My Dream Railroad

[dalek ling]

I know I might get laugh at for how stupid this idea is. But I plan to go to collage for business, and work for a railroad to get some experience, and I plan to own and operate my own railroad, this railroad would be called the Cadillac and Northern Railroad. This line will stran the old Annie line from Cadillac to Frankfort, and the old Pere Marquette line from Comstack Park to Cadillac. Of course these rail lines will have to be rebuilt, and they have to have over a dozen customers to work it. But it’s just a dream and goal

I assume there are some rail owners or worker on this page and I was wondering if I can get some advice. Thanks.

[Eric Berger]

Q: How do you make a small fortune owning a railroad?
A: Simple. You start with a LARGE fortune...

[AARR]

Go to the Paper Railroad page and build your dream railroad there

Charlevoix, Petoskey & Pellston: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=38684

Frankfort & Southeastern: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=38678

[NSSD70ACe]

good luck kid….youre gonna be in for a ride that’s for sure.

[Mark F]

I'd ask Warren Buffett if he'd adopt you. He said he bought BNSF because his parents never bought him a train set when he was a kid.

[PatAzo]

Graduate college. Go into a class one management training program. Learn the business from the management prospective. Be a manager. Network with people in industry (not just railroads). Watch for opportunities to advance.

[NSSD70ACe]

Graduate college. Go into a class one management training program. Learn the business from the management prospective. Be a manager. Network with people in industry (not just railroads). Watch for opportunities to advance.

You want to learn how it really works, do it properly from the ground up. That’s the only right way, and it’ll give you street cred with the crews. As a product of that type of program (after saying for years that I wouldn’t, until I was forced), it’s an awful way to learn.

[Jim_c]

Graduate college. Go into a class one management training program. Learn the business from the management prospective. Be a manager. Network with people in industry (not just railroads). Watch for opportunities to advance.

You want to learn how it really works, do it properly from the ground up. That’s the only right way, and it’ll give you street cred with the crews. As a product of that type of program (after saying for years that I wouldn’t, until I was forced), it’s an awful way to learn.

Both of these folks are right. An ideal arrangement would be to work at a railroad while also attending college, or vice versa. If you want to own a railroad, you will need to know what actually goes in to making it run, and how to manage it financially and to target your acquisitions..

[25heberl]

I'd ask Warren Buffett if he'd adopt you. He said he bought BNSF because his parents never bought him a train set when he was a kid.

that's freaking sick / fun

[25heberl]

on such topic I feel it mandatory for every railfan to have a fictional railroad it's just another fun little thing that can sprawl into something huge

in my case I call it the "Rushylvania northern"

this railroad doesn't plan to do much but if fortune comes to it this railroad wants to span from a far north point in Florida to Indianapolis Indiana with one terminal stop in rushylvania Ohio and additional yards in Bellefontaine Ohio
but would be just fine running from Bellefontaine Ohio to rushylvania along the csx ( we wouldn't be real useful then but it would be neat ( PS I kind of want to ramp up service on the i&o's Urbana subdivision from Springfield to Bellefontaine if this railroad ever came to be )) thanks for your time have a day

[chapmaja]

I once had a Michigan "Dream" Railroad." It was the Ann Arbor's entire line to Frankfort, combined with the lines they now serve north of Cadillac, plus going from Durand north the entire CMGN/HESR and then the entire Lake State (when operations were only Bay City to the north). Also to be included was a relay of the line from Owosso to Muskegon through Grand Rapids and from Cadillac to Grand Rapids. I would also have added the IORY trackage too.

The main yard on the north end would be Durand, which would be purchased from CN (who I think still owns the yard). This would allow interchange in Toledo with NS and CSX plus CN in Durand and Toledo.

If I only had a large fortune to make it work.

[SD80MAC]

My ideal railroad is not really a railroad at all, but it would be specialized transport. In my ideal reality, the nation's automobiles and trains would be replaced by motorcycles. There would be no more trains, but there would be special, private right of ways exclusively for specialized motorcycles. These would be freight cycles, probably would have to be trikes (I know, I know, not a REAL bike, but it is what it is). I envision 2-4 freight cycles running in tandem, could probably even devise a way for one rider to control all 4 if you didn't feel like riding with your buddies (but who doesn't wanna RIDE with your brothers? No biker I've ever met, that's for darn sure). These groups of 4 trikes could probably tow about 2000-3000 lbs worth of trailers collectively, which should be MORE than enough to replace our nation's antiquated railroads. But yeah basically all that would need to happen would be to have all of the rail lines ripped up, replaced with concrete pathways, and for every single abled-bodied person in the country to get their motorcycle operator's license. Everyone would likely have to join a gang or club, too. I have contacted my local representative about my great plan a few times, but they never return my calls.

[David Collins]

Dalek...If I were you...scale back your expectations by 10. I know a higher-up that works for the Aberdeen, Carolina, and Western Railroad (ACWR) shortline down in North Carolina. I've learned a lot from him as to how railroads (like his) work, and after me reading your proposed commuter rail systems, fictional railroads, etc. I think you need a lesson about railroading logistics.

There are SEVERAL threads on this very website where AARR (a man who has studied the railroads from top down) has posted the industry activity, such as how many cars they get, what they're carrying, etc. I think you should look at those first and get a good understanding as to how railroading logistics work, ask questions about it until you understand it, then we can talk.

Now this may not sound relevant, but I was originally thinking about majoring in marketing, but now I'm going to be majoring in IT and M&A, starting in the fall. IT stands for Information Technology and M&A stands for Mergers and Acquisitions. Particularly M&A, which is also very important for railroads wanting to improve operations by Merging or Acquiring companies. A good example: CP taking over the Montreal Maine and Atlantic before the CPKC merger. This merger was a galaxy brain move, aside from CP bailing out the MM&A after the Lac Megantic nightmare, this acquisition gave the railroad the oppurtunity to give them a presence in the Northeast US, which all railroads want. M&A is also good for just operations in general as you learn about logistics and how things work internally in a company.

I'm changing my major because my dad (One of the people who got me into trains) is currently a Chief Information Officer/Chief Operating Officer, and he has taken several companies public on Wall Street. So I know he's serious when he tells me that if there's any people needed at railroads, it's operations/M&A/IT people that have actual experience with railroads.

Also, don't expect to given the top job right away, work up the chain of command, some of the best railroad CEO's started out as track workers, engineers, conductors, etc.

Lessons you can learn from this:

A. Look at the threads where we talk about logistics/customers involved, don't be afraid to ask questions, this is why the website is here
B. Think about majoring in a position that railroads actually need.
C. Most importantly...lower your expectations.

[PatAzo]

These would be freight cycles,

Freight cycles were everywhere when I was in China. https://cn-motorcycle.en.made-in-china. ... ailer.html

They carried anything they could load on one. Sheet steel draped over the top. Ducks from a duck farm stacked like cord work. Bales of plastic.

[joeyuboats]

Didn't the CP originally have that trackage,through the Eastern Townships,and Lac Megantic, across Maine,to the Maritimes?? It was called the International Of Maine Division, IIRC.

[dalek ling]

Dalek...If I were you...scale back your expectations by 10. I know a higher-up that works for the Aberdeen, Carolina, and Western Railroad (ACWR) shortline down in North Carolina. I've learned a lot from him as to how railroads (like his) work, and after me reading your proposed commuter rail systems, fictional railroads, etc. I think you need a lesson about railroading logistics.

There are SEVERAL threads on this very website where AARR (a man who has studied the railroads from top down) has posted the industry activity, such as how many cars they get, what they're carrying, etc. I think you should look at those first and get a good understanding as to how railroading logistics work, ask questions about it until you understand it, then we can talk.

Now this may not sound relevant, but I was originally thinking about majoring in marketing, but now I'm going to be majoring in IT and M&A, starting in the fall. IT stands for Information Technology and M&A stands for Mergers and Acquisitions. Particularly M&A, which is also very important for railroads wanting to improve operations by Merging or Acquiring companies. A good example: CP taking over the Montreal Maine and Atlantic before the CPKC merger. This merger was a galaxy brain move, aside from CP bailing out the MM&A after the Lac Megantic nightmare, this acquisition gave the railroad the oppurtunity to give them a presence in the Northeast US, which all railroads want. M&A is also good for just operations in general as you learn about logistics and how things work internally in a company.

I'm changing my major because my dad (One of the people who got me into trains) is currently a Chief Information Officer/Chief Operating Officer, and he has taken several companies public on Wall Street. So I know he's serious when he tells me that if there's any people needed at railroads, it's operations/M&A/IT people that have actual experience with railroads.

Also, don't expect to given the top job right away, work up the chain of command, some of the best railroad CEO's started out as track workers, engineers, conductors, etc.

Lessons you can learn from this:

A. Look at the threads where we talk about logistics/customers involved, don't be afraid to ask questions, this is why the website is here
B. Think about majoring in a position that railroads actually need.
C. Most importantly...lower your expectations.

Thank you for the advice, ya I agree, I don’t have my expectations high, I know if I wake up one day, I won’t have a big Railroad in my backyard, cause there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be done, get customers, buy land, get the public and local government involved, that’s why I’m studying how to do all that, and I plan to work for a freight service either Class 1 or shortline,

Again thanks for the advice

[Steve B]

You're not in high school yet, right? Just focus for now on doing well in school. Don't try to make up your mind at this point about your future career. You still have years to consider different paths and you might get interested in something totally different.

[dalek ling]

You're not in high school yet, right? Just focus for now on doing well in school. Don't try to make up your mind at this point about your future career. You still have years to consider different paths and you might get interested in something totally different.

I’m in the high school, just my biography is a little out dated.

[David Collins]

I’m in the high school, just my biography is a little out dated.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but you've been on this website for like just over a year, right?

[justalurker66]

I was 14 when I started high school.