name of a street on which I lived growing up there), is a busy intermediate terminal about an hour from Los Angeles.  Southern Pacific being the majority operator, the bulk of trains handled will be its trains.  However, being situated between two major junctions with some joint operation, Union Pacific and Santa Fe trains also used the Terminal.  Additionally, as a shared terminal, transfers of cars and passengers between the three roads also took place, which adds to the complexity and volume of the operation. 

An intermediate terminal handled several classes of passenger trains every day.  These classes of trains include the following:

• Name Trains:  Each of the major roads had its marquee trains, which were the image of these roads in the 1950s.  These trains include SP's Coast Daylight and the Lark, UP's City of Los Angeles, Challenger and City of St. Louis, and ATSF's El Capitan, Super Chief and San Francisco Chief.  Name trains are the crack high-profile operations, and the Overland Terminal was just a brief station stop.  As such, the name trains did not switch in/out cars in this terminal; they simply pass through.
• Secondary Trains:  Many of these trains had names as well, but they ran on different schedules and picked up/set out cars at intermediate stations.  These are the interesting trains to model.  SP's West Coast, San Joaquin Daylight, Owl, Coast Mail (nicknamed Sad Sam) and trains that just had numbers in the timetable are among these.  UP's secondary trains included trains 7/8, simply called 'The Mail,' the Utahn (into the early 1950s), and occasionally the City of St. Louis would drop and pick up cars here.  Santa Fe's 'Grand Canyon' and various locals had regular transfer operations here that required switching.  In these operations, cars transfer between trains of the same or different roads, adding complexity to the switching of them. 
• Transfers and Locals: On my layout, these trains are fictional, created out of the need for local towns to move passengers, mail, express and LCL (less-than-carload) freight to the main terminal.  The Overland Terminal serves up to 10 local towns, and a daily operation manages the flow of mail/express between these small depots and the Terminal, where cars are added to trains heading North or East.  In addition, there remain a few local commuter trains that originate/terminate at the Overland Terminal.  Taken together, all of these locals are busy feeding and consuming cars into/out of the terminal.  

Station Master Runs the Show: The Station Master oversees the scheduling and operation of all of this traffic, making him the singular most important operator on the layout.  An operating session may have him managing up to 20 trains with the support of 3 crews assigned to the Terminal.  Because of the complexity of this operation, crews must know the following rule book intimately:

 

LAUPT was tower-operated, and it still is to be determined whether the Overland Terminal will be operated by this or another model.  Operating sessions will test different models to determine which works best for train movement and operator flow in the layout's aisles.  Either way, passenger terminal operators are the elite, most knowledgeable crews of the layout and all of its operations. 

Building the Terminal to Enable Smooth Operation

The Passenger Terminal handles the most valuable equipment on the layout.  In addition to fleets of fine cars I have collected from Walthers and other suppliers (El Capitan, San Francisco Chief, UP Cities), the roster includes a notable collection of brass cars representing the type of equipment found in secondary trains of the 1950s.  Special care must be taken in the handling of these cars in the operation in order to keep it faithful to its prototype.   The common method of using picks as used for freight cars are out of the question here - both because of the value and delicacy of the equipment and its surrounding scenery and because of the fact that diaphragms between cars make such operations a nuisance. 

Uncoupling magnets offer a solution for more automatic uncoupling, but they need to work differently in a passenger operation compared to freight.  For freight switching, the uncoupling point can be isolated near a switch, allowing for the use of permanent magnets.  Passenger switching involves breaking up a parked train in the ladder, where switch moves must minimize or eliminate moving a consist (full of passengers) over magnets.  Also, a track may not be used for switching on all occasions.  I addressed this problem with electro-magnets strategically placed throughout the passenger ladder.  There are 11 of these magnets in the ladder, each to support a specific set of operations. 

Based on my requirements, I chose RailCrew electro-magnets.  Drum units with LEDs to indicate that they are active, RailCrew (a division of Rapido Trains) magnets are complete and easy to install once a 1 3/4" hole is drilled under the track.  The magnets stay hidden safely under the track. 

 

As shown here, a magnet kit is complete with the wiring and switch for placement on the layout's fascia.  Track was lifted, and we used a spatula bought at a dollar store to protect the track while we used the hole saw to prepare the spot.  Once cut, the hole in the homasote was cleaned with an Exacto knife.  Holes were placed throughout the ladder but with half of them on Track 3, where the majority of switching activity will take place.

Track 1 (far left) is closest to the Depot and is the primary loading track for head-end equipment.  Track 3 (third from left) is the primary track for breaking up and assembling trains.  Here holes have been drilled for placement of the electromagnets that will enable this operation to run smoothly and without reaching in to handle equipment.   

Now the terminal is ready for magnet installation, after which the tracks finally can be painted and made ready for the installation of the platforms (which I plan to cover in a separate post as they are built).  My goal is to have the platforms completed to show at the NMRA Convention this Summer.

Examples of Passenger Switching at the Depot

Although Name Trains will be a common sight on the layout, they will not be the main attraction at the Depot.  Name Trains such as the Coast Daylight and the Lark, Chiefs and the Cities Streamliners pass through the Depot intact, but secondary trains are worked in the passenger ladder.  Secondary trains can be a mixed consist of mail (working and storage), express (often with Messenger aboard), coach, dining/lounge/cafe cars, and sleepers.  Any of these cars could be switched at the Depot.  

Mixed Trains: A typical operation for breaking up a mixed consist train to remove terminating and transferring cars would be as follows:

1. Train pulls into Track 3, either northbound or southbound.
2. Once centered in the track, a switcher couples to the front of the power lashup, the train's power is uncoupled, and moved it to a waiting track, where the units remain parked until the train is reassembled and ready to depart.
3. Switchers begin working the train at both ends.  Head-end equipment is removed either individually or in sets depending on which car(s) terminate at the Depot. These moves also could remove the RPO, which could transfer or terminate at the Depot.  All head-end equipment terminating at the Depot is moved to Track 1 and the Express Track after it is removed from the consist.
4. If a dining car, lunch counter car or lounge is to be removed to the Commissary, the entire front end of the consist in front of the car would be cut and moved to Track 2.  The dining-related cars would be removed from the front of the train and run around on Track 4 to Track 1, then pushed into the Commissary Track on the south end of Track 1.
5. Sleepers also may terminate at the Depot.  In most trains, the Dining Car separated coach from sleeping car service, with the sleepers behind the Dining Car.  Terminating sleepers would be removed from the back of the train and parked on Track 2 until switching is concluded, then moved to the Commissary to be cleaned and readied for their next assignments. 
6. All terminating cars removed, the train is reassembled from both ends.  The partial consist of coaches and through head-end equipment would be moved from Track 2 back to the waiting train on Track 3.  If a dining or cafe car is to be added, it would be coupled to the rear of the coaches on Track 2 or to the front of the sleepers waiting on Track 3.
7. Head-end equipment transferring onto the train would be moved from Track 1 to the block of cars waiting on Track 2 OR be held until the coaches and through food service cars are reassembled with the sleepers on Track 3.  
8. If the sleepers, food and lounge cars are fully-assembled on Track 3, head-end equipment would be added back to the train on Track 3. 
9. Any sleepers transferring to the train would be added to the back of the consist waiting on Track 3.
10. Once fully assembled, the train's power would be backed off the waiting track and be added to the front of the train.  Ready to leave, the train would be cleared to leave and highball given to depart.e

Mail and Express: Mail trains would be handled in a similar manner, but with some significant differences.  A mail train could drop and pick up multiple cars at the Depot.  Moreover, cuts of cars could be transferred from one train to another, in which case the cars would be waiting on Track 1 or, more likely, Track 2.  A significant portion of a mail train could be made up at the Depot, and many cars of storage mail or express could terminate at the Depot.  

Mail train operation could easily involve as much switching as a freight, the main difference being that the mail train is made up entirely at the passenger terminal.  This operation can be highly complex, rivaling any switching puzzle except that these follow the prototype. Peak seasons, such as the Christmas holidays and harvests, can add extras and additional transfers to be handled in the terminal.  

For example, during the Christmas season, usually deadhead westbound Pacific Fruit Express (PFE) and Growers Express cars are pulled into mail and express service.  These cars, arriving from the East, are brought into the mail terminal and Depot for unloading.  Express shipments also replenish the Commissary's larder, and these cars are designated on incoming mail trains.  Later posts will illustrate the logistics of mail train operation introduced here.  

Parting Remarks

Passenger trains received priority on the mainline of the 1950s, and the terminal was a busy place run on a tight schedule.  These operations required careful choreography and expertise in their operation.  For these reasons, passenger operation involves a higher degree of complexity that can be more interesting to model and operate than on freight-only layouts. Often I hear other modelers dismiss passenger operations as boring, describing them as fixed consists making loops around the layout and being a nuisance to the "real" operation, which is presumed to be freight.  

This is true in many cases, since passenger trains are often thought of as fixed sets of cars traveling from one place to another.  Introducing passenger operations as complex switching puzzles at a terminal, on the other hand, changes the discussion entirely.  The fact that the entire switching and transfer operation must take place in the confinements of the terminal makes it that much more interesting to model.  

I often wonder if there is a lack of imagination and experience with passenger service informing this thinking.  Mail service disappeared from American railroading over half a century ago, and the remaining passenger service was handed over to Amtrak nearly as long ago.  It is often speculated that many modelers have little or no memory or experience with passenger trains and therefore no interest in modeling them. I cannot verify that claim, but I continue to find it amusing that passenger operation more often than not simply doesn't compute as something worthy of modeling.   

Contrary to common belief, a passenger operation does not necessarily have to take up an entire layout. When other modelers have expressed interest in modeling passenger trains, they typically balk at the amount of room it would take to do one properly.  For one thing, passenger trains are big trains; for another, the cars are big and do not tolerate tighter curves like freight does.  Both are true statements.  My layout took these constraints as a challenge.  

Because I love passenger operations, I was determined to make it work in the space of my average-sized basement.  The more I learned about passenger operation, the easier it was to contain that operation into the space of the Depot.  It forces choices on the size of the operation, but not its interesting complexity.  For this reason, the intermediate Depot (an important point on the mainline but not an actual terminus, such as LAUPT or the Oakland Mole) provides an excellent prototype to guide my layout's operation. 

As the layout takes shape, and with more research, I have learned that the larger curves needed to handle passenger trains gracefully are both feasible and impressive.  One comment I get from visitors is 'wow, I love your big curves.'  If I run a train on them, they are even more impressed.  True, larger curves limits how a layout can be built.  Mine has only two peninsulas, where other operations could have three or four in the same space.  But the larger space opens up many other opportunities for modeling a fine operation.  For my layout it creates space for sophisticated freight operation.  The space around the bigger curves can be filled with industry for interesting freight switching operation.  

Also true is that a passenger terminal needs a lot of space.  Initially I had planned a much larger operation, but the more I researched, planned and built, the more I started to see that less is more.  A 4-track ladder is more than ample to run an interesting range of passenger switching operation.  Eliminating large coach yards, shops and other facilities does not cripple the operation.  Intermediate Depots are the answer for these modeling requirements.  As the Overland Terminal Railway takes shape, so are the possibilities of interesting operation in the limited space always imposing itself on any layout.