The Hoosier Lines On-line^™

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A Brief Introduction

   Where should I begin??? I think I'll start by introducing myself and my railroad. My name is AJ Kleipass, and I live in Brooklyn, NY. I would have to describe myself as an amateur railroad historian, a railfan, and a model railroader - in that order, with the first two serving as the impetuses for the third. (NOTE : One of these days I'll add a full bio.) The model railroad that I'm designing, and the reason for this website, is the Hoosier Lines System.

The Hoosier Lines System, HLS for short, is a "what if" scenario, proto-freelanced model railroad empire. Essentially, proto-freelancing is modeling a fictional railroad that draws some, or all, of the elements of its design, and / or operations, from one or more real railroads. My HLS draws some of its elements from the PRR, NYC, BN, UP, Southern, and B&M among others. You can find out more about proto-freelancing on the Proto-Freelance Modelers SIG's website.

The Design Phase

   Being a card carrying ADAM - Apartment Dwelling, Armchair Modeler - can have both advantages and disadvantages. True, I don't have room for anything larger than a bookshelf switching layout, however, the lack of pressure to fill a basement full of lumber and track, does allow me the time needed to develop a believable freelance railroad. The first step, in designing such a railroad, is to write its backstory. This is especially true when you have a railroad that's the size of the Hoosier Lines System - about 70,000+ route miles as of Jan. 1, 2000.

The webpages in this section will form the HLS's backstory. Over the coming months, and (gulp) years, I'll be detailing the company's routes, subsidiaries, rapid and mass transit operations, rule books, timetables, rosters, and anything I can think of.

"Why bother to do all of this design work? Never in a million years will you find a basement that's big enough for that railroad!", you comment sarcastically.

True, but that's never stopped anyone from modeling, say, the Santa Fe or the Pennsy! The HLS, as laid out in the backstory, will serve as the prototype for the modeled part of the system, which is not unlike how prototype modeling works. The HLS is meant to be my lifelong "prototype" road, no matter how much, or how little, space I have available for a layout.

And now ... on with the show!

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What's Been Changed?

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A quick rundown of the latest changes, additions, and corrections:

• March 25, 2001 -
  • Notebook: Chapter 12 - Bridge & Trestle Blueprints page added.
  • Notebook: Chapter 12 - Passenger Station Blueprints page added.
  • Notebook: Chapter 16 - 'Designing Metropolitan Union Terminal' updated.
  
  
  
• December 10, 2000 -
  • Notebook: Chapter 11 - Index of 2 and 4 digit Standard Industrial Classification Codes (SICC) added.
  • Notebook: Chapter 11 - Index of North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes added.
  
  
  
• September 23, 2000 -
  • Paint Schemes: EMD RS-1325 blank line drawing added.
  • Paint Schemes: 3 draft ideas for paint schemes - road freight, road passenger, and switcher - added. All 3 are shown on an EMD RS-1325.
  
  
  
• September 14, 2000 -
  • Notebook: Overall outline edited.
  • Notebook: Chapter 12 - Railroad ads page added.
  • Notebook: Chapter 20 - Glossary added.
  
  
  
• August 19, 2000 -
  • The redesigned Hoosier Lines On-line™ website goes on-line.