For those that have paid attention to Andy Clarke’s railroad and interest, the Evansville Western Railroad is a major subject. Last Friday, 15 May, 2015, the Friday Train Guys, at least some of them, did a road trip along the EWRR from Nashvillle, Illinois to Mt. Vernon, In. and the area around there. Interesting traffic and coal mines, engine rebuilding facilities, coal traffic switching at Mt. Vernon, Indiana. What makes Mt. Vernon interesting is the ballet that is performed daily of the movement of rolling stock in this major industrial area. A look on Google Earth will give you a good analysis of the commercial area involved in this switching puzzle. The traffic of the EWRR is centered in this old junction and terminal of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois (C&EI) and the Louisville and Nashville (L&N). Tighten in on the picture and you can see the remains of an old wye right along the Ohio River. This is the headquarters of the EWRR, engine house, dispatcher and track maintenance area for the railroad. Andy can verify, but I don’t think the EWRR owns any rolling stock. It may have a transfer caboose for backing moves
To the north is the beginning of the old mainline of the C&EI. This is now a 4 track storage yard and ends just north of town. It is divided to have only 2 tracks on the outside to run the full length and there is a crossing road in the middle that causes the 4 tracks to be divided into two groups and allows a run around track for all4 tracks in two places. Gives lots of possibilities when retrieving tracks for the facing and trailing point turn outs in the town’s industrial spurs.
To the east and upriver on the Ohio is the “Port of Indiana” and another new loading facility that provides a lot of destination traffic coming from the grain and coal of the area to the markets the river, elevators, power plants and ethanol plants located within a few miles.
Out of town to the north is the mainline of the EWRR going from Okawville, Illinois to the Howell Yards in Evansville, Indiana.
Right down river from the wye and headquarters of the EVRR is a track that once was mainline, but now serves the tank farms and then a chemical plant compound and transfer to barge loading facility, along the river. There is a 2 track yard that looks like a mainline with a passing siding. The passing track has sidings to all kinds of industry, but many times both tracks are full. Friday evening, an answer was revealed to us of how the cars were maneuvered. An aquaintence of our’s, Terry Respondek owns a Switching Service called “Respondek Railroad” and his engine came from the chemical plant to drop off cars and retrieve cars for the Chemical Plant Area.
Lot’s of action and lots of possibilities to model.
Check it out on Google Earth.
The big point is the captured engine in the chemical plant compound, so all moves are trailing point. No “run arounds”.