NEB&W Guide to Operations - Table Of Contents

Last Update: 2008-11-19

D&H RR Operations

Freight Train Schedule 1946
Carload Traffic originating on line, by commodity, 1929-1948
1938 Commodity Report, part 1
1938 Commodity Report, part 2
This report shows the proportional traffic between originating traffic, terminating traffic, local traffic and through traffic, because it gives these numbers in tons. The second to last column gives the total number of carloads (which is what is most important to modelers), and this figure can be divided by the proportions to get an idea of what went where. I find it most useful to further divide this number by either 365 to get the average daily traffic, or by 52 or even 12, to get a weekly or monthly figure, if the total is small. Thus 100 carloads is a lot, but it is only two cars a week on average.
And less you think the D&H had oil refineries on line, in some cases "originating on line" means it was pumped into a tank car from a barge or maybe even another none-railroad supply.
D&H's main traffic in the 1950's, as coal was being replaced with fuel oil for home heating, was the ore and paper traffic.
Paper traffic for 1948 (and defense plants)
D&H Coal Shipments To Canada
From the D&H's 1951 Traffic Report. (First column is inbound carloads, the second, outbound, the third, totals for the year.)
- Troy/Watervliet/Green Island 1951 Traffic Report
- Cohoes 1951 Traffic Report
- Saratoga Traffic Report
- Port Henry Traffic Report
- North Creek Traffic Report
- Complete Report
Passenger Train Makeup, 1938
Milk Train Makeup, 1938
Milk Train Operations
Public Timetable, July 1945, northbound
Public Timetable, July 1945, southbound
Public Timetable, Sept. 1950, northbound
Public Timetable, Sept. 1950, southbound
Frequency of water and coal stops.
The larger D&H Consolidations would roughly be the equivalent of other road's Mikados. And since we don't have any other data, we are using this for the similar passenger engines of 4-6-0's for the 1920's figures and 4-6-2's and I guess 4-8-4's for the '28 figures. (Hmmm, we have the Shakespeare notes where I think he notes water stops - I'm going to have to reexamine these books.)
It does seem that it was a matter of tender size, of 6,000 gallons and 9 tons of coal for the light consols and 9,000 gallons and 14 tons of coal. But the D&H also showed that this was not a direct proportion, as the larger engines could and did pull more.
(And it is interesting to note that the trip from Albany to Rouses Point took 19 hours 42 minutes (not counting any hold-over in Whitehall) and 12 hours and some minutes (I can't read the one digit as to "3" or "5") for a 191 mile trip, maybe an average of 10 to 15 mph (I don't have the calculator here.)
Also see the Rutland's figures on water consumption.

Rutland RR Operations

1938 Commodity Report, part 1
1938 Commodity Report, part 2
This report shows the proportional traffic between originating traffic, terminating traffic, local traffic and through traffic, because it gives these numbers in tons. The second to last column gives the total number of carloads (which is what is most important to modelers), and this figure can be divided by the proportions to get an idea of what went where. I find it most useful to further divide this number by either 365 to get the average daily traffic, or by 52 or even 12, to get a weekly or monthly figure, if the total is small. Thus 100 carloads is a lot, but it is only two cars a week on average.
And less you think the Rutland had oil refineries on line, in some cases "originating on line" means it was pumped into a tank car from a barge or maybe even another none-railroad supply.
Conductor Shakespeare's notebook, sample page, 1944, for The Mount Royal.
Rutland Milk Trains
1937 Employees Time Table No. 97.
- [Northbound Main timetable.]
- [Southbound Main timetable.]
- [Bellows Falls Sub timetable.]
- [Addison Branch timetable. (Notice that train No. 457 is stated as superior to No. 458, but in practice, these are the same train!)]
Water & Coal Stops
In one of Bob Nimke's books on the Rutland, he included as a bonus a large fold-out map of the entire system, dated 1923. Every water tank was indicated, along with the gallonage, and the daily average consumption. Unfortunately, the numbers were handwritten, and I can't make them all out.
There were 32 watering spots on the just over 400 miles system, or on average 12.5 miles apart. However, they weren't spaced evenly.
The following are the scenes we model, with the total capacity and daily use in gallons:
- Rutland, VT 50,000, 160,000
- Gassetts, VT 40,000, 30,000
- Summit, VT 13,500, 1,000
- Proctor, VT 8,000, 3,000
- N. Bennington, VT 50,000, 10,000
- South Hero, VT 50,000, 10,000
- Vergennes, VT 50,000, 27,000
- Burlington, VT 2x50,000, 100,000
The water tower at Gassetts was located next to the depot, but we are only modeling the talc plant from this location, so we aren't modeling a tank in this scene.
The Burlington, VT scene on our layout is just of some of the industries, and not the depot area. The high water consumption could also be due in part that the station was a Union one, with the Central Vermont also using it.
The Summit facility was just a standpipe, with the tank somewhere far enough away to be out of sight. We haven't included the standpipe. Chester, VT got a new small tank when it became the end point of Steamtown runs in the mid-'60's.
Rutland Wayfreights as they might apply to the NEB&W

Troy Union RR Operations

New York Central Operations

A Central milk train, southbound at Rensselaer, NY. Photo c. early 1950's by Gerrit Bruins. Note the two NYC converted troop sleeper baggage cars. The orange-striped car is unknown (Milwaukee?).
- NYC milk train.]