04/06/2026
It's been a long while since we did a "line tour" of the Bacardi and Northern, so for all you newbies, here's an overview of what we're all about.
The Bacardi and Northern is a fictional recreation of a prototype. This is to say, it is an HO Scale recreation of Conrail's (Erie's) Northern Branch between North Bergen NJ and Orangeburg NY circa 1995, when I worked for "Big Blue". In the real world, trackage only runs as far north as the NY/NJ line in Northvale, the rest converted to a Rail Trail, and operations north of Englewood are few and far between. But at the Bacardi and Northern, things are far more prosperous!
On my fictitious recreation, business is booming. Local operations have been farmed out to a shortline, Hence the Bacardi and Northern, and thier primary motive power consists predominantly of Alco Century models (think Delaware Lackawanna). Freight is booming with all the existent industries you would've found along the Northern in 1995, and many more that were resurrected. Whats more, tracks have been reinstalled all the way to Orangeburg where ample new freight customers have become the mainstay. To add to the prosperity, a connection was installed at Orangeburg to Conrail's River Line and mainline freight frequently detours over the B&N between Oak Island, Selkirk, South Kearny and Kingston. Thus it is not unusual to see a local freight switching with an Alco C420, being bypassed by a TrailVan Train headed up by Dash 8's and SD-60's. There's even commuter service operated by NJ Transit making stops at the old Erie stations along the line!
During a 3 hour operating session, you'll be operating trains almost non-stop. I use NCE tethered controls, but you're free to use the wireless app on your phone should you so desire. I also use portable radios to communicate with the Dispatcher. The railroad is fully signaled with detection. Local operations are manually controlled. The railroad is easy to navigate with a full schematic on the wall showing all locations and any special instructions, the staging level having interlocking located cameras for all hard to see locations. Positions available include three train operators (easy), two yard positions (some experience) and one dispatcher position (experience required). This said, there is usually a Trainmaster, available to assist you as needed!
The attached photos provide a tour of the line, not including the lengthy runs to and from the lower staging yards and helix connecting them. Also not shown is the Dispatcher panel which is a derivative of JMRI Panel Pro that permits wifi control of all interlockings and signaling.
Please enjoy and let me know if you have any questions. Ops sessions are held regularly, as well as upon request. Operations last 3 hours and accommodate 5 to 7 people.
