Hi Harrison. One train of thought you could do.
Scenario --
A railroad company builds a line and pays the local Railroad Company to run the trains.
That way your existing fleet of locomotives etc. are correct. Later you can add your own ADK&LC stock.
When running trains ensure they have a reason to be running are going to real places. That gives realism and believability even though it is ficticious.
Believe the ficticious railroad is real. Believe it does exist. Keep the belief and surprisingly it becomes exciting and fun.
Then start adding little bits that will make it individual and special.
Freelance Railroading is Exciting.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
HarrisonI explain my temporary modeling shift from the D&H to a freelanced shortline.
That's what I did. To me, trying to model a prototype, and be accurate, could be exhausting work.
But, to each his own.
Mike.
My You Tube
You can always take existing equipment, strip the paint and paint in your fictional RR colors. Meanwhile, Simon said it best:
snjroyIf you're having fun, you're doing it the right way! Simon
If you're having fun, you're doing it the right way!
Simon
A couple of things- Kevin, as of now I'm not going to make any "actual" (physical) changes to my equipment or railroad. I would like to get an undecorated locomotive and make some ADK&LC equipment regardless- but that has little relation to my layout. rrebell- all ground throws are temporary (as is most of the yard track). I do like the high level ones though. The one just to the north of the yard where the line goes to single track will be replaced by a dispatcher-controlled motor.
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
I find it interesting that you use high level swith stands even though you model more modern times.
Harrison:
First things first: Your skills at making videos are impressive. When you get scenery in place, your videos will be amazing. Keep it up... you are doing great!
Next: Welcome to the dark side! Modeling a ficticious roadname is great for me. I started the SGRR when I was about your age, and it has proven to be perfect for me for 40 years.
I don't want to bog down your thread with a bunch of advice, but I do have a couple of things:
1) Buy undecorated models now! These are getting harder and harder to find. Even if you don't think you will need them, you might someday. Undecorated Athearn models are going for $10.00-$20.00 each now. I grabbed all mine for $3.00-$5.00 each years ago. Undecorated locomotives are hard to get too.
2) Same for custom decals. If your club does not have them already, get a few made before all the producers go away. You can make your own in black, but if you want white or yellow lettering, you need to get it done.
OK, no more advice. It sounds like you will have a lot of fun. I love to see a young person so enthusiastic about our hobby.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
In this slightly-more-dramatic-than-necessary video, I explain my temporary modeling shift from the D&H to a freelanced shortline. I find this makes operations much more enjoyable, and gives me the energy to keep making progress, and that certainly can't be a bad thing, can it?
https://youtu.be/QFKbIvXjvts