My HO Switching Layout - Galatia, KS
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 1:06 pm
Galatia, KS is my (not so small at 13') shunting plank representing a rural Kansas shortline in the near present
Galatia itself is actually a real location in Kansas. From 1919 it was also the terminus of the Little River Sub-division of the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF) railway and remained as a quiet backwater of the railroad’s empire until it was spun off in a group of local lines on 31/12/1992 to short line operator Central Kansas Railway. Unfortunately the new owner almost immediately filed for abandonment on the grounds of a lack of traffic and est. $4m to maintain the track bed and by the time the Central Kansas was bought out by the Kansas & Oklahoma in 2001 the line to Galatia had been lifted
In my modelling reality the line has been sold on again to the Meridian, Pacific & Eastern, who have managed to generate sufficient traffic to keep operating. Income comes from outbound seasonal grain movements and inbound agricultural supplies supplemented with ad-hoc traffic of cement, plastic pellets & food distribution. The railroad interchanges traffic with both the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), via the regional short line Kansas & Oklahoma and Union Pacific. Where margins are tight motive power is the “pre-owned” variety in the shape of a pair of GE 70 ton switchers and a CF7 supplemented with the occasional leased locos to cover. The town's elevator is switched by either an elderly GE 45 tonner or it's intended replacement Trackmobile
70Tonner @ Feed dealer by warbonnetuk, on Flickr
Overview from elevator by warbonnetuk, on Flickr
A well earned rest by warbonnetuk, on Flickr
Galatia itself is actually a real location in Kansas. From 1919 it was also the terminus of the Little River Sub-division of the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF) railway and remained as a quiet backwater of the railroad’s empire until it was spun off in a group of local lines on 31/12/1992 to short line operator Central Kansas Railway. Unfortunately the new owner almost immediately filed for abandonment on the grounds of a lack of traffic and est. $4m to maintain the track bed and by the time the Central Kansas was bought out by the Kansas & Oklahoma in 2001 the line to Galatia had been lifted
In my modelling reality the line has been sold on again to the Meridian, Pacific & Eastern, who have managed to generate sufficient traffic to keep operating. Income comes from outbound seasonal grain movements and inbound agricultural supplies supplemented with ad-hoc traffic of cement, plastic pellets & food distribution. The railroad interchanges traffic with both the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), via the regional short line Kansas & Oklahoma and Union Pacific. Where margins are tight motive power is the “pre-owned” variety in the shape of a pair of GE 70 ton switchers and a CF7 supplemented with the occasional leased locos to cover. The town's elevator is switched by either an elderly GE 45 tonner or it's intended replacement Trackmobile
70Tonner @ Feed dealer by warbonnetuk, on Flickr
Overview from elevator by warbonnetuk, on Flickr
A well earned rest by warbonnetuk, on Flickr