Victorian Railways T class were  a disparately built class of locos over a 14 year period where they were similar mechanically but 3 totally different body styles with a high nose. A high cab and a stub nose cab, Furthermore when one had to be rebuilt from what was known as  a 2nd series after an accident, it was rebuilt to  outwardly resemble a 3rd series loco with the stub nose.

ELECTRIC LOCOS LEADING TRAINS WITHOUT CATENARY
Many of us have models of Electric locos and no catenary.  Penn Central had to deviate a few trains around a derailment site using the Baltimore and Ohio. The E44 electrics had to lead because of cab signals which would only work for the Penn Central yards and mileage but as they could MU with Diesels, the crews drove the diesels from the Electrics cab.  This was for an emergency obviously and the venerable GG1’s were sidelined in that area… and yes there were a few photos!

When I was the stores clerk in Cambridge S&T stores we had our own siding which was a back shunt off the oil siding at Coldhams Lane Diesel Depot. When our stores wagons (normally a pair of Vanfits) were being delivered and nothing was to go out the DSL (Diesel Shunting Loco) normally an 08 would fly shunt our wagons - the first we knew of their arrival was a toot toot from the DSL as it trundled back to Cambridge Yard and the wagons rolled past the window, we had to leap out to put the brakes on - if we missed they ended up in a former private siding belonging to Ridgeons the builders. 

The old BC&DR GWR/WR branch lines had some interesting movements. Shunting the goods shed and the coal wagon siding (as well as the cattle dock) at Hook Norton involved using the first viaduct located at the goods end of the station as a head shunt, repeatedly running on and off, with the guards van usually left in the middle of the viaduct. Running around passenger carriages at Chipping Norton to go back to Kingman in the late 1950's and early 1960's required the locomotive to use the tunnel immediately after the passing loop points as the head shunt. All of the stations on the two  lines of the branch line (Banbury to Kingham and Kingham to Cheltenham) originally had station passing loops. The collapse of a cutting at Hook Norton meant passenger service from Kingham ended at Chipping Norton. No turntable at either Chipping North or Kingham at this time so the out or return was usually  cold and drafty.

British Rail had an Electro Diesel (Class 73?) which had an Auxiliary diesel motor of relatively low power for use in non electrified areas.  I believe there are a couple of Italian examples of this type of loco with Pantographs. New Haven (The NYNH&H RR) which merged into Penn Central had a fleet of 60 FL9 locos but these locos were powered by outside third rail. A number of these survived into the 2000’s.

TOY TRAIN TUNNELS - ON THE PROTOTYPE
There are some real examples of tunnels that look just like train set ones
While it looks toyish, I believe the following one is for protection against snow slides/avalanches etc


http://photorator.com/photos/images/a-cave-in-has-been-cleared-leaving-the-stand-alone-portal-and-a-gap-to-the-rest-of-the-rail-road-tu--20320.jpg
The following “toy train tunnel” is in Costa Rica which the photographer thinks may have been bounded by a river


http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k490/jimmol/IMG_zpsgmqi7zhd.png

HOLDING LOOPS FOR TRAINS STACKING
 The NYC subway has a multi track loop at the foot of Manhattan where they turn the trains to run north again.  It is within a few feet of the upper bay.  There are also holding tracks alongside the loops.

CURVED PLATE GIRDER BRIDGES
The Western Maryland Scenic RR in Cumberland MD has a curved plate girder bridge is over the Potomac south of the depot.  You can see the cross girders running between the main girders:

Google Maps or more simply

TOY TRAIN BRIDGES
The Brusio spiral viaduct near Brusio, Switzerland. Sure looks like a model railroad scene.

(Click to enlarge)

Low frequency services

Sad, but true that the least used railway station in the UK still having a daily stopping passenger service, saw just 40 passengers last year. That is the case for the once busy station of Redcar British Steel. The station was opened in June 1978 to serve the mighty steel plant, now closed, yet the trains continue to stop daily, excepting Sundays.

Comparing these 40 passengers who have no ticket machine, waiting room or toilets, with the annual 94.4 million for the country's busiest station who have a veritable choice of facilities, provides a grand choice for the railway modeller to portray prototype workings in miniature.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7wF2FrRkJ4

The possible light at the end of the tunnel though is that the SouthTees Development Company plans to redevelop the steel works site and improve station facilities to cater for the avalanche of passengers.

Bill

PS. Waterloo is the busiest for the 15th year running

 

BUILDINGS THAT LEAN
Although the most famous is the Leaning Tower of Pisa, there are many examples of leaning buildings in Italy that my wife and I saw on our first trip there as well as a few leaners in Amsterdam on our second trip to Europe. In Melbourne there is a high rise apartment block that definitely looks offset from about halfway up the building.

A DIESEL CONTROL STAND FOR A STEAM LOCO?
The privately run West Coast Railway in Victoria, which operated between 1997 and 2004 in Australia rebuilt one of the 1951 built R class to run regular steam excursions and in the process of rebuilding it, fitted a diesel control stand for running supporting locos behind the steam engine.  Clinchfield Railroad also did the same with their No 1, small 4-6-0 used in excursion service till the mid 1970’s

A DIESEL LOCO MOVING WITHOUT THE DIESEL ACTUALLY OPERATING
When I was working at Mile End Diesel Depot in Adelaide, a colleague was servicing a diesel electric loco when a combination of circumstances occurred that the loco started moving under its own battery power when he threw the battery switch on to check a suspect relay. He was quite shaken by the event as there was only just  enough air in the reservoir to apply the brakes and bring it to a stop as the brake isolating valve had not been closed.  The loco moved about 40-50 metres or so in the process.
But there is a prototype for our model locos which are operated purely by electricity with no diesel motor!

NON WORKING SIGNALS ON A LAYOUT
In the early 1970’s, both the South Australian and Victorian Railways installed CTC (in the Victorian case very gradually) on their Murray Bridge and Western Line respectively.  While the conversion was taking place, colour light signals were put in place but were hooded for the most part but often the hoods were not there and signals appeared to be off and trains worked with train orders and staff working. So if your railway has colour light signals similarly in place but not connected ( as mine were for a longer time than I care to admit)… you have an excuse.

COUPLER CONVERTOR CARS
When some New York and Long Island EMU’s were built in St Louis Missouri, they had to be transported from there to theIr destination to begin their working lives. Hence Penn Central, made a gondola which had a convertor coupler at one end to enable these cars to be taken by train halfway across the country.
A semicircular anticlimber was actually fitted above this coupler to match the coupling face of the Long Island Cars in particular.

SHARP TRACKAGE IN A CIRCULAR SHAPE
In the Bronx in New York a round Freight House was built that was worked from a circular track on the outside. The tracks around the freight house scale to 15” radius track !11

STEAM OPERATED RAILWAYS IN RECENT TIMES
The Crab Apple and Orchard Egyptian Railway in Illinois was steam operated as a common carrier right up until the mid 1980’s. Duluth and North Eastern was operated into the early 1960s with 5 venerable steamers while the Buffalo Creek and Gauley railroad in West Virginia was also operated by steam into the mid 1960’s.
I am of the belief that an Eastern European city has had a steam operated commuter service as recently as 2010. Also the Harz system in Eastern Germany is operated by. steam locomotives
So a late model car and Steam Engines can be photographed together and there is a prototype for it!

[user=374]xdford[/user] wrote:

SHARP TRACKAGE IN A CIRCULAR SHAPE
In the Bronx in New York a round Freight House was built that was worked from a circular track on the outside. The tracks around the freight house scale to 15” radius track !11

This was a terminus, all freight cars and presumably locomotives, entered and left via a transfer bridge from railroad river barges (top right). There were a total of 7 curved 3-way points/turnouts, 6 symmetrical, 1 asymmetrical, 3 are visible to the left off the entrance. All other regular points were curved, as was the scissor/diamond crossing at the back of the building. all were operated by hand-throw levers. All this track work served 17 sidings/transfer tracks, in addition to the double track around the building and the 2 tracks from the bridge. The slip for entering and leaving the inner circle is to the left of the entrance.The depot had 29 sides, all different, and was a not quite symmetrical oval. Most of the freight cars are reefers (refrigerated cars), the ice hatches are visible on the roof. Food or beer in, anything out. The 2 gantry cranes would be for flat car loads.

Edit. Engine house over the Harlem river on piles. Accessed by a piece of portable track. Steam 0-4-0 until 1928, small box can diesel afterwards.  Locomotives appears to come over with the freight cars from the late 1940's on. 

Duplicating the Bronx freight terminal

Duplicating the CNJ Bronx Terminal in HO scale

Duplicating the CNJ Bronx Terminal in HO scale

View

Even Tim admits it is a challenge. Lots of attempts to model this. There are some nice paintings of the terminus in action. Just Google!
Nigel