We Interrupt this P.C.C.M. to Change the World!

Well….at least to change the imaginary world of the Kings Port Division.

While taking photos for what was supposed to be the next sequence in the recent P.C.C.M. #33 series, it occurred to me that I should revisit how I represent where trains are going off layout.

For a while I used the staging tracks behind the commuter station that are shown below to represent Kings Port & Western track to Mayfield Yard.  The tracks each accommodate about nine cars.   When running virtual operations that included moving cars to Mayfield area industries Peerless Appliance, Cavendish Foods, and ACME Auto Parts  I'd send trains into these staging tracks from West Mill.  

These operations were a bit awkward as trains coming from staging had to back into West Mill Yard and a couple of runaround moves were required to get locos and cabooses in position leaving West Mill for the staging tracks.  More on that later.

Then I thought that the route to Mayfield might be best represented as a section of shared track with the Penn Central going through this tunnel and supposedly the KP&W  broke off just beyond the tunnel to Mayfield, “off layout”. 

This seemed fine until the KP&W route to Salamanca with connections to Rochester was recently developed.  I definitely needed that line to be represented by trains leaving West Mill via the tunnel and veering off on KP&W track toward Binghamton, Corning, and Salamanca because longer trains would be involved that the staging tracks by the commuter station couldn't accommodate.

It occurred to me that I didn’t want Mayfield to be just another stop along that line and that I'd rather consider it to be a branch.  The original inspiration for Mayfield was the NH/PC Maybrook Yard that was reached by a branch off the River Line from Kingston NY.   I wanted to go back to that kind of configuration.    As I mentioned above,  the staging tracks I originally used as the route to Mayfield are just long enough to accommodate trains with cars for all three industries.    So, I’ve decided Mayfield is a smaller yard that handles shorter KP&W trains that will be run into staging.

You’ll notice that there is a turnout just in front of the passage into staging so there are two tracks.  It occurred to me that the other staging track could be a sort of homage to the Catskill Mountain Branch which also came off the River Line at Kingston.    In the PC era the line ran to Bloomville, NY and served industries like an Agway feed mill.    I've slightly changed the name to Bloomberg since I'm not attempting to accurately model the area.  I was thinking I could send short grain trains and maybe also create another industry or two that needed boxcars at Bloomberg.

In earlier years the real mountain branch was also a tourist line that took vacationers up to the mountain resorts in the Catskills.  The real Catskill line was famous for a red Doodlebug that transported tourists.   Occasional runs by a vintage Doodlebug might make things fun on the Kings Port Division as well.  I have the Bachmann PRR Doodlebug and just haven’t used it much but could now add it to regular operations. 

Here is a new revised map of the Kings Port Division and connections.  Green is PC, Orange is KP&W, and the blue line from Salamanca to Rochester is B&O.

The actual modeled portion is highlighted in green as part of the Penn Central (inspired by the River Line from Selkirk to Weehawken.) and orange indicating some King Port & Western R.R. running rights.  Everything else is “off layout”.  

A helicopter view of the Mayfield and Mountain Branches veering off by the grain elevator, while the PC line to Weehawken that also leads to the KP&W cut off to Salamanca (supposedly just beyond the tunnel) is seen on the upper left side of the photo. 

So, all of this mental reorganizing the fictional Kings Port Division world has gained me a clearer understanding of how to represent where trains go off layout, and also added a new branch line that can provide more car movement options.  Gotta think of a new industry or two for the Mountain Branch.

Next up:  Finding a way to make the runs from West Mill to the branch lines easier to operate.