My modular club has decided to build some new modules and repair some of our originals, which are now about 20 years old. One of the major ones we are looking at is a corner with a small-town downtown scene and a streetcar that goes back and forth on a segment of track. It is popular with the kids and families that come to the shows we set up at, so we want to keep a trolley on the replacement module. I want it to connect to 3 or 4 other straight modules so we can have a larger scene instead of random modules. Our modules are NMRA-ish, with a double track mainline on the front edge. We have other modules with industries, passing sidings, etc, so the modules can have more track than just the mainline. Most of our guys have modern stock, so I would like the scenery to be late 90s-early 2000s. My main idea is the Chicago South Shore Line. It has street running in Michigan City, Indiana to satisfy the “trolley” part and also has a freight counterpart to interact with the regular heavy rail mainline. Do any of you guys have any other light rail lines that operate in close proximity with regular railroads that would make sense for these modules?
Well, "in close proximity" allows for a great many light rail systems. Light rail freight haulers that still do passengers are a different matter. Before World War II there were many. Today, I can only think of the one you mentioned.
We can thank the Interstate Highway System for that one. I have been on Wikipedia looking at current light rail systems, but most of them are within the downtown. I might have to loosen my terms for more options. My main concern is it looking tacky or out of place next to conventional railroad scenes. It doesn’t have to be a freight interurban, in fact, it probably won’t be, I just need a back-and-forth train that fits in an industrial scene. I like the South Shore and some of the other guys in the group like it too. It checks off a lot of my boxes, but I just want more options in case it gets vetoed. I think I am being overly specific, but I like to do my research and stay relatively true to the prototype.
I model the Transition Era version of what you want, passenger services were sold of/terminated by 1953 and completely gone in 1963 (1961 if you do not include the former LARY). The old Pacific Electric was completely diesel powered freight by 1960 and merged into the Southern Pacific in 1965....that was the biggest route like what you described, and the North Shore is the last one that I can think of in North America.
From what I have seen, the LA Metro has some of the old Pacific Electric trackage, but I haven’t really google earthed it to look for any good modeling locations. Do you know what districts were street running? I’m assuming downtown at least. If these modules went to the mid 20th century, I would choose the Chicago Aurora and Elgin. They have some nice looking cars.
San Francisco and New Orleans run vintage trolley cars. Portland, OR has handsome articulated trams in the European style. If the South Shore cars get vetoed, one of those looks might sell. They'll probably want to see what reliable trolley/trams are available, affordable and reliable.
The LA Metro is nowhere near a main. The Long Beach line does parallel a lightly used former Southern Pacific branch as it runs near Santa Fe Blvd in Long Beach...but I don't think that I have ever seen a train on it...
In my community (Mountain View, CA) the station serves both the Caltrain commuter rail service and is the northern end of the line for the Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority light rail line. In the evening there is at least one UP freight train in each direction on the Caltrain tracks.
(Shameless plug alert!!) Well... if you get three South Shore 800s running I think that will make you and the other South Shore guys veto proof! If however you get veto'd I have a San Diego option for light rail that has proximities to Santa Fe / BNSF. Downside to those LRVs is that I haven't successfully motorized one yet but I have a mechanism I'm playing with that might be a winner. Personally I'm rooting for South Shore for ya! Mike
I was actually looking at the Island Model Works Single Level Car. The Fox River Trolley Museum has two units that I like too if we decide to go to an older era, so I could build them as well.
The L.A. Metro Blue Line crosses over the Alameda Corridor main (a very important intermodal route to/from the Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor area, which carries UP and BNSF container traffic) in the Compton/Carson area.
New Jersey Transit runs diesel MU units on its River Line between Trenton and Camden, and time-shares this trackage with CSX: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Line_(NJ_Transit) It includes a connection with Amtrak and NJ commuter trains in Trenton, and connects with PATCO and the NJ Transit Atlantic City lines at its south end. It also has some street running trackage in Camden. Since it is diesel MU, there is no catenary, which makes it easier to model faithfully. SEPTA runs a heavy rail commuter line from West Trenton NJ into Phili, which has a shared right of way with CSX but separate tracks. Since it is heavy rail, it is not Interurban or streetcar, but it does use overhead catenary, which to some might make it seem to resemble streetcars. SEPTA also operates a lot of streetcars within Phili which do a lot of street running, but I am not aware that any of these streetcar lines run next to heavy rail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEPTA_subway–surface_trolley_lines
