Note: this layout is participating in the CIRROPS 2012 Operations Weekend.
THE MILWAUKEE ROAD, SOUTHEAST DIVISION
Why I model the Milwaukee Road in Indiana
Living in Avon Indiana in the 1980’s just a few miles from the Conrail Big Four yards and having just received a HO train set for Christmas, I naturally started out modeling the local rail carrier. My young son, Chris, and I would frequently drive to the Big Four yards and other rail sites in central Indiana to observe and photograph trains. It was during one of those trips to Terra Haute, Indiana that I spotted some beautiful Black and Orange diesels of the Milwaukee Road. I was very surprised to see what I had always considered a western railroad here in Indiana. How did the Milwaukee road’s Black and Orange end up in Terre Haute?
After I looked into the matter, I learned that the Milwaukee Road had acquired the Chicago, Terra Haute and Southeastern (CTH&SE). The CTH&SE was a 373-mile railroad that ran from Chicago Heights, Illinois south to the coalfields around Terra Haute Indiana. In 1973 the Milwaukee acquired trackage rights over the old Monon Railroad route from Bedford, Indiana to Louisville.
When the time came to build my “dream layout”, I decided to create a freelance railroad that was closely based on the Milwaukee Road, Southeast Division. This part of southern Indiana had all the features that I wanted to model. I decided to model southern Indiana with its small towns, large industry, rolling hills, coal mines and limestone quarries. This area of Indiana allowed me to model the Milwaukee Road with its Black and Orange, also include Big Blue (Conrail) and other railroads. The die had been cast; I would model the Milwaukee Road in the late 1970s to the early 1980s in southwest Indiana as a north-south railroad that interchanges with Conrail.
Structures and scenery
My towns and locations are freelanced, but I prototypically portray the Milwaukee Road as a branch of the Southeastern division that operates in Indiana. My industries are based on actual factories, mines, and businesses typical of existing ones in Indiana. I have altered the names and locations, so I could selectivity compress them for the space I had available.
The largest urban setting is Hulman City. Some of my larger industries include Hoosier Metal Fabricators, GM Plastic Plant #10, Indiana Harvester Tractor, and Wabash Valley Power. I have several large grain elevators, including North Van Elevator #2 and Pillsbury. There are two coal tipples, Hawthorn Mine and Munn’s Coal Mine, named after my best friend and fellow model railroader Jim Munns.
My scenery is typical of southern Indiana in mid-summer with its small towns, forest covered hills, limestone rock facings, and farmland. My rock carvings are mostly hand carved using a mixture of plaster of Paris and drywall patching applied over screen wire or Styrofoam. For ground cover and tress I used several different manufactures including Woodland Scenic, Scenic Express, and the original, Mother Nature.
Operations
I operate using a computer program called Ship It! from Albion. Ship It! is a prototypical switch list generator designed for Windows-based computers. I operate three local frights and one piggyback per session, but I can easily add additional trains. Ship It! allows me to balance running trains as a model railroad while staying reasonably close to prototype practice. I feel that I have the best of both worlds when I run the Milwaukee Road, Southeast Division in my basement.
Track Plan
My layout is basically an around the walls with several peninsulas. Each peninsula represents a prototypical setting and I have designed my view blocks to gently transition from one scene to the next. There are two major yards. The Milwaukee Road operates out of Van Yard located in Vandalia. There is also Conrail yard at South Hulman, which acts as an interchange with the Milwaukee. The majority of the main line is single track with several long passing sidings.
Closing Comment
I hope that you enjoy stepping back in time and space to southern Indiana in the late 1970s to run trains on my Milwaukee Road. If you would like to know more about my Milwaukee Road, Southeast Division, see my article in Railroad Model Craftsman (January, 2011).
