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Colonial and Latin American Narrow Gauge Railway
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Operations on the Corinella and Blackwood Forest TramwayPlacing the era in the mid 1920's helps. This was the Indian summer of narrow gauge railways worldwide. Line after line reached its peak traffic levels in this period. The depression and increased competition from motor vehicles soon knocked most narrow gauge railways around in a way they never recovered from. So what was traffic like on prototype railways at this time? The Victorian Railways Beech Forest line was very busy in the 1920's. Prior to the introduction of the Garratt locos in 1926, up to 7 trains a day ran in each direction on this line. The Garratt paid for itself by cutting traffic miles. Mid 1920's timetables had 2 mixed trains each direction daily, as well a goods train. The goods train was booked to go halfway to Beech Forest, but most days traffic demanded it run the full distance. The branch line to Crowes saw a mixed daily. The mid 1920's timetable is what I'm basing the C&BFT timetable on. However a couple of tricks increase the traffic level without altering the basic pattern. The first is to run separate passenger and goods trains. A mixed train is a waste of one good train, at least from a model railway operating point of view. So now we have two passenger trains each way, and three goods trains. Yet the level of service is no greater than the three train example on the Beech Forest line. The second is to take the traffic off the Wonthaggi branch and terminate it at Kongwak. Once again the single mixed is separated into a passenger and a goods train, so we have two trains each way. By terminating these trains at Kongwak, they have to run over the main line between Kongwak and the junction, the portion of line I'm modelling. This gives three passenger trains and four goods trains each way. The rational behind the C&BFT's current prosperity, though, is that it is a coal hauler. So we have to add a couple of coal drags to the traffic mix. The result is a timetable with a total of 18 trains, giving plenty of operating potential. Operating interest is increased by giving each of the four goods trains a slightly different role. Victorian Railways described their pick-up goods as "roadsides". They also used the term "fast goods" for trains scheduled to carry mails, perishables, etc. My goods train schedule looks something like this: 1. Roadsides goods, Kongwak - Junction - Wonthaggi, mostly moving timber and crushed limestone to the mines at Wonthaggi, and returning with coal for online industries, and sugar beets. 2. Goods, Kongwak - Junction - Glen Forbes, moving goods to and from the junction with the broad gauge at Glen Forbes. To shunt only at staff stations. 3. Fast Goods, Kongwak - Junction - Glen Forbes, with a morning train to Kongwak carrying mostly mails, newspapers, and parcels, and an evening return concentrating on perishables and livestock. 4. Roadsides goods, Kongwak - Junction - Glen Forbes - Corinella, bringing up sugar beet from the Bass Valley, but otherwise cleaning up traffic the other trains can't handle. On many model railways, the pickup goods is the prime role, involving as it does a lot of shunting and other activity. I'm planning that each of these trains will be involved with plenty of work, creating lots of interest for operators. The Mt Misery branch will be served by a mixed train, as well as the coal drags. OK so I loose one good train, but the branch can have a more relaxed operation. Besides mixed trains have a certain aesthetic, so it would be nice to have at least one. There could also be a workmans train on the Mt Misery branch, bringing miners up from the valley below. Of course there will be days when I won't have a crowd of model railroaders around to operate the timetable. I'll pretend it is Sunday and run a mixed over the line, just shunting where it feels right. I plan a card forwarding system for goods traffic, so there is no problem moving goods wagons, so long as their cards come along too. Should be lots of fun. For a change in pace, visit our host:
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