The Overland Terminal Railway has entered the next major phase of its construction, focusing now on operation. As I have gained exposure to the operations side of the hobby, it has pushed my thinking about model railroading to new heights, not a new direction from my initial desire to create a great model but adding depth of experience to the model by bringing in an absolutely essential dimension of a great layout - the realistic operation that brings the scene to life.
Learning about car flow, car forwarding systems, the intimate relations between customers, car types and spots, gateways on/off layout, and participating in these processes directly through operating sessions all year have really pushed the layout to search for a high standard of excellence. Its mission now is stated simply as "realistic operation beautifully modeled." Bringing operations together with an aesthetic of realism is now what I call the art of model railroading.
As my layout now faces the invigorating challenge of adopting an operational model, it has become necessary to define its operational model, incorporate prototype rules, practices and supporting systems (traffic control, car forwarding, detection, signals). In this first installment of describing the layout's operations, I found it incredibly helpful to give the operation an identity and tell its story. What follows here is a brief and useful history of the Overland Terminal Railway.
Learning about car flow, car forwarding systems, the intimate relations between customers, car types and spots, gateways on/off layout, and participating in these processes directly through operating sessions all year have really pushed the layout to search for a high standard of excellence. Its mission now is stated simply as "realistic operation beautifully modeled." Bringing operations together with an aesthetic of realism is now what I call the art of model railroading.
As my layout now faces the invigorating challenge of adopting an operational model, it has become necessary to define its operational model, incorporate prototype rules, practices and supporting systems (traffic control, car forwarding, detection, signals). In this first installment of describing the layout's operations, I found it incredibly helpful to give the operation an identity and tell its story. What follows here is a brief and useful history of the Overland Terminal Railway.
WARNING: Careful Reading is Required here.
"Fiction is the lie that tells the truth." - Oscar Wilde
A Short History of the Overland Terminal Railway
The Overland Terminal Railway is a fictitious but realistic terminal operation set 'somewhere' in Southern California in the 1950s, but the story behind the operation has never been told until now. Founded in 1919, the Overland Terminal Railway was an independent railroad jointly owned by its three customer roads - Southern Pacific (SP - major shareholder and owner of the only mainline in/out of the Terminal), Union Pacific (UP), and Santa Fe (ATSF).
Like many terminal railways throughout the United States, the Overland Terminal Railway (OTR) used equipment (locomotives and cabooses) leased back to the Railway by its 3 customer railroads but operated independently of its owners with its own crews and operating rules. The Depot's operating rules were modeled after Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal (LAUPT) and, in April, 1956, the OTR adopted its sister operation's rule book to manage its busy Depot. With the creation of Amtrak on May 1, 1971, the OTR no longer had a purpose and was gone by 1972. During its 52-year existence, the OTR was one of the busiest passenger and freight operations in California.
Like many terminal railways throughout the United States, the Overland Terminal Railway (OTR) used equipment (locomotives and cabooses) leased back to the Railway by its 3 customer railroads but operated independently of its owners with its own crews and operating rules. The Depot's operating rules were modeled after Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal (LAUPT) and, in April, 1956, the OTR adopted its sister operation's rule book to manage its busy Depot. With the creation of Amtrak on May 1, 1971, the OTR no longer had a purpose and was gone by 1972. During its 52-year existence, the OTR was one of the busiest passenger and freight operations in California.
From humble beginnings: The city of Monte Vista (named for its dramatic view of the surrounding mountains that make access to this area difficult, and for a street on which I lived growing up in Southern California) is a classic story of a town that started small and became a city by the middle of the Twentieth Century. Founded in 1878 as an agricultural town, it quickly grew up as the railroad, industry and residents moved in and expanded. Its unique geography in a fertile but valley, coupled with its close proximity (10 miles) to a navigable harbor, supported a wealth agricultural export. Valencia and Navel orange groves, olive groves, lettuce, beans, celery, tomatoes and other crops harvested in vast quantities gave rise to food production as a thriving, ever-expanding industry. By 1910, Monte Vista was a major food-producing city, with large citrus packing houses, food processing plants and canning companies creating a bustling economy. Supporting industries - fertilizer suppliers, grain and cereal mills, cold storage and ice suppliers also sprang up.
Monte Vista's economic expansion didn't stop at food production. Its warm and sunny climate, beautiful mountains and relative closeness to all the attractions of the Southland soon made it a popular resort city and tourist destination after 1890. Rich oilfields just west of town brought in more industry to support it. Many other light industries - furniture and packaging manufacturers, machine parts, electrical supply, agricultural supply companies all sprouted up to provide valuable goods and services to the town's economy.
Monte Vista's economic expansion didn't stop at food production. Its warm and sunny climate, beautiful mountains and relative closeness to all the attractions of the Southland soon made it a popular resort city and tourist destination after 1890. Rich oilfields just west of town brought in more industry to support it. Many other light industries - furniture and packaging manufacturers, machine parts, electrical supply, agricultural supply companies all sprouted up to provide valuable goods and services to the town's economy.
Along comes the railroad: Southern Pacific gained a branch franchise in 1879, and by 1895 more than a dozen packing houses had sprung up to keep the railroad busy. Santa Fe established a line into Monte Vista in 1892, ending the SP's short monopoly into this fast-growing market. The Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (LA&SL, later UP) was the last to arrive with its branch line in 1906. The town center forming closer to the agriculture than the mainline necessitated the creation of a short branch into it to serve its packing houses. A modest depot was erected at the end of this branch to handle freight and local passenger services. The Monte Vista Branch joined the Southern Pacific at nearby Victor Junction.
By the time the new Depot opened in 1920, UP (LA&SL) connected its branch line to the SP line into Monte Vista from its Los Angeles Division. This joint track entered Monte Vista only about 100 yards from Victor Junction on the site of the former J&C Keys Ranch. Being within sight of each other, this major traffic intersection quickly appeared on maps as Keys-Victor Junction (which was tower protected). Santa Fe was granted limited trackage rights over this UP line, although most of its traffic routed through its connection with Bayshore Yard out of Los Angeles.
By the time the new Depot opened in 1920, UP (LA&SL) connected its branch line to the SP line into Monte Vista from its Los Angeles Division. This joint track entered Monte Vista only about 100 yards from Victor Junction on the site of the former J&C Keys Ranch. Being within sight of each other, this major traffic intersection quickly appeared on maps as Keys-Victor Junction (which was tower protected). Santa Fe was granted limited trackage rights over this UP line, although most of its traffic routed through its connection with Bayshore Yard out of Los Angeles.
Gateway to Los Angeles: As a busy town near the major shipping and railroad hub of Los Angeles, Monte Vista's freight and passenger traffic routed through LA to points north and east. Each of the three major railroads into Monte Vista had their own branches in and out, but all track within the city limits fell under the operating jurisdiction of the Overland Terminal Railway. Accordingly, the railroads operated on a Time Table and Train Orders system while in city limits. Yard limits for the passenger terminal operation,local freights and junctions onto the mainline were governed by the OTR.
Location, Location, Location determines its operation: Because of its strategic location off the mainlines of the 3 major roads into Los Angeles, Monte Vista's passenger operation grew quickly into a major transfer point for mail and express between these 3 roads. Its location at the end of the branch originally made its Depot a stub terminus like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland. Monte Vista's unique location limited rail access to Southern Pacific's monopoly into the City, who granted limited trackage rights to rivals UP and ATSF into the Depot. Operating the line into the Depot, the Overland Terminal Railway granted trackage rights to UP and ATSF passenger trains (much like LAUPT and the Ogden Depot and Railway Company did). Commercially, this access boosted passenger traffic to this desirable town, becoming a stopping point for many name trains on all three roads. More importantly, Monte Vista's location made it ideal as a transfer point for mail and express, thereby relieving significant pressure on LAUPT 75 miles away.
Enter the Overland Terminal Railway: At the outbreak of World War I, Monte Vista became a major source of food production for the nation and the war effort, and its population topped 100,000. As a busy junction between SP, UP and ATSF passenger traffic, a Union Station became a necessity. Like other Union Stations in the West, a new, independent railway was formed to operate it. Incorporated on February 1, 1919, the Overland Terminal Railway took its name from a large transfer and terminal warehouse complex in the center of town. Seeing an opportunity to build a large modern freight warehouse, the Overland Terminal Warehouse's owner (and OTR part owner), the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad offered its land (for sale, of course) as the site of the new Union Station. Later that year, the LA&SL broke ground on its modern Overland Terminal Warehouse and Transfer Terminal adjacent to the Depot property. Everybody was happy with this arrangement - especially the OTR's owners.
Depot inspiration and design: Rapid growth of the City, its food industry, oil production and manufacturing during World War I necessitated a large, modern Depot. At that time the Mission Style was the norm for modern passenger depots being built throughout California. Having seen the recently-completed Mission Style Masterpiece in nearby San Bernardino open on July 15, 1918, the Overland Terminal Railway commissioned San Bernardino's builders to design a similarly grand Depot in the same style. Its resemblance to San Bernardino is remarkable, but its smaller footprint has some notable differences in massing (NOTE: it was established practice for SP, UP and ATSF to use standard designs for its depots, commission the same architectural firms and contractors to build them) and decorative elements. Most in common with San Bernardino was its central block with 4 domes. Beyond that, the direct resemblance ended with smaller wings for a bar/restaurant and baggage room. The south end of the Depot was the OTR's headquarters and offices for each of the agents of the three customer railroads.
Balloon track operation: Because the Depot was located off the mainline in the center of town, it posed an operational challenge to the OTR. Placed perpendicular to the mainline at Keys-Victor, the Depot was planned as a stub terminal. As a transfer point, however, the Depot in Monte Vista needed to switch passenger trains quickly. Set outs and pick-ups had to be handled on tight schedules. Once switching was completed, trains had to be back on en route to their destinations expeditiously. UP, SP and ATSF name trains also made station stops at Monte Vista, necessitating quick turns after their brief station stop. Since the Depot was located at the center of town, a balloon track was the optimal solution.
Furthermore, the Depot has a full-service coach yard, like the major terminals at Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Monte Vista's location made it a good place for relief servicing of trains, but, unlike its larger counterparts in Los Angeles and Oakland, it was not used to clean an turn entire trains. Instead, it maintained a commissary for cleaning and provisioning dining and sleeping cars transferring, originating or terminating at Monte Vista. Mostly, the commissary provisioned trains with Monte Vista's picked fresh, locally-grown produce and, in peak seasons, provided relief provisioning for trains heading East from Los Angeles (during these peak times, dining cars were provisioned directly from carts brought out to the platform. Because of schedule changes and train consolidations, the Commissary closed in 1960.
With the Depot's modernization in 1920, the balloon track was laid around the heart Packing District. A tower at the north end of the Depot ladder controlled all traffic on the busy Depot property, including the balloon track. Being in the heart of the city's busy produce district, local freights working the district had to share and cross this track at regular intervals. In the interest of safety, the OTR added block detection and signals to the balloon track to protect trains departing the Depot and local freights servicing the produce district. A safe, efficient operation with the balloon track and full -service Depot, Monte Vista became a thriving regional transportation hub after World War II, handling up to 40 trains a day.
Freight Operations in Monte Vista
It's all about customers:
Food and produce: Monte Vista Valley runs mostly east to west along the Santa Anita River, creating a navigable harbor as it met the Pacific Ocean. A little over 25 miles long, the Monte Vista Valley was a rich source of fruits and vegetables that helped feed the nation. By 1955, Monte Vista had become a vital regional transportation hub, moving freight by rail and sea. With a population approaching 300,000 in the city proper and spreading suburbs, Monte Vista had become a busy freight operation. Having grown up around the citrus packing industry, the north end of the city reached the peak of its fruit packing in the early 1950s. Into the 1970s, orchards and farms around the town continued to produce abundant crops for transport. Starting in the 1960s, suburban development began to supplant the groves and fields. The 1950s was the golden era of fruit packing in the region. This district also served light manufacturers (mostly electrical and machine components), oil suppliers and cold storage.
North of the Depot, the Holly Sugar had a refinery that drove a lot of beat traffic into this already congested part of town. Serving nearly a dozen packing houses, icing platforms, and food processing plants, centered on Yoder Street, this packing district is a major source of refrigerator car (reefer) traffic and is operated both by SP and ATSF (packing houses typically were served by both roads). The balloon track dissected Yoder Street, the east end being standard freight for the packing houses and other industries. Between the balloon track and the Depot was the Railway Express Agency (REA) Terminal. Opening a new transload terminal in 1950 at the north end of the Depot, REA kept its large motor fleet busy with pickups and deliveries. A switch from the balloon track feeds a few industries and REA's expanded Refrigerated Express Terminal, which had its own cold storage and icing platforms to turn around its reefers most efficiently. This district operated an all-purpose team track and a modest freight house operation.
Retail, Distribution and Warehouses: Brought about by advances in canning and high demand during World War I, food processing and canning became a major industry in the city. By the 1930s, the south end of town from the Depot to past Keys-Victor Junction became a busy warehouse district, serving retailers, breweries, light manufacturers and local distributors for major consumer brands (Woolworth, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Proctor and Gamble, for example). This busy retail and warehouse district was fed by a web of rails through its alleys and streets.
Because this district looked and operated a lot like Santa Fe's infamous 'Dog Patch' in Downtown LA, local operators quickly named this district 'The Patch.' Fed off the Victor branch, which also served neighboring Sellios Heights and the Olinda oil fields, The Patch is a busy, challenging operation where trains had to dodge cars, trucks and patrons to switch its large customer base. Its busiest customer is the Produce Market, where local grocers and the public buy fresh fruits, vegetables and meats are shipped in daily in reefers. Fanny Schwahn's Candy (established 1914) was one of the first food manufacturer/retailers here. This old building straddles the tracks and has a small, badly neglected spur that might see an empty box car once a week.
Major Warehouse Customers: Several large warehouse operations also moved a lot of freight. The largest private customer was Sears and Roebuck (UP customer), who ran its regional distribution north of the Depot. A few blocks away, the New Overland Terminal Warehouse, also a UP customer, turned over up to 20 cars of LCL freight a day in the 50s. Across the street, just north on the Overland Terminal branch was the Pacific Warehouse, also a major warehouse customer (SP customer). The north end of this branch just west of the Depot handled the Holly Sugar Refinery (SP customer).
Sellios Heights: Just outside the Patch is Sellios Heights. As the center of town, Sellios Heights was home to light furniture manufacturers, appliance retailers and breweries. Its major customers, two local breweries, received supplies daily and shipped out a reefer a day of bottled beer and kegs. Old Hickory Furniture factory swapped a box car of supplies with a carload of new furniture daily. Nearby, the Hazen Boyd Company made tools for industrial applications. This run-down building would disappear by 1970, but it turned over 4 or 5 cars every week. Finally, Sellios Street contained two small operations who turned a car each every week.
Olinda: A busy oil field becoming a subdivision of modern ranch style homes in the middle 50s, this hillside district was along the mainline through Brea Del Palos Canyon - a narrow canyon line with a 2% grade for 4 miles that connected Monte Vista to Southbay and the Bayshore Yard. Still pumping oil, the district had a depot that handled local LCL freight, mail and express. Nearby, the local oil equipment shop received a shipment of new parts twice a week. A small olive packer was located here, shipping out a car a week in peak season.
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