B&O NY-NJ
The Staten Island Rail Road got it’s start in 1851 with financing from Cornelius Vanderbilt who at that time operated ferries in New York Harbor. In 1880 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) entered the picture by building a large rail terminal on the island centralized near the ferry landings.
When I was a child I attended a school which was located adjacent to New York Harbor across the street from the B&O yard. Just across from the yard was the Bayonne Navy Yard.
This is the railroad I had always wanted to model. I was able find the actual track plan of the B&O yard during it’s “heyday” along with a few pictures. I pieced that info together with some of the existing operations and built this mixed-time frame model. Most of the structures on the layout still exist. Some are long gone, but were recreated via photos.
The B & O Rail Road shared track rights with the Staten Island Rail Road (later SIRTOA and currently the Staten Island Railway) B&O ran freight lines and SIRR ran passenger service via a North Shore line and a South Shore line (they were actually “point to point” lines but I’ve simulated them with a loop). The B&O freight serviced various industries on Staten Island and via a vertical-lift bridge New Jersey and beyond (the double main line in NJ is a loop which simulates track used by NJ commuter service as well as access to Pennsylvania and all points west of there). Unfortunately, the last train crossed that bridge in 1990.
I had a bit of trouble with scale on this layout. Some things are too big and some too small. Also. It’s a hilly area. Building roads at complex angles was extremely difficult. I didn’t want to have a large list of liveries, so the layout is mostly unpopulated. The stock that is in place is mostly generic with the exception of the SIRT R44 commuter train which is listed as required. I’d say grab any the B&O liveries that have been created for usage on the layout. Enjoy!
*** Warning *** This layout is a large file that takes about 3 ½ minutes to load. It then needs about 30 seconds to settle down before you can move around and operate the RR. I hope your computer can handle it.
I’d like to thank all of the mod makers that contributed to this layout:
SMRY, walter Heisenberg, Seraph, microcosmologist, Mr Pink, Frysco,
Stationmaster, Ballistic Studios, mwdodgerblue, Ze Trackmeister, THE PAIN TRAIN!!, long,
Den, Franks, Kanan Matsuura but a Railroader, deathtokick, Anyone999991, Dark Derby, Space
I apologize if I’ve left anyone out.
