Hashing out a Freelance Road

[Atlanticflier]

That can be an important consideration too. After you come up with a name, try to make sure that the reporting marks you derive from the name aren't already used by someone else in your time frame. I think some people don't ever think about it...

ummm.... sometimes it works the other way around too ......  AFTER, I had created the Alabama Gulf Railway, some smartallec shortline in AL came along and used some of my reporting marks ! 

I'll just outlast them ... ;D

[cv_acr]

atlanticflier:

Better tell them to change it then!! 

[Matthew Roberts]

Thanks for the reporting marks advice, guys.  ;D

Finally came up with a layout plan. (attached)

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[Matthew Roberts]

I'm trying to think of roadnames that sound right.

Gulf, Texas, and Denver (GT&D)
Gulf, Colorado River, and Colorado (GCR&C)
Gulf, Panhandle, and Front Range (GPF&R)
Gulf and Texas Midland (G&TM)
Port Lavaca and Eastern Colorado (PL&EC)
Port Lavaca, Austin, Denver, and Oklahoma City (PLAD&OC)
Indianola Northern (IN)
Lubbock and Gulf (L&G)
Denver and Texas Midland (D&TM)
Austin, Lavaca, and Arkansas River (AL&AR)
Matagorda Northern (MN)
Austin, South Platte, and Central (ASP&C)
Denver & Gulf Midland (D&GM)
Texas-Oklahoma-Colorado (T-O-C)
Texas Gulf Midland (TGM)

[wm3798]

I'd go with Denver and Texas Midland if you do before 1980, and Texas Gulf Midland if after.  (AAR phased out ampersands (&) in reporting marks in the 80's.

Both sound big enough to do the trick.

Lee

[3rdrail]

That can be an important consideration too. After you come up with a name, try to make sure that the reporting marks you derive from the name aren't already used by someone else in your time frame. I think some people don't ever think about it...

ummm.... sometimes it works the other way around too ......  AFTER, I had created the Alabama Gulf Railway, some smartallec shortline in AL came along and used some of my reporting marks ! 

I'll just outlast them ... ;D

You have. The Abbeville-Grimes was folded into The Bay Line when Earl Durden bought both from Stone Container. Of course, BAYL is now a GWI railroad.

[Matthew Roberts]

Lee, that's sort've what I was thinking. Especially the Denver & Texas Midland, just has a ring to it! ;D

Hey, Gregg. That's cool. Are you off-topic?

[cv_acr]

I'd go with Denver and Texas Midland if you do before 1980, and Texas Gulf Midland if after.  (AAR phased out ampersands (&) in reporting marks in the 80's.

Both sound big enough to do the trick.

Lee

That just means the reporting marks can be DTM.

Port Lavaca, Austin, Denver, and Oklahoma City (PLAD&OC)

Well, that's quite a mouthful.

[Iain]

What kind of story have you got for it?

The Boondoggle 'n Offschedule, my father's freelanced road, was built by Henry Dulaney (a real guy that was rather rich, think potash monopoly in the days of whitewash) as a faster way into Baltimore.

I wish the Dulaneys still had their money.

[Matthew Roberts]

Chris, the PLAD&OC would be quite a mouthful, but it's not that appealing.

Iain, haven't thought of that much yet, but it is to set up Port Lavaca (in real life >10,000 people) and/or Indianola (ghost town) up as a real competitor to Galveston (or at least the original intent was that, as it now also serves Corpus and Houston), and whatever original line from Indianola was built north in the late 1860s connected all the way to Austin, linking with the Austin & Northwestern to become it's link south instead of the Houston & Texas Central.

After that, instead of leaving the A&NW ending at Llano (reality), they would've capitalized on the opportunity to head west and access new markets by building to San Angelo, connecting with the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe (ex-KCM&O), and tapping the mohair in the area. They would eventually link up with the Texas & Pacific in Big Spring, head north to Lubbock where they met the P&SF again and the Fort Worth and Denver, paralleling the Santa Fe to Amarillo, where the AT&SF main crosses the Panhandle. (There would also be interchange with the Rock Island and the Fort Worth and Denver in Amarillo) Heading for Pueblo through Boise City, OK, and reaching Denver as its final destination, maybe eventually sharing the Joint Line from Pueblo to Denver.

And that's just for the main line.

[squirrelhunter]

Denver and Gulf Midland works if your line in Texas was purchased by a line building south from Colorado. Say they ran down the Joint Line, got to Lubbock, and realized that every good line from there to the gulf was occupied or already claimed. Adn say the part of the line from Port Lavaca North had already reached just north of Llano.

The D&GM buys it, finishes it to Lubbock, then builds  branches to Oklahoma City and Midland. Later they buy the KCM&O line when it folds.

For a Texas based line, say headquarterd in Austin, maybe you could use the name Texas, Pahnandle and Gulf. Or work Canadian in there for the Canadian River in the Panhandle.

Texas Gulf Midland also sounds like and good modern renaming, perhaps after a major ownership change.

[sirenwerks]

Matthew,

I got dibs on Colorado Midland & Eastern. It's my fall back in case I move back to the Southwest. Planned it to run the Rio Grande's La Veta pass route, east to Witchita.

[Matthew Roberts]

squirrelhunter, it's definitely a Texas-Denver line, not Denver-to-Texas, I don't know if I could stand modeling a line like that, state pride and all.

Bryan, noted. ;D

[Bob Bufkin]

I'm a fan of old TV westerns and I like the show Bonanza and the name of the range The Ponderosa.  Always thought it would be a good name to use in a railroad.
Bob

[Matthew Roberts]

Those would be good names, Bob.

But they sound more like something for a narrow gauge timber line.