KY:Calvert City

Introduction

Calvert City is the busiest map on the FYM PAL system. It's a huge traffic generator. If large switching maps are your thing, go for it! It's a great map.

Calvert City (1952)

This is where the manifests go.

Calvert City Terminal (1953)

This is where the unit trains go.

Exits

This is not a double track main line. Some distance off of the FYM map, the lines form a single track.

Be careful which exit you use. They are marked. One for Calvert City Terminal and one for Calvert City.

Policy on trains routed through Calvert

So, the LP3 enters your Calvert City map with a number of cars on the head-end that are listed as traffic for Calvert City sidings. And you send the entire train on to Paducah. What will happen to those cars? You'll see them again! The YM at Paducah has no use for cars going to Calvert City sidings. The YM at Paducah will send them out of his yard, either on PL4 or the SCT train to Calvert City. Please service the cars at the appointed sidings. Short lines, such as PAL usually don't have detailed instructions for a YM to pick-up, set-up, swap blocks. Basically, all trains are "locals" and as such make all stops as required.

Routing Cars

After you service them they will need a ride to their next stop. Here's where it can get tricky. Which cars go where? There are three points on the PAL where cars are interchanged with the major railroads. At Paducah cars go to BNSF & CN. At Cimarron Mine (Madisonville, KY) cars go to a north-south CSX line. At Louisville cars go to NS & CSX. So, decide where you want the cars to go and put them on the right train.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to hoosierzephyr for the information