Has anyone found a good source for modern equipment? Atlas and Walthers seem to be out of stock more often than not.
Are you looking for HO?
Have you looked at Scaletrains?
https://www.scaletrains.com/
ExactRail?
https://exactrail.com/
Cheers, Ed
Walthers and Atlas aren't the only dealers out there. I just Googled "list of online HO scale train dealers", and they all showed up, from Blueridge Hobbies to Trainz, and everything in between, such as MB Klien, Hobbylink, etc., etc.
Ed listed a couple of great sources, as I have bought from both.
Also keep in mind, the days of dealers having big inventories are long gone, and "Preorders" are the business method used in today's world, from Athearn to Walthers, and don't rule out sellers on Shapeways.
I still use Ebay alot, and I rebuild and detail much of my rolling stock to represent modern equipment.
Mike.
My You Tube
Do you mean for "equipment" rolling stock, buildings, locos, etc? I model the eaerly 1980s and found MB Klein works. They also have discounts on certain types of items from joining their mailing list.
Anther option is the HO swap site.
I would consider modern to be approximately the last 25 years but mileage may vary. That being the case, it sure seems like there is a goodly amount. ScaleTrains, Athearn and Intermountain have been offering a lot of diesels from the mid-1990's to recent.
ScaleTrains has "modern" tank cars and covered hoppers and has announced a coil car.
ExactRail has Gunderson 6269 box cars and Johnstown America Autoflood coal hoppers and has some box cars later day repaints for 1990's and onward.
Atlas has their center partition cars and other modern freight cars.
As for sources, if you can't find them direct from those manufacturers, try modeltrainstuff.com or Lombardhobbies.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Modern depends on how old you are.
GP40-2s are modern.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Hmm, I realize it's all relative, but I am now reminded of a quote posted on this very forum:The '90s are not as recent as they used to be...
chutton01 Hmm, I realize it's all relative, but I am now reminded of a quote posted on this very forum: The '90s are not as recent as they used to be...
Hmm, I realize it's all relative, but I am now reminded of a quote posted on this very forum:
The '90s are not as recent as they used to be...
My rebuttal to that is:
I think it would be fair to say the 90's was the beginning of the era of todays wide cab diesels and series of new freight cars such as the new TTX box cars, tank cars with end-shields, center partition cars, new generation covered hoppers and of course, ugly graffiti.
chutton01The '90s are not as recent as they used to be...
.
No kidding.
Devil Without A Cause by Kid Rock is over twenty years old now!
Shocking. I still consider that Modern Music.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I think part of the issue is what would you call the "era" after the transition era but before the present. What distinct words would you use to chop up that time from into easily recognizable eras.
Phase II Diesel era?
Merger era?
Cabooseless era?
The term modern seems to span a time frame that's too long and not distinguishable into recognizable pieces. And gets worse as time moves on.
- Douglas
riogrande5761 chutton01 Hmm, I realize it's all relative, but I am now reminded of a quote posted on this very forum: The '90s are not as recent as they used to be... My rebuttal to that is: I think it would be fair to say the 90's was the beginning of the era of todays wide cab diesels and series of new freight cars such as the new TTX box cars, tank cars with end-shields, center partition cars, new generation covered hoppers and of course, ugly graffiti.
Agreed. I was thinking of adding "wide-cab era" to the list above.
DoughlessThe term modern seems to span a time frame that's too long and not distinguishable into recognizable pieces. And gets worse as time moves on.
chutton01 Doughless The term modern seems to span a time frame that's too long and not distinguishable into recognizable pieces. And gets worse as time moves on. Perhaps we should adapt the Marklin Era/Epoche German railway period dating system to North American railroads.
Doughless The term modern seems to span a time frame that's too long and not distinguishable into recognizable pieces. And gets worse as time moves on.
Perhaps we should adapt the Marklin Era/Epoche German railway period dating system to North American railroads.
If I were to define era's for the US/North America following a similar method I bet they would be something like this:1. Pioneering Era: Early 1800's to 1870's, America's first railroads begin with expirimental tech, growing more vital to the nation during the Civil War and ultimately culminating in the First Transcontinental Railroad. Lots of 4-4-0's, bright colors, link and pin coupler.2. Steam Era: 1870's to 1910's, with the ground broken by the previous era, the national railroad system grows as more transcontinental routes are built and finished; and shortlines pop up across the nation to link small towns to the growing rail network. Black begins to become the predominate steam locomotive color, modern couplers and braking begin to appear and engines begin to grow larger (4-6-0's, 2-8-0's, 2-8-2's). USRA standards begin appearing during WWI with their locomotives remaining in use for the remainder of the steam eras.3. The Golden Age 1920's to 1940's, As steam technology peaks with record setting engines in terms of power and speed, diesels begin to make an apperance. Streamlining is the popular symbol of the era as bulldog nosed diesels and cowled steam engines capture the public imagination. The WWII effort at the end of the era leads to increased rail traffic as the US industrial might is pitted against the axis powers.4. Transition Era 1940's to 1950's; with diesel tech having proven it worth, a massive transition to diesel locomotives begins in ernest, with the last vestiges of steam power holding out prior to being replaced with the newer diesels. The steam that remains begins a new era of rail preservation, with some shortlines being converted into tourist and heritage railroads. Intercity passenger travel further relies on the streamlined look, but begins to take a dive as the national highway system and air travel boom begin taking chunks out of the railroad industry.5. Dark Age; 1960's to 1970's; with passenger travel having taken a serious hit; railroads begin an era of consolidation and changes to try and adapt to new buisness models. Amtrak, Penn Central and later Conrail are all representative of this era. Glorious old passenger terminals are demolished as rail travel fades, and many railroads such as the Rock Island and Milwaukee Road breath their last breath.6. Silver Age (Merger era or first Modern Era) 1980's and 1990's, with deregulation now allowing for the railroads to compete with trucking more efficiently, massive merger mania begins to sweep the major rail lines. In a few decades the remaining patchwork of Class 1 railroads consolidates into the major lines we see today, UP, BNSF, NS, CSX, Kansas City Southern, etc. Intermodal freight becomes one of the most predominate types of rail transport. Graffiti becomes common place on rail cars. 7. Digital Age (or second modern era) 2000's to present, the big Class One's push for new tech due to federal PTC requirements, while other lines adopt PSR as a new operating method. Heritage units honoring railroads that vanished during the merger age begin to appear on several railroads. Many shortlines end up coming under G&W or Watco ownership, and EMD and GE both change hands to their modern day owners Progress Rail and WabTec respectively. Commuter rail sees a resurgance across the nation, as companies such as WabTec's MotivePower, Siemmens, Stadler and others join in the growing market for commuter trains.
I still consider the 90s modern. I like modeling railroads pre 1995 like Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, Conrail, Burlington Northern.
I wish I have Amtrak Superliners II's in N Scale including the new P40.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
xboxtravis7992 chutton01 Doughless The term modern seems to span a time frame that's too long and not distinguishable into recognizable pieces. And gets worse as time moves on. Perhaps we should adapt the Marklin Era/Epoche German railway period dating system to North American railroads. If I were to define era's for the US/North America following a similar method I bet they would be something like this:1. Pioneering Era: Early 1800's to 1870's, America's first railroads begin with expirimental tech, growing more vital to the nation during the Civil War and ultimately culminating in the First Transcontinental Railroad. Lots of 4-4-0's, bright colors, link and pin coupler.2. Steam Era: 1870's to 1910's, with the ground broken by the previous era, the national railroad system grows as more transcontinental routes are built and finished; and shortlines pop up across the nation to link small towns to the growing rail network. Black begins to become the predominate steam locomotive color, modern couplers and braking begin to appear and engines begin to grow larger (4-6-0's, 2-8-0's, 2-8-2's). USRA standards begin appearing during WWI with their locomotives remaining in use for the remainder of the steam eras.3. The Golden Age 1920's to 1940's, As steam technology peaks with record setting engines in terms of power and speed, diesels begin to make an apperance. Streamlining is the popular symbol of the era as bulldog nosed diesels and cowled steam engines capture the public imagination. The WWII effort at the end of the era leads to increased rail traffic as the US industrial might is pitted against the axis powers.4. Transition Era 1940's to 1950's; with diesel tech having proven it worth, a massive transition to diesel locomotives begins in ernest, with the last vestiges of steam power holding out prior to being replaced with the newer diesels. The steam that remains begins a new era of rail preservation, with some shortlines being converted into tourist and heritage railroads. Intercity passenger travel further relies on the streamlined look, but begins to take a dive as the national highway system and air travel boom begin taking chunks out of the railroad industry.5. Dark Age; 1960's to 1970's; with passenger travel having taken a serious hit; railroads begin an era of consolidation and changes to try and adapt to new buisness models. Amtrak, Penn Central and later Conrail are all representative of this era. Glorious old passenger terminals are demolished as rail travel fades, and many railroads such as the Rock Island and Milwaukee Road breath their last breath.6. Silver Age (Merger era or first Modern Era) 1980's and 1990's, with deregulation now allowing for the railroads to compete with trucking more efficiently, massive merger mania begins to sweep the major rail lines. In a few decades the remaining patchwork of Class 1 railroads consolidates into the major lines we see today, UP, BNSF, NS, CSX, Kansas City Southern, etc. Intermodal freight becomes one of the most predominate types of rail transport. Graffiti becomes common place on rail cars. 7. Digital Age (or second modern era) 2000's to present, the big Class One's push for new tech due to federal PTC requirements, while other lines adopt PSR as a new operating method. Heritage units honoring railroads that vanished during the merger age begin to appear on several railroads. Many shortlines end up coming under G&W or Watco ownership, and EMD and GE both change hands to their modern day owners Progress Rail and WabTec respectively. Commuter rail sees a resurgance across the nation, as companies such as WabTec's MotivePower, Siemmens, Stadler and others join in the growing market for commuter trains.
And while this is all well and good, it still gets down to your own specific "cut off date" if your are interested in reasonably accurate modeling. If you pick a year "early" in any of the above, you are really modeling the era before for the most part.
In my case everything after September 1954 is the fantasy future.........for the most part. While I'm not OCD about every grad iron or boxcar rib/rivet, overall impression is very important to me. The early 50's looked different from the late 50's..........
I'm big picture 3 foot rule modeler, but there are no GP18's in my world........
In fact, the most modern prototype locos I own models of are a pair of "brand new" EMD SD9's
I would also suggest we nearing the point where the post 2000 "era" should be two eras..........
Admittedly, I don't follow current railroading that close.
But it still gets down to deciding what to model and learning about it.
Sheldon
If they were to call me up and demand me to split eras up, I wouldn't pick times so much as regulatory periods and technologies. Pre-transition era, I'd use milestones like the shift to automatic couplers and the tipping point when all steel cars supplanted wooden cars.
Modern would get broken up into:
1955-1975 "Diesel era." Pretty self explanatory here.
1975 to 1995 "Post-Staggers." No roofwalks, short ladders, COTS panels, Conrail, Amtrak, and the first modern generation of large mergers. Early wide cabs.
1995 to 2015 "Wide Cab." Ditch lights, mega-mergers, reflective tape, Darth Vader signals.
2015 and beyond "PTC." So far, PTC antennas, the operational tells from PSR, no more COTS panels, reporting marks moved higher above the "graffiti band."
NittanyLion If they were to call me up and demand me to split eras up, I wouldn't pick times so much as regulatory periods and technologies. Pre-transition era, I'd use milestones like the shift to automatic couplers and the tipping point when all steel cars supplanted wooden cars. Modern would get broken up into: 1955-1975 "Diesel era." Pretty self explanatory here. 1975 to 1995 "Post-Staggers." No roofwalks, short ladders, COTS panels, Conrail, Amtrak, and the first modern generation of large mergers. Early wide cabs. 1995 to 2015 "Wide Cab." Ditch lights, mega-mergers, reflective tape, Darth Vader signals. 2015 and beyond "PTC." So far, PTC antennas, the operational tells from PSR, no more COTS panels, reporting marks moved higher above the "graffiti band."
I like this. I think of eras in terms of what the railroad equipment looked like. You've provided at least 3 distinct groups.
I'd think of Post Staggers as simply Deregulation. It resulted in more shared power due to affiliations.
NittanyLion Darth Vader signals.
What in the world is a Darth Vader Signal?
SeeYou190 What in the world is a Darth Vader Signal?.
What in the world is a Darth Vader Signal?.
SeeYou190 What in the world is a Darth Vader Signal?
Modern color-light (not searchlight) LED signals. Like these ones:
http://www.lindsay.com/common/getimage.php?id=2153&width=0&height=0
The protective hood over the entire set of lights gives the signal style it's nickname, looking somewhat (if you have a little imagination) like Vader's helmet.
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
xboxtravis7992 5. Dark Age; 1960's to 1970's; with passenger travel having taken a serious hit; railroads begin an era of consolidation and changes to try and adapt to new buisness models. Amtrak, Penn Central and later Conrail are all representative of this era. Glorious old passenger terminals are demolished as rail travel fades, and many railroads such as the Rock Island and Milwaukee Road breath their last breath.
5. Dark Age; 1960's to 1970's; with passenger travel having taken a serious hit; railroads begin an era of consolidation and changes to try and adapt to new buisness models. Amtrak, Penn Central and later Conrail are all representative of this era. Glorious old passenger terminals are demolished as rail travel fades, and many railroads such as the Rock Island and Milwaukee Road breath their last breath.
I don't know about this. I don't disagree with the points you mentioned, but calling it a "dark age" depends on your perspective as there was more going on during that era.
Passenger travel was definitely in decline through the 1960s and onwards with the expansion of highway travel.
Sure Penn Central was a bit of a train wreck (pun intended) but for many other railways the 1960s was an era of image modernization and new colourful paint schemes. Plus the IPD shortline boxcar boom of the mid to late 1970s added a lot of colour to the rails with brightly coloured new boxcars in the names of shortline railroads you never heard of.
And while minor and low-traffic branchlines started to rapidly disappear in the 1970s-80s in my area as the railways couldn't compete with trucking anymore on low-volume traffic, the 1960s also saw the rise of trailer-on-flatcar and automotive traffic on a large scale, and eventually containerization and intermodal.
(All this said, I was not alive during the 1960s-70s era, so I never witnessed it, but my RR club for example models Canadian Pacific in the 1970s as this era was a sort of a second "transition era" on Canadian Railroads from the older steam era and early diesel logos and paint schemes to their new modern images (CN's new noodle logo and paint schemes were introduced in 1961 and basically still in use today with only minor updates; CP's colourful new "CP Rail" and MultiMark in 1968) so you had a decent mix of colour schemes going on.)
cv_acr xboxtravis7992 5. Dark Age; 1960's to 1970's; with passenger travel having taken a serious hit; railroads begin an era of consolidation and changes to try and adapt to new buisness models. Amtrak, Penn Central and later Conrail are all representative of this era. Glorious old passenger terminals are demolished as rail travel fades, and many railroads such as the Rock Island and Milwaukee Road breath their last breath. I don't know about this. I don't disagree with the points you mentioned, but calling it a "dark age" depends on your perspective as there was more going on during that era. Passenger travel was definitely in decline through the 1960s and onwards with the expansion of highway travel. Sure Penn Central was a bit of a train wreck (pun intended) but for many other railways the 1960s was an era of image modernization and new colourful paint schemes. Plus the IPD shortline boxcar boom of the mid to late 1970s added a lot of colour to the rails with brightly coloured new boxcars in the names of shortline railroads you never heard of. And while minor and low-traffic branchlines started to rapidly disappear in the 1970s-80s in my area as the railways couldn't compete with trucking anymore on low-volume traffic, the 1960s also saw the rise of trailer-on-flatcar and automotive traffic on a large scale, and eventually containerization and intermodal. (All this said, I was not alive during the 1960s-70s era, so I never witnessed it, but my RR club for example models Canadian Pacific in the 1970s as this era was a sort of a second "transition era" on Canadian Railroads from the older steam era and early diesel logos and paint schemes to their new modern images (CN's new noodle logo and paint schemes were introduced in 1961 and basically still in use today with only minor updates; CP's colourful new "CP Rail" and MultiMark in 1968) so you had a decent mix of colour schemes going on.)
I sort of named it that just knowing what was going on in the big Class Ones at the time at the decline of passenger travel. But just because I called it a dark age doesn't mean I meant to say its not an era worth modeling... Personally I think its rather fascinating since you can go crazy on weathering and doing dingy looking lines if your doing a Penn Central type set up. Or you can buck the perception of the era and do something like the UP and just run solid DDA40X and SD40-2 fast freights instead! So maybe a name other than dark ages would be apt, but its what came to mind first when writting out that long over wrought description of what I had in mind.