SYNOPSIS

The railroad is 13.5 feet by 2.42 feet. Its single track mainline loop is 78.4 feet long, or 2.38 scale miles. When operating, the loop is imagined to be broken at one point, thus, the railroad becomes a point to point railroad, just like the real ones. The distance from end to end is imagined to be 48 miles.

The track is Peco brand track, and all turnouts are Peco large radius, electrofrog turnouts. The track is divided into several electrical blocks, enabling two trains to be operated simultaneously.

The EVRR provides transportation through the Elias Valley, between the town of Elias in the north, and Collins in the south. A weekly schedule is used, with waybills and situation cards. Every car on every train has a reason for being there. The schedule includes imaginary times, but a clock is not normally used. The order in which events take place is usually the only consideration. Several trains run within the Elias Valley. Others trains head southbound, out of the Elias Valley to the city of Rostron, or beyond. What this really means, is that they complete at least one and one-half full loops, and are taken off the track to be used in later trains arriving from Rostron to the Elias Valley. A few trains also head northbound out of the Elias Valley through Rigby Junction and beyond. Rostron and Rigby Junction are fictitious and do not physically exist on the railroad.

The operating system is my own design. Many ideas come from the following four books on model railroading:

How to Operate Your Model Railroad (1977) - Bruce A. Chubb
How to Run a Model Railroad (1944) - Boomer Pete
The Complete Handbook of Model Railroad Operations (1979) - Paul Mallery
The Model Railroading Handbook, Volume 1 (1975) - Robert Schleicher

Xuan Minh is a small agricultural town 12 miles south of Elias. It is inhabited mostly by Vietnamese emigrants, and is the home of the Giai Phong Festival.

Konstantin is a small industrial town 36 miles south of Elias, inhabited mostly by emigrants from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Collins is a small agricultural town 48 miles south of Elias and is at the extreme southern end of the EVRR.

Rostron is a large city, and terminal to the Santa Fe, Union Pacific, and Southern Pacific Railroads. It is 160 miles south of Elias. Several EVRR trains travel to and from Rostron along Santa Fe tracks. Rostron is the Chatsworth County seat.

The Elias Valley is situated between two mountain ranges, the Kissinger Mountains and the Ladmo Mountains. The Brown River flows south through the Elias Valley. There are several outdoor recreation areas along the Brown River and in the mountains. It is common for residents of the Rostron metropoliton area to ride EVRR corridor trains to the Elias Valley for recreational purposes.

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ETYMOLOGY

Every name associated with the Elias Valley Railroad is based upon something in my life or in my memories

Walter Elias Disney- A creative genius who never sacrificed quality. Second best was never good enough.

From my memories and readings of Vietnam.

From my readings and studying of the Russian language.

Michael Collins- Gemini 10 and Apollo 11 astronaut who did not walk on the moon. One of the only people NASA has sent into space who have been able to describe the feelings and emotions of space flight.

Arthur Rostron- Captain of the Carpathia, the ship that rescued the survivors of the Titanic disaster.

Note: This city was named long before the popular 1997 movie Titanic turned public opinion of the disaster into a fad.

The Rigby Railroad- My first N-scale railroad, circa 1975-1983.

Roy Oliver Disney- The man who turned Walt’s dreams into reality, and was always faithful to his overbearing brother.

The Joad family in John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, a tribute to hard working people, and the differences between the “Haves” and the “Have-Nots”.

Chatsworth, California- My home town, from as far back as I can remember up to the age of eleven. Chatsworth county is not physically on the Elias Valley Railroad since it is south of Collins, symbolizing that my home town no longer physically exists the way I remember it.

Henry Kissinger- A diplomatic genius and expert arbitrator who saved countless thousands of lives by limiting or averting war between various countries.

Ladimir “Ladmo” Kwiatkowski- The Wallace and Ladmo Show, a television show in Phoenix, Arizona that gave laughter to children for 35 years. It provides memories of Phoenix in the days when it was a small, simple town.

My friends Alexander “Sasha” and Sergei “Serge”, and their families in Kherson, Ukraine.

Bill “Wallace” Thompson- The Wallace and Ladmo Show.

My friend James “Jim” Brown, a trumpet player and model railroader who was not given the chance to grow old. Jim was my main operating partner on the Rigby Railroad and should be operating the Elias Valley Railroad with me today.

Shea Middle School Shawnees, class of 1973.

Paradise Valley High School Trojans, class of 1977

Scottsdale Community College Artichokes, class of 1980, Associate of Arts.

Grand Canyon University Antelopes, class of 1994, Bachelor of Science, Music Education.

Paradise Valley Community College Pumas, home of the Puma Jazz Band.

An American president, whose administration inflicted such control over its people, that the Libertarian political party was started in order to combat excessive Republican and Democratic control. At the same time, his administration ended one of the most severe forms of government tyranny, the military draft.

Bernard P. “Barney” Fife, a character from The Andy Griffith Show, one of the few television shows to portray human beings as people.

Jack Arnold, the father in the television show The Wonder Years works at Norcom. When his daughter Karen protests against Norcom’s production of war materials such as bombsights, his wife interrupts and claims that they produce other items such as toasters.

Jean Val Jean, in Les Miserables was held in Toulon Prison.

Andy Taylor, the main character in The Andy Griffith Show.

Paradise Valley High School colors, class of 1977.

An arrow pointing to the right and upward, going through the letters “EV”. the arrow symbolizes movement (or transportation) through the Elias Valley. The upward direction symbolizes how the railroad is always reaching higher, to provide a higher quality service to its customers.

REGULARLY SCHEDULED TRAINS

						
Passenger
						
						
14	Intercity Limited "Richard Nixon"		Through	Northbound	M, W, F
15							Through	Southbound	Su, T, H
						
22	Corridor Local "Antelope" (from Rostron)	Arrive	Northbound	Daily
23							Depart	Southbound	Daily
						
24	Corridor Local "Artichoke" (from Rostron)	Arrive	Northbound	Sa, Su
25							Depart	Southbound	Sa, Su
						
28	Corridor Express "Puma" (from Rostron)		Arrive	Northbound	F,Sa, Su
29							Depart	Southbound	F, Sa, Su
						
Intercity Freight
						
						
302	Through Freight "Trojan"			Arrive	Northbound	Daily
301							Depart	Southbound	Daily
						
319	Through Freight "Shawnee"			Arrive	Southbound	T
318							Depart	Northbound	W
						
426	Unit - Basalt					Arrive	Northbound	M, H
427							Depart	Southbound	T, F
						
532	Less Than Carload (LCL)				Arrive	Northbound	W, F
533							Depart	Southbound	M, H
						
Elias Valley Freight
						
						
513	Way Freight		(Elias to Collins)		Southbound	Daily
514				(Collins to Elias)		Northbound	Daily
						
541	Way Freight		(Elias to Xuan Minh)		Southbound	H
542				(Xuan Minh to Elias)		Northbound	H
						
443	Unit - Basalt		(Elias to Collins)		Southbound	M, W, F
444				(Collins to Elias)		Northbound	M, W, F