Getting Real Column - 3
only one or two additional people, so mine is not an unusual situa-
tion. And two, my layout mostly models an SP branch line, so I only
have one station on my main line. Obviously, precision timing of
trains at that single station is not exactly vital.
Instead, I discuss realistic timetable appearance, and I will empha-
size the various kinds of material that one might wish to include,
other than times themselves. I begin with prototype sources.
A starting point
I recommend
starting with a
real employee
timetable of the
railroad and era
you are modeling
or, if you are free-
lancing, a similar
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3. The back
cover of the SP
Coast Division
Timetable 164
contains this
detailed divi-
sion map,
though it has
substantially
more detail
than you may
need. I only
used part of
this map.
4. This is the double-page spread of train schedules for
just the Guadalupe Subdivision of the Coast Division,
Timetable 158 of 1950. It contains 33 station names
vertically, along with nine columns for trains eastward,
and westward (westward freights after 1953 were
dispatched as extra trains). This is considerably more
information than I needed for my layout.
railroad in the region you model. Since I model Southern
Pacific’s Coast Division in 1953, I have mostly used that divi-
sion’s timetable No. 164, effective September 27, 1953 (the
date in that year upon which Daylight Saving time ended). [2]
shows its outside front cover, a lightweight manila stock.
This is a document with 8½”x11” pages (though corners are
rounded), and is normally folded in half the long way, so it will fit in
a pants or overalls pocket. It’s stapled on the left edge as you see it
here, and in fact the staples are just visible in this image.
Already you can see that starting from a cover appearance like this
will help set out your timetable as realistic. In fact, I have used this
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MRH-Oct 2014
