Well, I was more of a Conrail follower in college...Keep in mind many areas of the US were deindustrializing (well, the Northeast had been losing heavy industry for decades before), with some urban areas revamping around FIRE and STEM industries (e.g. Pittsburgh PA) and other areas...just petering out. Railroads had been deregulated since 1980, and while Conrail took full advantage of that to abandon lines (including ones it would find it really need decades later), not sure how much Chessie (and SCL) shed lines.Intermodal was a big topic in both the railway and the model press, and in general it meant mostly TOFC and COFC on 89ft flats. Stacks, well-cars, and spines came in toward the end of the '80s, along with some experiments like the 4-runner and boxcars/bulkhead flats rebuilt as TOFC flats. 4-axle power still pretty common, although with 5K units between them the SD40/SD40-2 were pretty much everywhere, so if you're modeling a mainline have some of those models. I'll let you do the research on which Chessie locos had B&O, C&O, or WM reporting marks. As for rolling stock, you can't go wrong with covered hoppers, gondolas, outside post boxcars, and bulkhead flats. Other types of cars will depend on what type of industries you plan to model - for example a food processing plan could use tank cars of corn oil, while a supermarket chain warehouse could get mech reefers. And of course for western Virginia, don't skimp on the 100 ton triple and quad hoppers for coal shipments. Don't forget cabooses were being replaced by FREDs on most trains in this era as well.The railroad infrastructure, at least in the NY Tri-state area, always seemed a bit seedy and beat-looking, even after Conrail refurbished a line; don't recall how groomed Chessie was in this era. Keep graffitti on freight cars down to a minimum - there was some in the mid-80s, but boxcars and covered hoppers in general hadn't become rolling murals back then. Litter and junk along the ROW...probably less than the '70s, but still plenty depending on the area you're modeling. You can more readily justify smaller warehouses and plants getting rail service, I'd say.On the home-front, new automobiles in the mid-80s were rather boxy and angular in design, or of the "slanty cheese wedge" variety like the Pontiac Fiero, Triump TR7, and of course the ultimate '80s car, the IROC-Z Camaro. The ladies wore big hair and us guys liked it like that (OK, there were some ladies who rocked shorter hair styles like Princess Di, but there was NO Skrillex hair styles! OK, there may have been Mohawks...). We wore black sneakers, jeans, t-shirts, and knock-off "members only" jackets (the women did as well, come to think of it). And music was pretty darn good from the late 1970s till about...eh, 1999 or so, when something happened. Oh well.
Thanks for Replying! Just one more thing: are there any unique aspects to chessie system (or related railroads of the era and area)
Well, if you've seen videos, then I suppose you watched REM's video for "Driver 8", which features quite a bit of Chessie System railroading (seriously) filmed in Clifton Forge, VA, which is about 100 miles or so south of Garrett County, Maryland, and looks not unlike (judging from Google Earth) the southern portion of Garrett county. Besides, it's a great song from my college years...
Hey everyone,
I am planning my first layout to have the track plan of model railroad mag's virginian layout, and I hope to keep it that way. My problem is that when I see the Virginian, it's the virginian. It just doesn't look Chessie. I will be flexable, but I have no more room than the virginian layout. I've been looking through photos and videos and I want something like the late 80's (after the merge) in Garrett county, Maryland. Anyone with experience with Chessie please feel free to comment. Sadly I was not born in the chessie era so I have no expirince. Thanks in advance for anyone who helps.
-Ian A.