Everybody must know of the Skunk Hollow and Sweetwater Creek that operated somewhere. Well I'm just getting started on modeling it in the mid to late fifties era. Of course all equipment will be faithful to it's roster. After all this RR was struggling to keep operating at this time and aquired it vast fleet of tired steam and decrepit cars from whatever RR had hand-me-downs available cheap. It ran passenger service, a combo passenger/freight car (one) to serve the residents. But I see a bus station being opened also. It has a few businesses to cater to and not much else. Why am I doing the fifties and not a later period? Because for this line it's roadbed evolved into bike trails and roadways. So you see I can't vary from my chosen time and....Is that a early diesel wanting to use my trackage?
Oh well, it will be FUN and that's the IMPORTANT part of the hobby.
Remember to always let your dispatcher know where you are.
God's Best & Happy Rails to You!
Bing (RIPRR The Route of the Buzzards)
The future: Dead Rail Society
I model the IHB in the mid-70s. I do stick to era, but the IHB lets me run just about any rolling stock with "prototypical" accuracy. I have a stable of IHB NW-2s for power. But since everybody had trackage rights, I also have a variety of 70s-era Eastern and Midwestern locos that make their appearance from time to time dragging a through train. That was one of the reasons I decided to model the IHB.
Well, I went a while without having any specific limitations other than scale and gauge, but the results were pretty scattershot. Since I have limited time, money, and effort to spend on model railroading, I figured I'd be better off narrowing my focus down so that I could get some consistency and stop having Shays pulling autoracks. Now I model the Twin Cities within a few years of modern day, with a focus on BNSF and Minnesota Commercial. I fudge things a bit from time to time but I've generally kept pretty close.
johngriffey18ca1I'm just trying to get an idea of if folks stick to their modeling era and road name(s)?
Actually I am pretty certain (thanks to Electrolove's work shown here on the form) that I am now going to focus on modeling the Pueblo & Arkansas River Valley. The merger with the Canon City & San Juan is still going to happen; however, the Treaty of Boston decides AT&SF & Rio Grande have to share the Royal Gorge instead of giving it exclusively to the Rio Grande. So then bring that forward 70 years or so into the 1950's and that will be my railroad. Primary feature of the layout will be the hanging bridge of the Royal Gorge of course. A scale 1000 feet deep.
Route Rock! Yep, pretty much stick to it. Ah, but CNW, CGW, GN, NP, oh, the possibilities are endless!
Jimmy
ROUTE ROCK!
I model Southern Railway 1970-1980's (pre-NS merger of course).
ALL my locos are Southern and pretty much fit that era. I do have a couple that I won't be using that are more appropriate for the 1960's. Got those years ago when almost nothing was available for Southern. The rest of my locos are either already DCC equipped or DCC ready, so whenever I build my layout, I'll most likely go with DCC. The older ones I have, I'll probably give to my son. I've already given him some of my older locos and a lot of freight equipment that is too old for the era I'm modelling.
The majority of my railcars are Southern cars. My boxcars, covered hoppers, and open top hoppers all are 50% or higher Southern. In fact all my open top hops are Southern except 3 or 4. And I have probably over 100 altogether counting a 50 car unit "Big Red" coal train. My box car ratio should increase whenever Exact Rail gets the correct number waffle sides out. I don't have a lot of flats, gons or coil steel cars, but most of them are Southern's as well.
The two categories that I don't have any Southern's in are Reefers and Tank Cars. I only have 3 reefers. A BN and two PFE's. I have about 45 tank cars. All private shippers.
I don't model anything with NS on it (or for that matter CSX either...although I do have a number of cars with B&O, C&O, SBD, WM, etc).
Some of my hoppers and tanks are a little too "modern" for the era I'm modelling, but I explain that away that Southern decided to NOT merge with N&W and instead of buying newer locomotives, they just upgraded their existing fleet with newer electronics and mechanical workings.
my sentiments exactly. I do 90's conrail and csx but you'll see a few others in there occaisionallly. It's my RR and being the boss I can run what I want.
I stick to my road name(s) but find it hard to stick with the transition era. I picked this era so I could have both steam and diesel. I guess I fall victim on the roads as well. I model Eastern Alabama and Western Georgia. Perfect for Southern Railway,Central of Georgia just to name two. I also have a couple of N&W class As and Js and a C&O 2-6-6-6.
The bottom line is: Its your railroad,run it the way that makes you happy!
Dave
I model the B&O, 1950-1955, and with but a handful of exceptions stay steadfast to the time frame and railroad practices. That doesn't mean that I criticsize a modeler that doesn't. Some 40 years ago, a brass importer had a little slogan that went something like this:
Rule 1: This is my railroad!
Rule 2: While prototype rules and operating practices are always welcome, in the event of visitor precieved detail discrepencies, viewer anachronism's and operating procedures, consult rule 1!
This is the justification for our model railroads.
Ryan ReedPhil, Back in the early 1990s, I was invited to a video/slide show at a friends house and for the first time watched that Allen Keller video that showed Jack Burgess' Yosemite Valley. I was absolutely floored (incredibly impressed) with Jack's level of research, historical correctness, and his modeling ability. I loved it! He's been my hero ever since!! -Ryan
Phil,
Back in the early 1990s, I was invited to a video/slide show at a friends house and for the first time watched that Allen Keller video that showed Jack Burgess' Yosemite Valley. I was absolutely floored (incredibly impressed) with Jack's level of research, historical correctness, and his modeling ability. I loved it! He's been my hero ever since!!
-Ryan
Ryan Reed Oh, yes. I model the Milwaukee Road's Gap through eastern Washington circa October 1977. Over the years, I have researched and unearthed detail train reports, wheel reports, dispatcher logs, and other data that shows exactly what locomotives, cabooses, and freight cars were actually running on it during that month. For example, I have a detail train report for Oct-Dec. 1977 that's about two inches thick and from that, I compiled a list of all mechanical reefers that were operated in and out of Othello, Warden, McDonald, and Moses Lake, WA in October 1977. I divided the seperate number of MILW 9600, 9800, and 9900-series reefers along with the BNFE, UPFE, SPFE, SFRC, and ARMN reefers by 60 and that gives me a historically-correct representation of how many different MILW, BNFE, UPFE, etc., reefers I need to model. Same thing for MILW boxcars, I simply take the number of a given class (data from a 1977 ORER) and divide that by 60 and round up, so to model the MILW 52000 series boxcars, there was 100 of them, divide 100 by 60, that gives me 1.666, round up and I get 2 cars to model. By doing that, you will see any given type of boxcar, grain hopper, etc. as often on the layout as about the same as if you were railfanning the MILW in 1977. In all fairness though, if there's a type of car that I really, really like, I'll probably model one or two extras - they may not always be on the layout together, but sometimes they might. That all said, this kind of historical research is as much fun for me to do as the actual model building, merging two interests! ;-) -Ryan
Oh, yes. I model the Milwaukee Road's Gap through eastern Washington circa October 1977. Over the years, I have researched and unearthed detail train reports, wheel reports, dispatcher logs, and other data that shows exactly what locomotives, cabooses, and freight cars were actually running on it during that month. For example, I have a detail train report for Oct-Dec. 1977 that's about two inches thick and from that, I compiled a list of all mechanical reefers that were operated in and out of Othello, Warden, McDonald, and Moses Lake, WA in October 1977. I divided the seperate number of MILW 9600, 9800, and 9900-series reefers along with the BNFE, UPFE, SPFE, SFRC, and ARMN reefers by 60 and that gives me a historically-correct representation of how many different MILW, BNFE, UPFE, etc., reefers I need to model.
Same thing for MILW boxcars, I simply take the number of a given class (data from a 1977 ORER) and divide that by 60 and round up, so to model the MILW 52000 series boxcars, there was 100 of them, divide 100 by 60, that gives me 1.666, round up and I get 2 cars to model. By doing that, you will see any given type of boxcar, grain hopper, etc. as often on the layout as about the same as if you were railfanning the MILW in 1977. In all fairness though, if there's a type of car that I really, really like, I'll probably model one or two extras - they may not always be on the layout together, but sometimes they might. That all said, this kind of historical research is as much fun for me to do as the actual model building, merging two interests! ;-)
My hat's off to you, Ryan. I sense your enthusism and I admire your historical research - you've got to REALLY dig to get that kind of information.
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
Now what kind of fun would that be! most definitely not but the way I justify it or shall I say get around it and still stick to my original plan is I have taken if you will a page from Howard Zane's book. Almost latterly in fact.For those of you not familiar with his Piermont Division is a fictitious railroad set in the coal country of West Virgina in the late 1950's
Not being a big bucks mainline railroad the Piermont typically buys used equipment of all types form who ever is selling and most of the time they don't even bother to re-letter locomotives to their own road name. So you'll see Western Maryland, B&O, N&W Clinchfield, Atlantic Coastline and yes even a UP Big Boy sitting in one of the yards waiting for it's work assignments. When I first saw this in one of the Allen Keller video's I thought this is pure genius and I bow to the great master.......lol Yes I am a self proclaimed train junky and have no desire to enter a 12 step program or find a support group. I like all types of power form many different railroads. I am not out to impress anyone but myself and if I see something that I think is really cool and I can afford it I buy it. I recently came across a good deal on an On30 Forny I always wanted one now I have one, it's still supposed to be fun right.
Same thing for MILW boxcars, I simply take the number of a given class (data from a 1977 ORER) and divide that by 60 and round up, so to model the MILW 52000 series boxcars, there was 100 of them, divide 100 by 60, that gives me 1.666, round up and I get 2 cars to model. By doing that, you will see any given type of boxcar, grain hopper, etc. as often on the layout as about the same as if you were railfanning the MILW in 1977. In all fairness though, if there's a type of car that I really, really like, I'll probably model one or two extras. They may not always be on the layout together at the same time, but sometimes they might. That all said, this kind of historical research is as much fun for me to do as the actual model building, merging two interests! ;-)
In HO I stick fairly close to my C&HV with some CR locomotives however,in N Scale I fear I have become a operating collector in my old age seeing I have C&HV,NS,CSX,Southern and Santa Fe.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I absolutly positivly stick to my limitations of the Santa Fe in the Central Valley between 1946 and 1969 like a Post-It note on fabric. Probably half of my motive power never ran in the Valley, I have enough cars and engines for a full train from the yellowbonnet late 70's, and again for the mid or late 80's. Then there is the sampling DRGW standard guage power, and the early 60's Japanese equipment. I won't even mention the Colorado narrow guage, SN, IER, and 2 logging/mining roads. At least the PE stuff was disposed of years ago, and I have found a good home for the pile of eastern coal hoppers. At least the current purchases TRY to stick to the era.
Phil
Timber Head Eastern Railroad "THE Railroad Through the Sierras"
Kind of. I stuck to the same road, but the era has changed.
I originally was doing 1970-1980. Then I switched to 1975-1985. Now it's 1977-1987. The switches were from when I picked up a piece of rolling stock that fell out of the range. A coal hopper caused the first change, and an SSW FMC box and an LMX Dash 8-39B triggered the second one.
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
SpaceMouse Let me put it this way. I have a hobby budget. When I spend outside my era, it takes that much longer to get the stuff I need.
Let me put it this way. I have a hobby budget. When I spend outside my era, it takes that much longer to get the stuff I need.
Right on the money (pun intended). I have expanded my era slightly by one year to be able to use some other rolling stock and vehicles that I like. I will get some foreign road locos for transfer runs but they will be in the right era and limited.
Ricky
John(UP 4-12-2) wrote...Quote: Not so sure that I would say "most"...>Since I like Sonoran Desert, and it extended much farther into Mexico, that's what I'm working on...there's just some unique plants I need to get.
...John
Hello... I see what you are referring to so allow me to rephrase my commment - IMHO, I believe the 'majority' of Model Railroaders who run on or operate a layout, are committed to or at least suggest a prototype railroad they are interested in. That doesn't necessarily suggest that that modeler couldn't run 'other' or roads or era of railroad equipment on his/her layout. I'd guess that a majority do it to some degree.
To the OP - There are also many modelers that free-lance a fictional road that has an entire history created around it giving it a reason of existance and a 'flavor' of its own. Some famous ones you may recall are the V&O, Ohio Southern and the Cat Mountain & Santa Fe. They never really existed but are still based on a prototype operation that influenced its creation.
This type of modeling does allow for a lot of latitude becuase you are not adhering to one set of operations, type of equipment, etc.
If you want to run or operate or just own - different road types, you don't have to create a fictional road to justify having or running them...if you like a particular model that doesn't fit in with the particular railroad you are chiefly following as a basis, then run it!
You can see by some of the other posts here, that you can almost justify any reason why, for instance - a PRR or NKP steam engine would be seen running on a modern, concrete tie UP mainline in the middle of the wildes of Wyoming,Texas or Utah - using my own layout and railroad favorites as an example.
The main thing is for you - to have fun and enjoy what you are doing - it doesn't really matter what anyone else is doing.
Good Luck to you on the Layout and have fun.
HeritageFleet1
LOL
I thought that was a complete answer. I don't stick to my chosen era or road name.
When my wife or grandchildren say "Can we get that?" I have a tendency to say "Oh, sure.".
Originally planned to be Erie, Lackawanna and Delaware and Hudson, the three railroads that served my home town when I was growing up, it now also has a PRR K-4 Pacific, an Amtrak F-40PH, Two Atlantic Coast Line GP-38s, New York City R-17 and R-22 subway trains, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Hogwart's Express.
So, as I stated, the answer is: "No, I don't".
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Phoebe VetNo.
No.
Don't be such a chatterbox!
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
If it's a Canadian road, I'll run it. Anything from steam to early diesel to modern - but not all at the same time. I'm lucky to have enough that I can run CN or CP in each of these eras. While I respect those who confine their activities to a specific time period, my will is weak - if it's a beautiful model, it can find a home here ; ) Cheers.
My short line is owned by an eccentric who grew up riding trains, so besides the main revenue generators (coal mining and lumber), he collected complete trains from different eras. Diesel to haul coal and lumber, steam and transitional diesels for railfanning trips.
Heritagefleet1 John... I think most modelers have a particular railroad prototype - historic or modern - that they like to emulate and try to re-create.
John... I think most modelers have a particular railroad prototype - historic or modern - that they like to emulate and try to re-create.
Not so sure that I would say "most". I know very few who were ever able to stick to one railroad or theme.
In my case, I'm modeling certain scenes of the Southwest, and I have been using engines that were at least occasionally seen there (excepting the Y6B's).
Since I like Sonoran Desert, and it extended much farther into Mexico, that's what I'm working on...there's just some unique plants I need to get.
John
I model the Western Pacific. That gives me a lot of options. The WP shared trackage with the Southern Pacific in Nevada. The WP interchanged with the D&RGW in Salt Lake City and also ran some D&RGW locomotives from time to time. The Union Pacific was a visitor to WP trackage. In the East Bay area of San Francisco they had trackage rights with the AT&SF. At Bieber in Northern California they handed off to the Burlington Northern and all those railroads over time such as the GN, NP, SP&S and probably one I'm forgetting. So I have great latitude from which to chose from.
johngriffey18ca1 Do you find yourself straying outside what you set up as your era and road?
Do you find yourself straying outside what you set up as your era and road?
Not really. The theme is a freelanced shortline, operating 1995 to present. What changes about the theme of the layout is the amount of industries along the line that receive rail service. Structures are (will all finally be) built to allow up to ten industries to be served, which would require newer, more modern diesels like gp38-2's. On the other hand, the layout could be run with having most of those industries abandoned over the years, which then results in operations and equipment becoming less robust, say gp-7's or even alco s-2's.
To answer your specific question, no, the era and road doesn't change. But the theme has some nuances that change to allow a variety of rolling stock and first generation (some second too) diesels to run, based upon what type of operating session I want to have at the moment. There are sometimes reasons to lease NS, CSX, or ex-UP gp's when the railroad is running in its "highly profitable" theme.
However, I will be buying a steam locomotive just to run it as a display when I'm working at the bench, simply because they look cool. Likely a Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0. I'll default to the "tourist dinner train" cop-out to give me an excuse to have it.
- Douglas
It is a model railroading tradition to have a two-railroad layout...
1st => Free-Lancing => Conemaugh Road & Traction is a short-line interurban railroad with PCC and box motor (the traction), and the opportunity for some steam and diesel (the road).
2nd => Proto-Lancing => CR&T is surrounded by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The PRR had steam, diesel, and electric.
3rd => Circa 1956 => Timeframe when traction was still viable, and within two years of the Pennsy going all-diesel.
Conemaugh Road & Traction circa 1956
My fictional Heartland Division of the CB&Q is intended to be a composite of the Burlington Route and its subsidiaries, C&S and FW&D during 1962.
GN and NP have running rights.
Santa Fe and other western railroads run occasionally on "detours" assuming trains were diverted in emergency situations.
From time to time I will change the 1962 to 1940's or 1950's.
For operations, I have "operating sessions" to simulate realistic railroad transportation. Otherwise, I have "running sessions" featuring trains from various railroads. As the layout construction continues, I am doing more operating sessions than running sessions.
Also, as the layout construction continues, the railroad is developing its own character or "personality".
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU