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Sierra, El Paso & Northeastern |
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Sierra, El Paso & Northeastern RailroadThe Sierra Central Route
History
The Sierra, El Paso & Northeastern Railroad Represents the Southern Pacific mainline between Vaughn, NM and El Paso, TX and the Santa Fe mainline between Willard, NM and Vaughn, NM.
Route Map of the Sierra Central
Historically, the original railroad was built as the El Paso and Northeastern (EP&NE) Railroad by Charles. B. Eddy, who started constructing the railroad in 1897. Eddy’s objective was to link El Paso to the Rock Island Railroad that was heading toward Tucumcari, NM. Having reached Alamogordo, NM in 1898, Eddy decided to head in two directions simultaneously. The EP&NE would continue building north towards Tucumcari. A second line, named the Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountain (A&SM) Railroad, started construction in an easterly direction toward Cloudcroft. The A&SM supplied lumber to support the construction of the EP&NE. This eastern branchline was completed in 1903. A saw mill and lumber operation was built in Alamogordo: this operation supplied the ties and lumber needed to continue the northern thrust of the EP&NE. Early in the 20th century, the Phelps Dodge Corporation built the El Paso & Southwestern (EP&SW) Railroad across Arizona and New Mexico with an eastern terminus at El Paso. The railroad was built to support the company’s vast mining and shipping operations. Because of a strong interest in Eddy’s coal mining operations at Dawson, NM, the Phelps Dodge Corporation purchased the mines and EP&NE railroad in 1905. Subsequently, in a move to focus on their core business, Phelps Dodge sold their entire railroad operation (EP&NE and EP&SW) to the Southern Pacific in 1924. Additionally, the infamous Sierra Central (SC) Railroad, which ran between Santa Fe and Willard, NM, has a presence on the layout. Due to interchange and trackage rights over the Santa Fe, Sierra Central motive power and rolling stock can show up in Vaughn from time to time. Operating on the Sierra Central The Sierra, El Paso & Northeastern Railroad, which is sometimes referred to as the Sierra Central, links El Paso, TX with Vaughn, NM to provide interchange service with Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railroads. The time period is 1955 when some steam still existed on the SP. The layout represents the actual portion of the Southern Pacific, i.e. the old EP&NE Railroad. The towns and industries are prototypical and modeled with reasonable accuracy. The appearance of Sierra Central equipment coming from Willard on the Santa Fe mainline to Vaughn is a fictitious portion of the layout. Historically, the operation of the Alamogordo & Sacramento Mountain railroad bringing logs to the lumber and saw mill at Alamogordo ceased in 1947. Likewise, Orogrande had a branch line that extended to Jarilla where CF&I produced high level iron ore. Several cars were delivered each day to Orogrande and were routed north for interchange with the ATSF and Rock Island railroads.
Rolling Stock and Motive Power Since it is 1955, a mix of first and second-generation diesels and steam engines can be seen on a given day. Typical of the era, SP Coast Lines, Texas & New Orleans and Cotton Belt motive power frequented El Paso and it was not unusual to see equipment running north to Tucumcari from all three SP railroads. By 1955, the SP had dieselized with F3, F7 and GP9 locomotives. The Santa Fe had aggressively moved from steam to diesel with EMD F3, F7 and GP7/9 locomotives as well as Alco RSD-5 freight engines. Freight rolling stock is almost exclusively 40’ in length or shorter. There are a few exceptions. About half of the freight cars are kit-bashed and a few are scratch-built. A number of home road cars also exist. Passenger cars are a mix of Athearn plastic heavyweights, AHM and Walthers kit-bashes and a Ken Kidder brass kit. The cabooses on the Sierra Central are for the most part, Hallmark brass Katy cabooses of different vintage, each painted in the Sierra Central’s paint scheme. ATSF and SP cabooses also appear during operation. Crew During the rebuilding of the mainline, the Sierra Central is looking to hire on new crewmembers. Critical prerequisites for joining the company are a love of model railroading, a keen sense of humor, the ability to take an occasional ribbing from management (particularly during operating sessions) and a willingness to follow the rule and regulations specified by the operations department. Snappy comebacks to management’s ribbing are only allowed if the comment is very clever. Plans Design Objectives Given the usual space constraints, prototypically model the SP mainline between Vaughn, NM and El Paso, TX with a mid-50’s look and feel. Key points are: Vaughn has an interchange track between the ATSF and SP yards. The ATSF has an earthen fly-over the SP mainline southwest of Vaughn. El Paso is bordered on the west by the Rio Grande River with the SP having two bridges that span the river. The ATSF enters El Paso along the river: its mainline passes under the two SP bridges on the east side of the river. A large smelting operation refinery along the river are served by the ATSF. The SP serves a cotton seed oil plant, reefer re-icing facility and meat packing operation. El Paso Union Station served the ATSF, T&P and SP and was a well-known landmark until the end of passenger service by these railroads. Branch line to the A&SM at Alamogordo. Branch line to Jarilla at Orogrande. Between Vaughn and El Paso, the towns of Ancho, Capitan, Alamogordo and Orogrande exist and are modeled as they were in the mid-50’s. Situation Often mainlines could be washed out by flash floods in the 50’s: I can personally attest to such an experience. The operation will mimic such an occurrence for the ATSF so that its trains are being routed over the SP to reach El Paso. Operation The railroad will be run as an out-and-back operation. Trains will originate at the ATSF and SP yards outside of Vaughn and run to El Paso. There the trains will switch out the ATSF or SP industries and be made up for a return run. A local interchange train between the ATSF and SP will be included. Also, AT&SF and SC trains will arrive from and depart to Willard, NM, which is a hidden two track yard that represents the ATSF mainline proceeding west of Vaughn. A daily log train will arrive from the A&SM in Orogrande to supply to lumber mill. Hoppers have been left on the branch line at Orogrande for interchange service. Towns All towns on the layout are prototypical and representative of the period with some artistic license. Some industries had ceased operation prior to 1955. The following is a list of towns and their industries. Vaughn: bulk oil, stock pens Ancho: brick plant warehouse, stock pens Capitan: Capitan Mining Company (coal) Alamogordo: bulk fuel, coal dealer, general supply, Southwest Lumber Company, re-icing facility, stock pens, Hatch Valley Produce Company Orogrande: stock pens, branch line to CF&I (high grade iron ore) El Paso: chemical plant, cement plant, cotton seed oil plant, meat packing plant, smelting operation and smaller industries served by either the ATSF or SP.
Train Schedule The following table provides the usual sequence of trains. Fast freight and passenger trains are scheduled; local freights and transfers run as extras. Unscheduled train movements are controlled by train order and are assigned the lead engine number.
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