Last night, just as we were beginning to operate the mighty Highland Pacific Railroad according to Timetable 10 (thanks to James Keena for his prep work in developing this version of the timetable and for staging all the trains, including extras, that run according to plan), Dave Flynn asked, “Do you know the name of the mining railroad on the layout.”
I thought, “Yes, but … uh, I don’t remember.”
That started a small research project to find the name of the Highland Pacific RR’s mining railroad. It took a couple of hours until I found what I was looking for, the original brochure which contains information about the concept and philosophy behind the Highland Pacific Railroad. That same concept and philosophy guides us still, more than 72 years later since the founding of the Highland Park Society of Model Railroad Engineers, Inc., April 1, 1948.
So here’s the information about our mining railroad (still in formation and waiting for someone to take it and move it towards completion. Any takers?).
“The first station after Bayshore on the mainline is Rockdale Junction. It’s the interchange point and servicing facility for both the branchline and narrow gauge. A large percentage of traffic originates on these two lines, which are really dual-gauge lines part way into the hills. When they split, the narrow gauge, called the Highland Rock & Mineral Railroad (emphasis added), serves various mines through the use of extensive switchbacks. While the branch line serves the large sawmill and logging operations (called the Blue Lake Timber Company, emphasis added) in the vicinity plus many small industries.”
More familiar to members may be the street-running trolley line through Del Mar city which ends at a station a few blocks from the large Union Station. Since the location of Del Mar and the port city of Bayshore are along a peninsula, an interurban line Bayshore Valley Traction Company, “prospers moving commuters and freight. It shares the trolley station in Del Mar and runs from this point to Bayshore where it interchanges freight traffic with the Highland Pacific. Many industries are served by the interurban line including the dock area and Bayshore, an Industrial Park, and industries in the streets of Del Mar.”
So there you have it. The rationale, and names for, three subsidiary railroads of the Highland Pacific Railroad.