Another fun hypothetical: Amtrak based layout

[u18b]

Most of you guys are thinking kind of big.  Huge stations.  Which is OK.  This is just dreaming thread for fun.

But how about something else?

Can you see the Amtrak station in this photo?




Amtrak converted a grain silo to a station!   I love it.


I think this train was the Gulf Breeze.  Stopping at the station.

[squirrelhunter]

If I wanted Amtrak era big terminal switching, I'd model New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, say between 1971 and 1979, so you can still have the Southern Crescent and it's green and cream E8's as well.

On a smaller basis, I'd think of places at various points where Amtrak trains have split/joined. From 1979 through 1981, the Inter American from Dallas to San Antonio split off a section to Houston at Temple TX.

[jnevis]

Current or 50-60s LAUPT

Currently AMTRAK, Metrolink, Metrorail LRV, and various bus lines
5 AMTRAK trains daily Coast Starlight, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle, and Surfliner
300 Metrorail departures
All 7 Metrolink lines

50-60s
ATSF, SP, and UP named trains-any questions?

[C855B]

If you want "Amtrak in the land where time stood still"... you could always do Raton Pass. With the exception of CWR, with signal poles full of currently-maintained wires and semaphores the line looks just about the same today as it did in the 1950s. Everything from the Santa Fe Chiefs to P42s and Superliners would be right at home.

[brokemoto]

Must agree that many here have mentioned layouts that require large amounts of space, something that few have. 

One could construct a small to average sized pike based on, say, a section of the old NYNH&H line from from New Haven, Connecticut to Springfield, Massachusetts.  If you had not the room for something really major, such as New Haven, or Springfield, but did have room for and wanted a big city station, you could base the pike on Hartford, Connecticut.  If you have room only for a four-by-eight, you could base the pike on something such as Windsor Locks, which would allow for some local and through freights, as well.

You would run mostly ex NYNH&H RDCs operating between Springfield and New Haven, but there would be the Montrealer, between Washington and Montreal, at night, as well as the two or three daily trains between Springfield and Washington.  I would go for anything from 1971 to the early 1981, or so.  The SPV-2000s (or whatever they were that were supposed to replace the RDCs) appeared about 1981, or so.  As those are not available in N (although I suppose that you could bash them from either a B-mann AMcan or Metroliner), but the RDCs are (C-C even sells them in AmTRAP).

FULL DISCLOSURE:  While an undergraduate in school in Washington, I rode the Montrealer, then called the "party on rails" (as well as another name), frequently from Washington to Montreal and back.  Further, while a graduate student in Amherst, Massachusetts, I rode that line all the time to visit my parents, who still lived in Maryland, at the time.  This explains my bias toward it.

I rode the SPV-2000s when they were new.  Even then, the railroad men called them "[however many it was] million dollar pieces of junk".  While the old Budd RDCs were durable and reliable, it appears that the SPV-2000s spent many an hour in the shop.

Still, something based on the section around Windsor Locks would fit onto a four-by-eight.  You would require decidely more for that to do Springfield or New Haven (more for New Haven than Springfield, as there had been a severe reduction in traffic at Springfield by then).  If you wanted to do Hartford, it would require much more than four-by-eight, but not the whole basement, either.  This line offers modelling opportunities for all pike sizes, hosts many trains and fits the requirement stated by the Original Poster: based on AMTRAK. 

[daniel_leavitt2000]

OK, I gave this some thought and here is what I would do if I had the same amount of space as my current plans:
New London to NYC/Penn Station.

Start with New London: large bridges, old town charm, ocean views.

End in NYC: Hellgate bridge, a Plexiglas tunnel under the city showing underground track work sort of like an ant colony. The city (strangely train free) would be modeled as it would appear on top of the underground lines.

I have been toying with the idea of adding this sort of subway line to my Boston Line - the Orange Line runs parallel to the commuter tracks through Back Bay.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I like the ant farm idea.

[nkalanaga]

The main reason I mentioned King Street Station was that, for a specifically Amtrak layout, I was thinking along the lines of some of the British layouts.  They model one station, with staging or fiddle yards at both ends, and trains simply come and go through the scene.  Modelling a large station would take room, yes, but it would be the entire visible layout, rather than also needing a lot of adjacent space for the "next town" to be modeled.

A fair sized station could be modeled in a spare bedroom, with the station on one wall, and staging on the two adjacent walls, leaving the wall with the door free.  For a little more room, the station could take most of two walls, and the door would still fit between the ends of the staging yards.  In either case, most of the room would be available for other uses.  Built high enough, one could even sleep in the bedroom.  I did in my first two layout rooms.  Just make sure that you either don't raise your arms too high when in bed, or the layout is built tough enough to take the knocks...

[eja]

A fair sized station could be modeled in a spare bedroom, with the station on one wall, and staging on the two adjacent walls, leaving the wall with the door free.  For a little more room, the station could take most of two walls, and the door would still fit between the ends of the staging yards. 

If only ....... spare bedroom .... one wall ...

sigh !

[nkalanaga]

Yes, if you don't have a spare bedroom, even that's a "too large" layout.  Been there, done that too!

[Denver Road Doug]

like that insanity in Dallas.

Unfortunately, Dallas is known for causing people to lose their minds.   

[wm3798]

I enjoyed my trip to Charlotte a couple of years ago.  Rode behind Amtrak equipment for the trip down, and on the NC state equipment for the return trip to Raleigh.

A couple of vignettes of Raleigh and Charlotte, and the big junction at Greensboro(?) where the line splits and the Crescent heads south.





Charlotte station on the old Southern Ry line.



Raleigh skyline.  My brother has a condo in the pointy building in the middle now.

Lee

[Freight Train]

I think I would center on the Amtrak Surfliner run from Los Angeles Union Station to San Diego. Could include Redondo junction were Amtrak has their shops and coach yard. Also seen from the tracks is Amtrak's turntable were ATSF 3751 is stored between railfanning runs. The tracks from LA would be doubled till approaching Fullerton where the 3 line picks up. All 3 tracks continue east a short distance where the 3rd track turns and goes south to San Diego while the other 2 tracks continue east. Majority of this trackage belongs to BNSF where trackage rights are given to both Amtrak and Metrolink. At Fullerton station you could possible see up to 300 to 500 trains daily of both freight and passenger service. Though Metrolink doesn't go all the way to San Diego it stops at one point and the service their is picked up by The Coaster and continues down to San Diego. On the two mains headed eastbound is where the Amtrak Southwest Chief heads out to Chicago. Now on the line head towards San Diego there is a wye when entering the city of Orange. This has been used to turn the Southwest Chief around and send it back to Los Angeles when a fire in the California hills blocks the tracks and the train has to be turned around and prepared to leave at a later date!