I have enjoyed reading all of your takes on this matter , I especially like Howard Zane's input of not limiting creativity.
I personally embrace the Western Pacific (about 80% of my rolling stock and power) However having studied it's history and looked at many pictures from my time frame of 1960 to 1980 and noticing the various run through equipment and foreign power they leased, you will find equipment from D&RGW, Burlington and BN, SP&S, NP, and of course their held companies of Tidewater Southern and Sacramento Northern, running on my pike, which is called the "LAST MOUNTAIN & EASTERN RR".
We also have one EMD demonstrator a GP-50 as the newest power of the time here. there are also some vagrant pieces of equipment that have ventured onto our rails with loads interchanged from the east, such as, Erie, Reading, Seaboard, Milwaukee Rd. C&NW, Soo, Illinois Central, NYC, PRR., but very few...
As has been said before, there are different strokes for different folks. So settle on your interests and go from there. It's your layout and your time and the goal is to enjoy yourself. Don't make it WORK.
Johnboy out....................for now.
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
For me, it requires several different railroads. Not just because I will buy something I like and run it because I feel like, but because the plan and background of my layout will require it.
My freelance railroad is Tri State Rail, and therefore, nearly half of my locomotives will be painted for that (I am only modeling one line of a larger system, and will not need to model most of the roster, because most locomotives will have specific assignments around the system). I will have two GP40-2s for the daily intermodal, 701/702 (although one will be painted in a Conrail scheme with TSTR reporting marks because that train is a joint operation with CSAO although TSR owns both the locomotives for that train), a 3GS21B Genset for the local, 101, and another fictional Genset (my story is it was rebuilt from a SW1500) for the shop switcher. I will also have at least one (maybe all three?) GP9m that are used in MOW service around the system. Although the locos from the rest of the system will make occasional appearances for maintenance, I don't have plans to model any of those.
Because the line is owned by New Jersey Transit, and TSR only operates freight service, NJT trains will also be needed. Two sets will probably be operated at once, but I'll likely (eventually, since those resin kits are expensive!) have a few additional cars and locos to be swapped out every once in a while.
Also, NS H-02 drops off and picks up cars from the yard. I'll eventually get around to purchasing an Atlas model of the 3010 (no, it's NOT a coincidence that that's my username! 3010 is the loco assigned to H-02 and I chose the name on purpose!) for that train. I'll probably keep one or two extra NS locos to cover when the 3010 goes out to Enola for inspection.
I've also concocted plans to roster various other locos, but I won't go into that. First, I need to buy all the locos I mentioned above- and I only already have 2 of them (3 if you count the Genset that I preordered)! I need 5 more minimum to make my plan work, and then the rest will come later...
My Model Railroad: Tri State RailMy Photos on Flickr: FlickrMy Videos on Youtube: YoutubeMy Photos on RRPA: RR Picture Archives
Everyone will have their own ideas, theories, and thoughts on the subject.
I picked the B & O in all its incarnates, because I used to love the Chessie stuff roling by near my home in the 70s. It also does NOT tie me into any specific time frame. I can run older B&O, C &O steamers or modern day CSX by changing a few things on the layout.
Also having visited the Pennsylvania Railroad museum in Strasburg PS. I fell in love with some of their static steamers. SO I started adding PRR stuff to my repretoir- either as run by themselves on a time of their own, or assuming they have "trackage rights" over parts of my B/C &O in certain areas.
The important thing is, whether you are a rivet counter era-specific area specific guy or one who likes to mix it all up- IS TO HAVE FUN DOING IT!!!!
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
What I do is, if there is a railroad paint scheme I like, I consider 2 questions:
1. is the railroad in the general area of where I set my layout?
2. If not, would it ruin the charicter of the paint scheme if my railroad "bought"the locomotive?
If the answer to question 1 is yes, then my job is easy, just buy the locomotive, weather it, and place it on the tracks.
If the answer to #1 is no, but #2 is yes, then all I have to do is paint out the railroad's reporting numbers. The railroad's name can be painted out too, but I mostly just paint out the numbers as to retain as much of the paint scheme's original charicter. I have seen photos of struggling shortlines that just painted out the numbers and stenciled on their road numbers and reporting marks, so it's prototypical, up untill almost every locomotive has been "patched out", then I ask myself "Wait a minute; this short line is struggling to make ends meet, so how did it aquire all of these locomotives?" When it gets to that point, I "resale" some of the locomotives to my friends or sell them for profit at a yardsale or local indoor flea-market.
However, it's not unprototypical to see locomotives on the opposite side of the contenent of where they should be. (a perfict example is a CSX freaght train I saw when my father and I were rail-fanning in Folkston. that train had only Union Pacific locomotives, and it would have been unknown that it was even being ran by a CSX crew if it wasn't for the railroad scanner in that pavillian that was set up by the tracks)
I mix it up pretty well, but with a predominance of ATSF.
If I ever focused on a single railroad, it would be Santa Fe All The Way !
Alton Junction
When I run my transition era equipment mainly steam locomotives with a few early diesel road switchers RS2's &3's I run everything from PRR, N&W, Southern, B&O, Clinchfield, Reading and the Erie pretty much anything you would have seen running the rails of the mountains of Appalachia up to the coal fields of Pennsylvania over to the cost of NJ PRR country. When I want to run my modern equipment it's primarily N/S. Not being the quintessential rivet counter but this would sort of make sense in the real world or as much as I want to know about the real world. The N&W merged with the Southern to become N/S and what was once the B&O is now CSX which has partnered up with NS so it sorta kinda makes sense and if not I'll just rewrite the history of my fictional railroad then it will all be true cause I said so.......
Hi.
Are you going to be modeling Galveston in N scale or HO?
Greg Johnson
Right now I run lines that were important at the transition time in Pa. PRR, RDG and LV with a bit of CNJ are what I am using, with rolling stock primarily from those lines mixed with mainly other eastern seaboard lines
I hve my own railrod (the Goldn State Railroad), so the answer is yes. We do buy most of our locomotives second hand, so we have a number of road names which aare patched for the GSRR until they can get into the pint shop.
I have my own layout but also am a member of a modular club so maybe I have the best of both worlds. My layout has 22 inch R curves so I tend to stick with the smaller steam and early diesels towing short passenger and freight cars.. like 40 footers. Mostly Southern Rwy and associated railroads.
The club, on the other hand, has a very large modular layout with 33 inch R curves so I bring out the big steam and modern diesels and more modern cars. Most of those are Norfolk Southern, NW like the large Class A 2-6-6-4 behind me in the photo below.... with a sprinkling of other roads.
At first I ran the big stuff on my home layout, and still do on occasion, but over the years I came to think more and more about how much better the smaller units behaved and looked on my 85 feet of mainline with it's mostly #4 turnouts. So in the past few years I've found myself sticking with Mikados and Consolidations (even 4-4-0's), RS 3's and other early 4 axle diesels.
It's surprising how much bigger your layout becomes when running smaller locos and rolling stock..
Jarrell
The layout that I'm going to start building soon is going to be the CSX Dothan Subdivision, running from Montgomery, AL, to Thomasville, GA. Given that information I know my "main line" power has to be CSX with a little UP or BNSF thrown in for run-through freights. However, given the length of the sub division, I also have interchange with the following railroads at the following locations:
Hyundai Motors (SW900 in their yard) at Hope Hull, AL
Conecuh Valley RR (GP38s, two of them) at Troy, AL
The Equity Group (feed mill with in-house GP7u) at Banks/Pronto, AL
Wiregrass Central RR (GP40s and GP38s two of each) at Waterford, AL
Pilgrims Pride (feed mill with in-house S2) at Pinckard, AL
Bayline RR (GP40s, GP38s, several) at Grimes, AL
Bayline RR (same as above) at Dothan, AL
Chattahoochee Industrial RR (SW1500s, GP38s) at Saffold, GA
CSX Bainbridge Subdivision at Bainbridge, GA
So yeah....I've got a few locomotives to gather up, but for the most, it will be CSX locomotives, with all of the assorted rolling stock that I see on the tracks daily, some I know I can buy out right, some I'll have to paint....
So yeah, I do kinda stick with one railroad, but I also know that I'll have to model the interchanges.
I model the Chicago Northwestern in 1980-83. I have UP power for pool power since the two railroads worked so close together. I have alot of private name grain hoppers and CNW rolling stock.
Todd
I have never seen a railroad with nothing but that railroad's locomotives and rolling stock.
As for me, I mix and match various roadnames.
But if I get around to building my dream layout, I will concentrate on Santa Fe, my favorite.
Rich
I play with a few. Ok, many.
I loosely model the B&O and all it's incarnates- C&O, CHESSIE,CSX.
I also fell absolutely in love with the 1:1 Pennsy Locos on static dispay at the Railroad Museum of PA in Strasburg, PA.
SO I conjured up the idea that the B&O lets Pennsy run on its tracks with trackage rights.
Then I found out accidentally in research that the B&O DID indeed allow the PA RR to use some of it's tracks with trackage rights, so I am NOT far off the mark!
I also run the D&H as those are mine and My Other Half's initials! So we do that for fun.
I have a friend who first bought a NS train set to get into teh hobby, then decide to go with Canadian Pacific because those are HIS initials!
Greg, your post did not make clear WHOSE layout ytou were asking about. I could not find any mention of Galveston in the previous 20 or so posts.
I am building a Galveston layout in N, (The truth of the "am building" depends on how much time I spend working on my History Masters Thesis.. and the "theses" I write on trains.com forums, instr4ead of building the layout!)
I have written a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG thread about the design of the Galveston layout which you might be able to access at:
http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=88991&highlight=island+seaport
See my pictures at:
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/2660
I really enjoyed your Houston and Sealy N layout. I gave you an N scale scratchbuilt structure for your layout and built a duplicate for my own layout.
When a corner of my model appeared in a photo of your layout in Great Model Railroads, that was for me like what Andy Warhol called everyone's "15 minutes of fame."
This was the prototype, about 1980. Yes, it's gone now.
There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.....
Why do i stick with one railroad?
It's simple.
Because I have a model railroad, not a toy train set!
Cheers
Roger T.
Home of the late Great Eastern Railway see: - http://www.greateasternrailway.com
For more photos of the late GER see: - http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l99/rogertra/Great_Eastern/
rogertra Why do i stick with one railroad? It's simple. Because I have a model railroad, not a toy train set!
So I would gather that this means that no other railroad crosses, interchanges has run through power on your railroad or ever has.
I picked mine, the UP in west Texas 1995 or so just so I could have more then one railroads engines or rolling stock at any one time.
Ken G Price My N-Scale Layout
Digitrax Super Empire Builder Radio System. South Valley Texas Railroad. SVTRR
N-Scale out west. 1996-1998 or so! UP, SP, Missouri Pacific, C&NW.
So I would gather that this means that no other railroad crosses, interchanges has run through power on your railroad or ever has. I do know that it is possible depending on the era or location.
CN since 1986! Lighty thinned with CP... and some experimental QRL&P. Lots of other railroads are really interesting, but at some point, you've got to make choice and turn toward what has the deeper root in your RR experience.
Matt
Proudly modelling the Quebec Railway Light & Power Co since 1997.
http://www.hedley-junction.blogspot.com
http://www.harlem-station.blogspot.com
Lake rogertra: Why do i stick with one railroad? It's simple. Because I have a model railroad, not a toy train set! So I would gather that this means that no other railroad crosses, interchanges has run through power on your railroad or ever has. I do know that it is possible depending on the era or location. I picked mine, the UP in west Texas 1995 or so just so I could have more then one railroads engines or rolling stock at any one time.
rogertra: Why do i stick with one railroad? It's simple. Because I have a model railroad, not a toy train set!
Guess I misunderstood the question. My comment was aimed at those people who have no real theme. They just run anything, from anywhere, from any era. Fine if they like it as it's their railroad but as I wrote, I have a model railroad not a toy train set.
Yes, I did run interchange and on the GER you could daily see power from the NYC at Granville Junction and the Rutland Road at Berger Yard. Sometimes power from the CPR and CNR would show up in Granville Junction but it was rare. However, any foreign power and cabooses would only run to and from the appropriate interchange trackage and would not do any switching. Power would be turned if required and the GER yard switcher would place the foreign caboose onto the rear of the outbound interchange train which would depart shortly thereafter.
Lake I picked mine, the UP in west Texas 1995 or so just so I could have more then one railroads engines or rolling stock at any one time.
Well that didn't get you much. 1995 UP in W Texas would only get you the ATSF if you included Sweetwater or the SP if you included El Paso.
Pretty much anyplace east or north of Texas would double or triple the number of railroads you would interact with.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Construction will start soon on my railroad but i currently have CNW, BN, Burlington and UP locomotives. Potentially you might see any of the railroads that operated in my town in the 1960's - late seventies and that could also include the Wabash, Rock Island and Milwaukee Road. My railroad will be a shelf railroad that i hope to be able to change era by the vehicles and locomotives and the road.
Corey
Railroading In Council Bluffs
http://www.rrincb.com/
Visit my caricature carving website:
http://iowacarver.tripod.com/
dehusman Lake: I picked mine, the UP in west Texas 1995 or so just so I could have more then one railroads engines or rolling stock at any one time. Well that didn't get you much. 1995 UP in W Texas would only get you the ATSF if you included Sweetwater or the SP if you included El Paso. Pretty much anyplace east or north of Texas would double or triple the number of railroads you would interact with.
Lake: I picked mine, the UP in west Texas 1995 or so just so I could have more then one railroads engines or rolling stock at any one time.
Let me rephrase this. As UP merged with or had bought up around this time or a little later SP, MoPac, CNW it lets me have those engines on my protolanced branch between San Antonio, San Angelo, Big Spring and north to Lubbock.
My planned HO & N layouts would be mostly based on a D&H Roster but placed in a Rocky Mountain setting. Basically mixing D&RGW with D&H with a wide range of era and you end up with the D&H Western Division
Darren (BLHS & CRRM Lifetime Member)
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum (DHVM), Railroad Adventures (RRAdventures)
My Blog
Stourbridge Lion My planned HO & N layouts would be mostly based on a D&H Roster but placed in a Rocky Mountain setting. Basically mixing D&RGW with D&H with a wide range of era and you end up with the D&H Western Division
Oooooooooo! Liking that!!!!
I too have a liking for all eras & my locomotive roster reflects that.
So I'm killing three birds with one stone & modeling basically NOW, but having my version of the CPR very enthusiastic about excursions. I'm modeling the "Railway Museum of New England" (my idea & yes they happen to have several western railroads locomotives) & modeling a museum allows me to run anything on the track! As an excursion. They may also lease power too!
Gordon
Brought to you by the letters C.P.R. as well as D&H!
K1a - all the way
We mainly run NP, GN, Weyerhaeuser, UP, & a local private RR. You would see any of them in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1950's.
Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
I like most railroads, modern or vintage, numerous eras appeal to me as do multiple places (and not just in the U.S. of A) that said, though I live in an area with plenty of hardcore Pennsylvania and Reading fans I'm sticking by my longtime railroad love, the Norfolk And Western of the 1950s. If it's an N&W model I'll want it at some point and have worked to acquire a good collection of relatively accurate N&W models since the beginning of this year when I rediscovered model railroading.
Alvie