DM Rail Group history

Topics:  Why DMRG? • History and Back-Story • Location
The "Group" • Train Symbols and Locations

Why DMRG?

DM Rail Group is the name I have given my freelanced HO Scale railroad.  Reporting marks are DMRG, the initials for the four members of my family.  (That was before my daughter was born; she is not currently represented on the railroad.)

My main goal in creating my railroad was to "use up" my vast model railroad accumulation, including locomotives and freight cars from several earlier freelanced railroads – along with some "mystery meat" such as a SOO Tunnel Motor!  Along the way, I also incorporated the history and back-stories of these other lines into that of DMRG (and modified them as necessary).

Most of my locomotives, a few freight cars, and some cabooses are numbered based on some kind of significant number, e.g. birthdays, addresses, phone numbers, etc.

History and Back-Story

DM Rail Group was formed in 2009 by the consolidation of the St. Louis Northern (SLN), Milwaukee Franklin & Norway (MFN), and Paris Coal Railway (PCOR) with the Allis Southern (ASO); South Fork (STFR) and Industrial Rail Company/IndustRail (IR) were included shortly thereafter.

Allis Southern was the last freelanced model railroad I had created before taking a several-year break from model railroading.  ASO's back-story states that it was built primarily by Allis-Chalmers interests in order to give the tractor maker a direct route to St. Louis.  After the A-C complex in West Allis was shuttered, the railroad found modest success in building branch lines to newly-developed industrial parks in Milwaukeeland, never really keeping red ink out of the balance sheets.  Ultimately, the railroad ran out of funds to continue operating the railroad, and embargoed the line in its entirety, stranding customers all along the system.

With the demise of the ASO, shippers in Franklin and Norway started the Milwaukee Franklin & Norway to lease the north end of the line, and connect their industries to the Union Pacific at West Allis.  Similarly, the St. Louis Northern leased the south end of the line to gain their own access to Chicago.  (And Union Pacific gained full owwnership of the A-C Belt Line.)

After WeEnergies upgraded the Oak Creek power plant, some surplus materials were sent to Paris to create a small "peak" type coal generator; however, just as Paris was ready to start receiving coal via Allis Southern, the railroad shut down.  As a result, We started the Paris Coal Railway, leasing the former Allis Southern south to Chicago, and acquiring an Alco C420 and 24 3-bay hoppers.  The railroad also acquired a half-interest in the remains of the former Racine & Southwestern into Union Grove and Kansasville.

South Fork has a somewhat less-detailed history: the main reason I came up wth South Fork was that I could use Norfolk Southern decals to make my road name.  IndustRail has even less of a history, all I had to start with was a few locomotives with "IR" reporting marks!  In the DMRG scope of reality, both are short lines in the St. Louis area, and affiliation with SLN and DM Rail Group appeared to be more promising than going it alone.  (MFN was also a mystery, with a couple freight cars so lettered.)

In 2012, DMRG acquired full ownership of the Kansasville line, and built a branch to Racine Grain in Union Grove.

Location

Starting on the north end ... The railroad branches off the Union Pacific's Milwaukee Sub at Allis, at approximately 70th Street.  Allis is also the location of the company shops.  Heading due south, a branch connects to the Greendale Industrial Park near where the line begins to follow the Root River, and Greendale Yard begins.  Similar to UP (CNW)'s Butler Yard, none of the yard is within its namesake, as it is entirely within Franklin.  A spur heads east out of the yard to service the quarries along Rawson Avenue.

South of the yard, the branch to the Franklin Industrial Park heads east, while another branch heads southwest to the Norway Industrial Park.  The line generally follows the Root River into Racine County, turning somewhat southwesterly toward the junction with the Kansasville line.  The Paris Coal Spur branches off to the east just south of Highway 11. The mainline parallels Canadian National's Wisconsin Central for a short distance before following the Fox River valley into Illinois.

South of the "Cheddar Curtain", the mainline follows the Fox and Illinois River valleys to St. Louis.  The Chicago-area yard is near ____, and access to the Belt Railway of Chicago (BRC) is via trackage rights over CN's Chicago Central, gained through CN's acquisition of Elgin Joliet & Eastern.

The St. Louis end of the DMRG is somewhat less defined, but connections are made to the IR, original St. Louis Northern, and South Fork, as well as Kansas City Southern, from the St. Louis-area yard.

The "Group"

These have all been mentioned above, but a simple list is worthwhile:

• DMRG :: DM Rail Group
• SLN  :: St. Louis Northern
• MFN  :: Milwaukee Franklin & Norway
• PCOR :: Paris Coal Railway
• STFR :: South Fork
• IR   :: Industrial Rail Company/IndustRail
• ASO  :: Allis Southern (defunct)

Train Symbols and Locations

Train symbols are a three-letter symbol, followed by the date.  The first letter in the train symbol is the train type:

• P = Passenger trains (rare on DMRG)
• Q = Quality freight (high-priority – rare on DMRG)
• R = Road freight
• S = Set-out freight (a/k/a-wayfreight)
• T = Turn (local)
• U = Unit train loads
• V = Unit train empty
• W = Without train (i.e. light power)
• X = eXtra
• Y = Yard

The second and third letters in the train symbol are the train's origin and destination.  In the case of a Turn, the third letter is the end-point of the turn.  The Yard jobs' third letter is actually a number, denoting the shift of the job.  Location list:

• A = [West] Allis (UP intx/shops)
• B = BRC Clearing
• C = Chicago Yard (____)
• E = Paris
• F = Franklin (industrial park)
• G = Greendale Yard
• K = Union Grove/Kansasville
• L = St. Louis Yard
• N = Norway (industrial park)
• Z = unknown or off-line location

Some common train symbols are:

• SBG = Set-out freight, BRC to Greendale
• RCG = Road freight, Chicago to Greendale
• SGB = Set-out freight, Greendale to BRC
• RGC = Road freight, Greendale to Chicago
• UKZ = Unit grain, Union Grove to KCS
• VZK = Unit empties, KCS to Union Grove
• TAG = Turn, Allis to Greendale
• TGF = Turn, Greendale to Franklin
• TGN = Turn, Greendale to Norway
• TGK = Turn, Greendale to Union Grove/Kansasville
• WGK = Light power, Greendale to Union Grove
• XAG = Extra, Allis to Greendale
• TCB = Turn, Chicago to BRC
• YG1 = Yard, Greendale, 1st shift
• YG2 = Yard, Greendale, 2nd shift