The Route

Main Line

Neenah

The east end of the RC is Neenah, where the RC interchanges Chicago traffic with the Wisconsin Central, and Milwaukee traffic with the Fox River Valley. Both the WC and FRV have yards here, making it a busy place.

Yards: WC, FRV

Stations: TBD

Interchanges: RC, WC, and FRV

Industries: TBD

Modeled after: Neenah, Wisconsin

Cumberland

Cumberland is an industrial suburb of about 9,000, and sits about 20 miles southwest of Neenah. This is an important point on the RC, as the branch line to Oshkosh (which allows interchange with the Wisconsin & Southern) forms a wye and heads south. If there is a major yard along this section of the Riverside Central, this is where it would be.

Yards: RC main/industrial yard or none

Stations: Commuter station

Interchanges: Probably none

Industries: Geo. Roberts Printing, AirGas Fuel are a few being discussed, but still TBD

Modeled after: Western Avenue on BNSF commuter line, Cicero, Illinois, and the Troy Branch on Model Railroader's Milwaukee, Racine, and Troy HO scale layout.

Webster Springs

Webster Springs, a town of about 800, is the transition between the industrialization of Cumberland and the scenic Libby River valley. Here one would see farmland and rolling marshland, and a large grain elevator. Both RC and Wisconsin Central have rights to switch the grain elevator as part of a 1990 agreement allowing the RC to buy the C&NW line to Superior.

Yards: Small yard for grain elevator

Stations: TBD

Interchanges: Probably none, although the WC's rights to the grain elevator could lead to interchange opportunities.

Industries: Large grain elevator (working title is Webster Grains), still TBD on other industry in area.

Modeled after: Towns along Green Bay and Western main line serving industries. Also loosely based on Dale, along the WC's Neenah to Stevens Point main line. Name is based on amalgamation of Webster Groves, Missouri (from Today's St. Louis Railroads) and Western Springs, Illinois (from Burlington Northern E-Units).

Libby

Libby is the highest - and most picturesque - point on the RC, as the RC main line crosses over the Libby River on a truss bridge. Libby is a town of about 500, and the only notable landmark in the town is the tiny Libby commuter depot.

Yards: None

Stations: Yes

Interchanges: None

Industries: Probably none, but TBD

Modeled after: Layouts with dramatic scenes of truss bridges crossing a river. Also loosely based on bridges in Stevens Point and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The small town area, with bars and shops, is based on towns like Junction City, Wisconsin, where bars are frequently near railroad tracks.

Superior Falls

Superior Falls is a larger town of about 20,000, no doubt due to the fact that the town is dominated by Superior Paper, the largest paper mill along the RC. The complex is so large that the mill needs two railroads to switch it: The RC and the Green Bay and Western. The GBW's branch line ends here.

Yards: RC/GBW yard for Superior Paper complex

Stations: Yes

Interchanges: GBW/RC at Superior Paper (though much of this is done further north in South Riverside)

Industries: Superior Paper will likely be the only one.

Modeled after: Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, and the name is based off of the Superior Paper plant.

South Riverside

South Riverside is what train crews call the point where the GBW branch meets the RC main. The diamonds here were removed in the late-70s, but this is the main interchange point between the RC and GBW. The GBW branch, entering from the south, meets the RC main (which enters from the southeast) in a series of switches, and then parallels the RC all the way to Riverside. RC freights frequently use the GBW connection to reach their northwestern Wisconsin line to Superior. QM Cabin, the last operating interlocking tower in Wisconsin, stands in the eastern quadrant of the junction. It is manned by RC personnel and controls the junction, as well as the switches leading onto the GBW and the City Point Joint Line.

Yards: None

Stations: None

Interchanges: RC/GBW

Industries: TBD

Modeled after: The odd name for the tower at the junction (QM Cabin) is based off of HN Cabin, a Washington Park, Illinois tower featured in Today's St. Louis Railroads.

Riverside

Riverside is the route's namesake, and it's a very important point on the RC and GBW. The old Soo depot sits in the center of town. The RC main crosses the GBW main very close to the depot at MD Tower, which was closed in the late 1970s. The ex-Soo RC main then turns towards Stevens Point on the north side of town. West of here is the RC-GBW City Point Joint Line which runs between here and City Point, Wisconsin. At City Point, RC trains access their ex-CNW line in northwestern Wisconsin. GBW's main line east of here runs to Green Bay. If that wasn't enough, the GBW-owned line that parallels the RC main connects with the GBW mainline after running on street trackage through downtown Riverside. Riverside Central trains frequently use this line to access the Joint Line. Riverside is designed to be a railfan's hotspot.

Yards: TBD, as a commuter yard or industrial yard could be possible.

Stations: Yes

Interchanges: Likely none, as most of the interchanging will be done elsewhere.

Industries: TBD

Modeled after: Oh boy, there's alot here. The town itself is loosely based off of and named after Riverside, Illinois. The crossing is based off of multiple junctions in the Chicago area, although it would likely most resemble Joilet, where a crossing and tower and located near the town's depot. The depot is based off of one in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin that served the CNW's 400 Streamliner trains. The street trackage resembles both Oshkosh, Wisconsin and Michigan City, Indiana.

Stevens Point

Stevens Point is the northern interchange point with the Wisconsin Central, and the RC interchanges much of its Wausau- and Ashland-bound traffic with the WC. The RC's main ends just east of the WC yard, and the RC uses WC's Stevens Point yard to interchange.

Yards: WC's main yard at Stevens Point, RC/WC interchange yard

Stations: TBD

Interchanges: RC/WC

Industries: None

Modeled after: Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Also, where the RC line meets the WC main resembles Owen, Wisconsin, where the WC main to Minneapolis joined the WC main to Superior.