dehusman While most people think of his period as the zenith of US railroading, it was actually an era of huge compression and the era when the fall was accerlerating. The zenith was probably in the 1920's, after that US rail mileage began to contract. Coal was falling out of favor as a general heating fuel and so the eastern roads were in a large part circling the bowl. By the 1960's the weak roads were failing or laying on the floor twitching, the LNE, NYO&W, CRIP, LV. Even the mighty PRR and NYC were in trouble. It wasn't until the next "big thing", computers, came in the 1970's that railroads started to pull out of the nose dive and by the end of the 80's the changes in regulation, etc allowed the railroads to actually begin to expand again. While the "transition era" was cool because of the mix of power and big steam engines a lot of the railroads were actually dead men walking. From what I've seen the US railroads peaked in the 1920's, bottomed out in the 1970's and are in the midst of a climb to a new peak right now.
While most people think of his period as the zenith of US railroading, it was actually an era of huge compression and the era when the fall was accerlerating. The zenith was probably in the 1920's, after that US rail mileage began to contract. Coal was falling out of favor as a general heating fuel and so the eastern roads were in a large part circling the bowl. By the 1960's the weak roads were failing or laying on the floor twitching, the LNE, NYO&W, CRIP, LV. Even the mighty PRR and NYC were in trouble. It wasn't until the next "big thing", computers, came in the 1970's that railroads started to pull out of the nose dive and by the end of the 80's the changes in regulation, etc allowed the railroads to actually begin to expand again. While the "transition era" was cool because of the mix of power and big steam engines a lot of the railroads were actually dead men walking.
From what I've seen the US railroads peaked in the 1920's, bottomed out in the 1970's and are in the midst of a climb to a new peak right now.
While you are very correct from an accounting or boardroom standpoint, the outward appearance and public face of the railroads was very good in the early 50's and did not start to decline until the early 60's - but it did decline quickly when the post war attempts at rebuilding and reorganizing began to fail.
And the government helped cause that failure with its policies on piggyback and other freight tariff regulations (over regulation that should have ended decades before then) and passenger service which the railroads spent a ton of money trying to recapture with no support from the goverment.
Had the government deregulated both the railroads and the trucking industry in 1950, there might not hardly be a tractor trailer on an Interstate highway today, they would likely all be on flat cars except for local deliveries.
My father worked for the Southern Rwy in the early 60's, as a piggyback system manager. Everyone saw the opertunity but the tariff system tied their hands in terms of being competitive.
It took the government 3 decades to get out of the way, by that time, trucks and trains where deep in competition with each other rather than working together as it could have been. We are only now starting to see intermodel come into its potential - Think of all the oil that could have been saved (even then trains got 5x the ton miles per gallon of a truck), traffic problems lessened, tax dollars saved, Thank you Washington!
Sheldon
I model the Iowa Division of the Milwaukee Road from 1979-1985 since cabooses still ran back then.I lived 40 miles from Perry,Iowa and got to see trains on the Iowa Division a couple of time until the March 1980 shut down.I went to Davenport,Ottumwa and Washington to watch the Milwaukee Road until the Soo Line take over in 1986.
Heartland Division CB&QUSA operated the best passenger trains in the world in that era. This is before the government's policies put most trains out of busness in favor of highways and airways.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
I'm 41 years old and have no interest in even photographing the modern era. To me "modern" would be the Big Alco era of the '70's--and I have no desire at all for anything following that. I have very vague memories of having seen the Reading Alco Centuries, and the CP big Alco/MLW's.
At least in part because I completely detest celcon handrails on diesels, and in part because I have small boys at home (small boys are fascinated with steam power), I've opted to sell all the diesels and model steam power only--but as late as 1959 (so that I can have 1959 era freight cars which have slightly more colorful paint schemes, etc.).
Really, it would be more accurate to say I'm modeling the transition era, but just without any diesels present on the layout (they're always somewhere else far far away).
My layout is 3 scenes from the Southwest, with more than one railroad represented--I just basically buy what I like. There's a Tucson-area Saguaro desert scene that basically blends into mojave desert. There's an autumn Utah red-rock Echo Canyon-type scene on UP, and a winter scene with roughcut red-rock tunnel portals.
My motive power currently includes 4-12-2's, 4-6-6-4's, and one weathered 4-8-8-4 (Athearn Genesis due very soon). When I am able to get my hands on a good SP 4-10-2, I'll likely get one of those too (or the UP rebuilt 4-10-2).
Future steam power may include SP 4-8-2's, UP 2-10-2's, and DRGW 4-8-2's, as available models and funds allow.
John
Model the Santa Fe in 1989, in Oklahoma, heavy wheat movement, grain trains, also included is the BN Avard sub from Tulsa (staging) to Avard and Waynoka on ATSF, also staging.
My dad was a Santa Fe switch engineer, and we lived at Enid Okla from the time I was in 3rd grade until I graduated from Seminary. I worked for Santa Fe as an extra board clerk during summers while going to seminary. Graduated from seminary, went to a church in Kansas near Topeka, needed extra income, worked nights in the Santa Fe GOB at Topeka, got caught in the search for candidates to go to IBM school, and the rest of my adult working days I worked in the computer programming field in Kansas City and served small churches as a pastor. Now I am retired. My layout, which was started in 1984, recreates the part of the Santa Fe I grew up around. I model the main from Oklahoma City through Guthrie on the layout, then into Arkansas City staging.. I also have the Enid District modeled from Guthrie through Enid, Cherokee and into Kiowa KS and then into Waynoka staging.
Bob
1945-1965
USA operated the best passenger trains in the world in that era. This is before the government's policies put most trains out of busness in favor of highways and airways. .......
Also, most industries shipped by rail in small carloads. Switching to serve all of the industries is a fun aspect of this hobby.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
I model the 1970's/1980's on my own layout but model the 1950's/1970's on another layout I'm helping build.
Reason? A lot of travel around that period brought me to a whole host of intriguing possibilities as regards the RR's and their myriad approaches to transportation issues. I also found that, on a couple of locations at least, there were quite a few "steam" museums in the area I'm modelling. Just another excuse to build up small steam traction engines and such
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
A quick scan of this thread shows a lot of people modeling time periods of early childhood or prior to being born. That surprised me a little as I typically think of people modeling what they saw with their own eyes during during the formative time of their life that they have memories off (ie between age 7 and 20 or so).Transition era is an obvious popular time (approx 1940-1955) because diesels were getting very common but steam was still around on mainlines until the mid-1950's approximately. Of course the down side of transition is steam is more expensive in an already expensive hobby. I knew a guy during graduate school who is modeling the D&RGW in 1953 and it is very expensive due to the fact that there are almost no prototypically correct HO steam engines for the D&RGW in plastic - its a pretty much all brass proposition, and certainly out of the question for a guy like me.
I model 1965-1990, which was the modern age of indedpendant D&RGW. To me that includes some transition diesel with the late 1960's therer were still some F units around, and there was the California Zephyr running. So maybe two major times, late 1960's, and 1980's is when I got to see the Rio Grande myself a few times while traveling through Colorado. I only regret not taking time to stop and photograph it personally - so I'm relying on a lot of books, and DVD's to re-live those times.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I model the more "modern" era. I have the layout based on the 80's - now. Why? Well I was born in 1979, and that's what I remember seeing. I also enjoy modeling the rust on the cars, the older buildings, newer equipment, etc..... in this era.
"Rust, whats not to love?"
October of 1941...because of the diversity in motive power and rolling stock; the far larger choice in the range of industries served; the interesting complexity of RR infrastructure; the equally diverse and colorful scenes of both rural and urban development as compared to the drab and ticky-tacky similarity of the scene that is presented today. And above all, there is the marvelous mechanical motion and primal power one sees in the operation of steam locomotives which seems to make them almost living things...rather than the lifeless, powered boxcar, sameness, aspects of the modern diesel era.
I have found this thread very interesting reading as, so far, it clearly indicates that - as has always been the situation since the 1950's according to actual hobby surveys - the Transition Era is far and away the most popular among modelers and the claims that interest among hobbyists in recent years has been steadily shifting toward a more modern era, is essentially a fallacy.
CNJ831
I model 1930 to about 1945.
Why?...
- Most freight rolling stock was shorter than in more modern eras (trains with more cars in a given length than for modern eras)- Rail dependency had generally not begun dropping significantly yet, providing a great variety of rail-served industries, large and small.- Automobile infrastructure still generally rudimentary- I have a "romantic" vision of the pre-transition era- Nostalgic for me, even though I wasn't born yet- Petroleum products shipped by rail - long trains of tank cars- All steam!!!!
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
I had my first taste of railfanning in 1974, and it was also the year I got my first train set. So I model the mid-1970s in HO scale.
MotleyI'm wondering what eras you model and why. I notice that the 50's seem really popular.Is it because of your age? When you were a young "whipper snapper" in your teens and 20s.
I'm wondering what eras you model and why. I notice that the 50's seem really popular.
Is it because of your age? When you were a young "whipper snapper" in your teens and 20s.
For some.
For others (like me, who was born in 1965 in Norway and model the late 1950s in Minnesota) the transition era is tempting to model because it was an era where there were a lot of railroads that no longer exists, shorter cars (so you can fit more cars, longer trains and sharper curves onto a modest sized layout), both steam locomotives and early diesels, there were more companies building locomotives and more variety in the look of the locomotives, and there were still a lot of small rail served businesses, which today is served by trucks.
Ie a combination of the romance of yesteryear, and practical consideration of what is easiest to model in a decent way in the kind of space I have available.
Your mileage may (and probably will) vary. Smile, Stein
I model the early 80's til today. I work in a harbor so my harbor and oil facility is modern but the 80's is when all the mergers occurred in the east. This allows me to have CSX, N&S, Conrail and Chessie all show up. Also, I am modeling the small town I live in. somehow it got transported to an industrial area. Most of downtown was built in the 20's-50's and revitalized in the 80's. Plenty of models to choose from. I have to admit that occasionally a steam excursion train shows up from somewhere, as my kid likes to see the steam. My Dad on the other hand grew up in the 50's and likes the transition phase. He has just started building his so all he has right now is a couple of diesels. But I foresee a steamer in his future, possibly a B-day present this summer.
I'm 53 and I model the IC in the 1950s. I still remember my first train ride when I was about 4, standing on the platform in Belleville Illinois and jumping out of the way of the (to me at the time) huge IC E unit that was going to take my mother and I to St Louis. Steam was still running on the IC the first few years of my life but I honestly can't remember seeing it run. When I was in high school I modeled the late 60s and early 70s because those were the trains I knew.
When I got back into the hobby a little over 2 years ago I decided to model the decade I was born in. I currently live on the old IC North/South mainline about 15 miles North of Centralia where the big car shops were. My under construction layout runs from Centralia, North to Effingham about 50 miles of real life mainline. I have just as much fun researching how things were back in the 1950s as I do building the models.
Jeff
Late 40s early 50s. I was born in 64. Missed out on this era of railroading. Now I can recreate it in my basement.
I can go trackside to see all the modern railroading I want.
I'm modeling right now. Right now allows me the greatest flexibility in the way of motive power as steam & first generation diesels are still around in 2010. Steam in excursion services, first gen diesels in excursion as well as secondary services & SD40s & newer locos in mainline service. It's like the Grand-Daddy scenario of "what if?"
Gordon
Brought to you by the letters C.P.R. as well as D&H!
K1a - all the way
From the 1920s to the late 70s
I am redoing my layout and will be generic scenery only
I have steamers from the 4-4-0 up to the Berk-- in diesels a FA a GP20 and B23-7
I run freight cars according to what engines I have on my tracks ( 2 ovals 2 trains staging in a drawer ) and the era they typify
I only run smaller diesels and no articulated steamers
No freight over 40 fters
I stopped in the late 70s because I don't like the modern diesels SD70s Dash 8s
51% share holder in the ME&O ( Wife owns the other 49% )
ME&O
1910 in NE PA...'cause if you can get used to camelbacks, you can get used to anything!
Oh yeah, its in the genealogy too.
Jim
Well, I'm 58 and i don't model the transitional era. well, maybe i do, but not that transitional era. actually, I model two eras. the 1870-1880s, and 1910-1920s.
The 1880s: end of the pre air brake, men of iron, cars of wood, 28 foot cars wearing brakemen on the roofs, tiny wood burning 4-4-0s painted all the colors of the rainbow.
a quick change of a few buildings, bridges and poof the early days of steel framed cars. air brakes, billboard reefers, 80' passenger cars, and the first of big power.
I don't so much model an era as I do a railroad (being the New Haven). Since the NH existed from 1872 to 1969, I have a wide range of "eras" to model. The oldest equipment I have is a pre-WWI electric right on up to the last diesels purchased by the NH in 1964 (U25B's) and everything in between. This includes steam, electrics, and diesels.
I have futher interests other than my strict NH-only pledge, and that's stuff I've seen, worked on, or ridden behind (which explains my CN M420, MBTA F40PH, and QBT U23B). But these are oddballs not usually run with my NH equipment at all. Instead, it goes to my club more often than not, where we are mixed to say the least (all eras, all roads).
I don't model the modern day because it's boring. I have a strong interest in my home town (4th generation), and only the NH offers the variations I want to see. If I wanted all identical equipment running back and forth with little to no freight service, I'd just model a subway and be done with it.
Paul A. Cutler III
I'm modeling the late transition era (late 1950's) even though I've never seen a steam engine "in the wild". They were just a few years before my time. I was born in the early 1960's. I like modeling the transition era because it allows me to run both steam and diesels together. And also early electrics too if I want. My layout concept is based on the semi-fictional "South Pennsylvania Railroad", a real railroad that was chartered, surveyed, graded but never built. My version of the South Penn has the railroad cast as a small regional / bridge route operating between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh PA, which has grown up under the benevolent watchful eye of its principle patron, the Pennsylvania Railroad. At its west end, near Pittsburgh, it exchanges with the Montour RR, which was a small local line that serviced a number of coal, iron ore and other mineral companies. Those will be the main three railroads depicted on the layout. There will be some additional minor interchanges including the Western Maryland around Somerset PA, the Huntingdon and West Broad Top Mtn Rwy at Everett, and possibly the East Broad Top Rwy also at Everett.
I live in Phoenix, Arizona and I am 35.
I grew up with the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific around town, so thathas laid some influnce on me.
I chose to model 2 eras. With some careful modeling in age neutral buildings and a huge chunk of creativity... with the changing of rolling stock and power, I can pull it off. I model 1956 and present day. I amazed by the old steam and the almost magical feel of the transition era. But, I enjoy modeling what I can see around me when I rail fan.
Best Regards, Big John
Kiva Valley Railway- Freelanced road in central Arizona. Visit the link to see my MR forum thread on The Building of the Whitton Branch on the Kiva Valley Railway
I model BNSF in the modern times. People look at me funny when I say that but the merger happen almost 15 years ago.
I don't know why I model this period. I guess, when I was a kid, I got a train set that had Santa Fe trains in it and went from there.
Will
Up until 5 years ago, I modeled the B&O of the late 1960's to early 70's; IOW, right before the Chessie era. Great variety of 1st- and 2nd-generation diesel motive power during that period. The Western Maryland was still going strong, too. It was a great time to be a teenage railfan in Maryland with a drivers license.
So when I came back to the hobby in 1988, I resumed modeling the B&O for that era. In 2000 I sold my previous house and put the B&O stuff in storage until I could build a new layout. But when I finally built it in 2005, I decided I wanted to try modeling CSX since it was something I could see every day.
But now, I've learned that I miss running cabeese as much as I hate installing ditch lights. Going back to B&O would solve both those problems. So I brought all my Stewart F units and Atlas geeps out of my mother-in-law's crawl space and am gradually installing decoders in them.
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
like many others i am influenced by the early contacts i had with railroading. i was born in 1946, grew up in Memphis and went to work on the IC in my teens so that era (late 50's-early 60's) is my favorite. after coming north, i jumped ship and went with the Big Four in 1967.
i am not a purist by any means and i have a lot of equipment that would never had been in use at the same time but i do draw the line somewhere. no chop nose diesels, no orange and white or split rail logos and absolutely NO AMTRAK!!
grizlump
Traction + Diesel + Steam all co-existed circa 1956 -- providing a wide range of motive power flexibility! So, the two-layout-in-one approach -- traction (plus "road") surrounded by the Pennsy.
Conemaugh Road & Traction circa 1956
I picked the early 50's . The Maryland and Pennsylvania RR had small steam 4-4-0, 4-6-0, 0-6-0, 2-8-0 and small diesels SW1, NW2, SW9. It still had truss rod freight cars with archbar trucks in service and open platform wooden passenger cars with truss rods in passenger service (although it was the mail that kept passenger service profitable). It connected with the B&O at one end and the PRR at both ends so I can include their "modern" locomotives and passenger cars of the 50's. USRA cars were still on the roads along with "modern" cars. Predating the Interstate system there were still a lot of railroad deliveries of single cars and some LCL freight.
I was born in 1947 so there is some nostalgic attraction as well.
Enjoy
Paul
I model the 30's. I can run steam or newer stuff that runs past the old parts of town.