Progress report

Looks good Tom.  Wish I had an excuse to run German equipment.  Some really nice stuff available.

Jim

It looks very good, and the equipment is great, so maybe a small German town by a mountain makes a good excuse to carry tourists in a Germain train to visit it.

Tomas

FWIW, my few cents: 

You wrote 'I've also posted some photos of my locos so you will get an idea why my layout HAS to be freelanced. There is no place or time in this planet with that combination of trains.  The German engines were purchased more than 20 years ago and they still work and look fine, I also have some old German passenger cars, that you can see in the last picture of the gallery.

If anybody has a roster as varied and different as mine and has come up with a suitable scenario for it, please let me know'.

Based on my own experience with my NZN- Freelanced,  Tickford Valley Railway Co(London) Ltd system, I believe you have the potential to create something which would be both believable and unique.

Depending on how far you want to go with the idea, , I believe that it would be possible to create a mythical railway system on an equally mythical island, located somewhere in the far far- away Pacific Ocean (or the Atlantic - your choice) and as far away from anywhere as you can get - anywhere that is not close to any country.

The island would have a fairly extensive railway system - a system which carries all and anything that is needed on the island, from oil, to ore, to ISO containers to . . . and a system which is focused on the capital city - which just happens to be the site of a large port.

The system also has stations located at various places along it and around the island, inclufding at least one other (small) port on the other side of the island

Over the years various nations have had control of the island which is a rich prize for any imperial power, and until 1946 it was under the control of Germany  - the last colony of the old-Kaiser's Empire (as we are modellers, we can ignore inconvenient historical details and decide that WWII never occured).  The railway, being German, was a master of efficiency and worked well.  However, with independence from Germany came a slow decline, and the island fell on hard times.  However, the world bank came to the rescue with a huge loan designed to rejuvenate the nation's economy and especially the railway system

By this time the steam engines were becoming a little tired, so it was decided to purchase diesel-electrics to supplement them.

The former owners (Germany) were still held in high regard, and so purchases of locomotives and rolling stock were made from various manufacturers, and this helped the economy revive.

Indeed such was the size of this revival, that the country's railways needed more motive power and rolling stock - quickly, and in quantity!!

The only source of both quality and volume in a short space of time was the USA, and the island's railway CEO and Chief Mechanical Engineer journeyed to the USA to purchase the best they could with the available funds.

As a result, a wide variety of US motive power arrived, all in their original paint schemes.  The island's RR dept merely painted over the US RR Co's logos and put them into service - the intention being to repaint them 'at some later date' - which has not, to date, ever happened!!

So there you have it - an idea you might care to consider - Freelancing at its best, and taken to a logical conclusion.

What I am suggesting is somwhat akin to the Island of Sodor created by the Rev. Audry for the 'Railway Stories' (Thomas the Tank Engine) series of books, and it is possible that this could be a source of inspiration for you - it at least shows what could be done and how it might develop. 

If you follow this line, you will have a reason to run all your motive power, the excuse to run trains of whatever length you decide is appropriate, and the excuse to create a totally original railway - very much your own and unique in its own right.

Done well, you would have a very unique and unusual railway system, which no-one could ever criticise because it is entirely mythical, yet eminently possible.

As I said, FWIW - make of it what you will.

Hope it helps.

Komata

"TVR - serving the Northern Taranaki . . . "

Keith, are you sure you don't write short stories in your other life?

I think we need a "Short Stories by Komata" or, maybe, "Komata's Short Stories" 

Thank you guys it was very entertaining specially Komata's story. I will probably create a Bavarian village on the upper left corner.

Tomas