Favorite railroad

[gabeusmc]

I can here the posts now.

"obviusly AB&C railroad is the best"

"The first guy is nuts, XY&Z RR is the best"

and on and on...

But I'll do it anyway. What is your favorite Railroad. Mine would have to the Carolina Coastal Railway. http://mlrail.com/CLNA.htm I love the overgrown track http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=357469&nseq=7 , http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=331184&nseq=12 and the locomotives http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=274679&nseq=54 i,ve always liked short line railroads.

Now what is yours? 

[CTValleyRR]

I would hope that no one would be a big enough boor to get into a childish argument over whose line is best.

I'm partial to the New Haven, because it serves -- served anyway -- the area where I live.  It still lives on in the heritage paint schemes of Metro North and the Shore Line East.

 

And, you've got to love the Lyman Viaduct:  Then --

And now (bike trail -- although the NH filled it in before it became a bike trail):

[tbdanny]

As you can guess from my avatar and signature, my favourite railroad is the Denver & Rio Grande Western Narrow Gauge, mainly because of the mountian scenery and good-looking K-27s.

Second favourite railroad is the AT&SF, this time for the paint schemes they used in the 50s.

[Eric97123]

I am a CSX fan. It was the trains that came through my small south Georgia town when I was growing up. Now that I live in Oregon it is my little piece of my youth.

[jmbjmb]

Let's see, it would be the Southern.  No, wait, Clinchfield.  Maybe Piedmont & Northern.  How about Colorado Midland?  D&RG?  BN?  AAAAAAH.  I love them all.

[CP guy in TX]

Ummm, my name says it all, but a close second would be the great D&H, of course.

[hobo9941]

I was always partial to the southern railroads, L & N, GM&O, Southern, because I rode freights all over the south back in the summer of 62. I'll never forget the smell of pine scented air, and the honeysuckle, and the smell of creosote, riding through the southern countryside on a steamy southern night in a boxcar. Or riding across  Biloxi Bay between Pascagoula and Biloxi on a narrow one track bridge, with nothing but water on either side, under a full moon, pulled by four L&N F units. Good times.

I never cared for CSX. It just sounds so corporate. As compared to Norfolk Southern, which sounds like a real railroad.

[twhite]

Three, actually. 

The Denver and Rio Grande Western, especially during their standard-gauge steam era.  I can't think of a mid-sized 'connecting' line that fielded such a large variety of handsome 'big' steam for serving only two states--Colorado and Utah.   And plenty of spectacular scenery to back it up. 

Southern Pacific steam.  They had as many locomotives in just one wheel arrangement (195 Cab-forward 4-8-8-2's) as some other railroads had on their entire roster.  And a huge variety of scenery in which to operate them. 

And my 'home-town' railroad, the Nevada County Narrow Gauge, which hauled over four million dollars worth of gold bullion from the Northern Mines of California to the SP connection at Colfax, CA, a total of some 22 miles, without ever losing a penny of it to robbery.  It also sported the highest steel viaduct in the West (the 185' tall Bear River Bridge) for any number of years.  A narrow-gauge railroad built to standard gauge specifications.  It's been gone for about 70 years now, but the railbed was so well manicured and ballasted that some portions of the roadbed still look as if the rails were just taken up yesterday, LOL!  

Tom  

[Texas Zepher]

gabeusmc

"obviusly AB&C railroad is the best"

and on and on...

Now what is yours? 

How could one possibly choose a favorite railroad.
There is:
the massiveness and innovation of the Pennsy, 
the business savvy of the Burlington,
the mountain scenery of the Rio Grande,
the interconnections of the TRRA,
the passenger trains blasting along the water line of the NYC,
the mystique that is Santa Fe,
the frugalness and planned design of the Great Northern,
the bizarre consists of Rock Island mixed locals,
the paint scheme variety of the MiniLou,
the history of the B&O,
the longevity of steam on the N&W,
the multi-railroad east coast passenger service of FEC, ACL, Seaboard, RF&P,
the character of the shortlines like Louisville & Wadley,
need I go on?  

 No way to choose just one

[Don Z]

The Butte, Anaconda & Pacific.

Don Z.

[tstage]

In the subject line you say "favorite" but in the body of your post you mention "best".  There is a difference between "favorite" and "best".  Thankfully, I managed to pick a RR to model that is both.

Seriously, I like and model the New York Central (NYC).  I like their roster and the significant contributions they made to the RR industry.  However, there are a number of other good and interesting RRs.  I just happen to have chosen the NYC.

Tom

[selector]

I feel about several railroad/railways that reflects my 'collection' of rolling stock.  I am all over the map.  So far, I have a demonstrable interest in the NYC, PRR, N&W, C&O, CPR, UP, and the Santa Fe.

Recently, with a first class edition of Classic Trains in the spring of this year,and the recent special edition on the 4-8-4, I have decided that my absolute two favourite locomotives (apart from just about any articulated steamer) are the Northern Class and the Texas Type.  And, after reading quite a bit recently about the Santa Fe, I have pretty much come to regard them as my fav.  This evening.

[hon30critter]

My personal favourite is the Algoma Eastern. It ran from Sudbury, Ontario to Little Current, Ontario starting in the late 20's and running into the 80's albeit under Canadian National (I think) since the late 30's. It carried passengers and freight and mining ore. The track was torn up sometime in the 90's but the route is still maintained as a trail for hiking or SUV's. The most famous part of the AE was (and still is) the swing bridge at Little Current:

http://ca.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=rogers-yhs1&va=Little+Current+Swing+Bridge  

The railway was laid through some very challenging terrain. Just south of Willisville you could wave to the engineer as the front of the train went east while the back of the train was still going west. The scenery is breathtaking. The tops of the mountains are white quartz while the lower strata are pink granite. If you ever plan on touring northern Ontario then you have to take Hwy 6 south from the Trans Canada Highway to Little Current. Spectacular scenery.

Now - a strange confession: I am not modeling the Algoma Eastern!

Why?

Great scenery but little action. Very few sidings. There is an interesting wye at Little Current but it would take up way too much space. I worked out the space required for an HO model of the swing bridge and it came in at just over six feet and several hundred dollars in brass.

I have decided to focus on my second most favourite. That is protolancing the Canadian Pacific in the late 50's with an engine servicing facility able to do both steam and diesel and a yard that will handle whatever the heck I want! Don't hold your breath for pictures - mortgage first!

Dave

[jguess733]

I'm partial to the Fort Worth & Denver, the Rock Island, Frisco, Katy, T&P, Cotton Belt, Santa Fe, pretty much any road that served Ft. Worth.

[j610]

My favorite is the N & W.  I grew up in Roanoke and was exposed to it all through my early years .    RON

[richhotrain]

Santa Fe.....................................All The Way.

[IRONROOSTER]

My favorite is the Maryland & Pennsylvania, but the WWF, PRR, B&O, EBT are close seconds.

I don't know that any of them are the best - whatever that means to a model railroader.  But one of the reasons I like the Ma&Pa is that it was running old equipment in the 50's - truss rod freight and passenger cars, 4-4-0, 4-6-0, 2-8-0, and 0-6-0.  This contrasts nicely with the 50's era and allows for modeling cars and engines from over a 50 year time frame - the Ma&Pa also had 4 diesels by 51 and of course all the newer cars from interchange.

Enjoy

Paul

[BRAKIE]

I have several.

Fallen flags: C&O,N&W and Southern.

Shortline: Aberdeen & Rockfish.

 

Modern: Norfolk Southern.

[rogerhensley]

New York Central. It and the Pennsy were in my home town, the Central is still around as CSX but the Pennsy is history.

[mobilman44]

As mentioned, there is a difference in favorite (which no one can argue) and best - which is a subjective nightmare.  

I grew up in Chicago, on the northwest side very near the C&NW racetrack - where I spent an awful lot of time watching trains - including many steamers.

I visited my Grandmother in southern Illinois (Anna) and spent time there watching those beautiful and fast IC streamliners.

I was also captivated by the Santa Fe, perhaps due to Lionel's F3s and the companies publicity.

Today, my favorite road is the Santa Fe and to a lesser extent the Illinois Central - all post war era.  As far as the C&NW is concerned, maybe I just saw "too much" of them as a kid and got bored with them.

[arvanlaa]

My two favorite are...

CNR (Canadian National Railway) because it is on of the largest railways in North America and because anywhere I have lived or my folks have worked have been near CN mainlines so I dont see much CP traffic

The other is the BCRY (Barrie Collingwood Railway) Which is a shortline from Barrie ON to Collingwood ON that is headquarterd in Utopia ON. It is a very small railroad delivering frieght loads to clients in those two cities and is fed by the CN. CN discontinued service to the two cities so both municipalities purchased the track and contracted a company to run the freight service. I like it because I have always been interested in very small shortlines and it is near my town so ya... thats why :P

[gabeusmc]

Thanks for the response guys. I put that beginning in as a humouras way to warn against everybody getting into a shouting match, which I am sure will not happen. Though Tom was getting preety close to saying his was the best....

[JonathanS]

My favorite is the Reading.  What is not to like.  Distinctive steam locomotives, many built in the Reading PA shops, from the very beginning to the end of the Rambles in the 1960's.  Main lines that seemed to go everywhere in eastern PA.  Heavy electric operations in the Philadelphia area.  The 2nd and 3rd diesel locomotives from Alco/GE/IR, the very first FM locomotive built, the first production GP30s, the first C430's (even before the demonstrators were completed). Unit trains, coal drags, the Alphabet hot freights from the west, the NE hot freights from the south to and from New England.   Innovations like the "BEE Line Service" which dedicated a train and crew to one shipper and permitted that crew to cross division lines, and the liquid spray which increased traction better than sand.  Giant billboard lettering on freight cars that was readable over a half mile away.  A major passenger station that was built INSIDE a wye and had platforms on all three legs of the wye.

[tschwarz]

My favorite is the B&O.  I love the history of the B&O and a lot of their own home grown equipment as well and love those wagontop cars and cabooses.

Probably two of the main reasons I love the B&O is that my father worked for them (well eventually Chessie and CSX) for 40 years and would have stayed longer but they closed the shop where he worked.  He started with the B&O in 1942 working out of the passenger station in Pittsburgh as a helper and then eventually moved to Glenwood as an electrician and worked in the Diesel shop till they closed the shop in 1982.  He taught me a love of trains and I always enjoyed going down with him to the shops when I was a kid and seeing these massive locomotives and knowing he worked on those locomotives.  I even got a chance to be behind the controls of some of them when they moved them in and out of the shop building.  My Dad always told us he LOVED working for the B&O because it was like a family, he enjoyed the Chessie System because it was still a little like a family but didn't like CSX as much because it was just a business at that point.  

Then there was the family outings we would take on the B&O from Pittsburgh to Cumberland where we would get off and have a picnic in Cumberland and then take another train home and get home late the same day we left.  I loved riding in the dome cars and looking around too.

Then there is that beautiful Blue and Gray paint scheme that the B&O had on their locomotives and passenger cars.

The second main reason I love the B&O is the days I spent hanging out at the station in my hometown talking to the agent and going with him to check the cars on the sidings and finally getting to ride the local switcher when it came through town.  I swear my Dad knew everybody that worked out of Glenwood because as soon as they heard I was his son I was treated like part of the family (and I know I got to do things other people didn't because they knew my Dad).  

Now I am building a model of the B&O that ran through the town I grew up in and it is fun to relive those memories.  Some of the areas I am enjoying building on this line is Glenwood and the diesel shop where my Dad worked, my hometown and the station and then of course there is the Evans City station that was built over a creek and support by steel beams underneath.  It had these beautiful turrets in each corner of the station as well.  It was just a very unique station for those facts.

That is why the B&O is my favorite railroad.

Tom

 

[sschnabl]

As you can guess by my avatar, my favorite would be the C&NW.  When I was growing up, the C&NW tracks were only a block away from my house.  I remember on summer nights when the trains would roll through up to Green Bay, I would sit up and watch them through my bedroom window.  The color scheme is also very close to that of my favorite professional football team, so that's a bonus.

The only drawback is that being a grainger road, one typically sees pictures of this line in farmlands and somewhat boring scenery.  That's why I plan on modeling the C&NW in SW Wisconsin, especially the Mississippi River Valley area, where there are many bluffs to give you that look of Appalachia, only on a much smaller scale.

Scott

[Proto87 2011]

One of my favorites is the PRR. Why? It's how I first got an interest in trains! I'd have to say my favorite locomotive is the K4 Pacific. Classic!

Another one would be the DL&W. On my way to the hobby shop I drive along it for a bout a mile.

Yet another (did I say one railroad? oops.) is the New York, Ontario and Western. I really don't know why.

Finally (phew!), for a modern railroad,  the NYS&W, mainly because it runs through the region. I think that covers about 40% of them. 

[West Penn Nscale]

Well for me its Lehigh Valley... B&O ..PLE ..C&O... Starting to warm up too NS....

[tomikawaTT]

The late, great Japan National Railways - since chopped up and privatized.  Some changes are not improvements.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - when it was JNR, not JNR-West)

[Motley]

My favorite is D&RGW. Followed by Sante Fe (BNSF) and UP.

Love mountain railroading.

[Texas Zepher]

gabeusmc

Thanks for the response guys. I put that beginning in as a humouras way to warn against everybody getting into a shouting match, which I am sure will not happen. Though Tom was getting preety close to saying his was the best....

Even if the question had been "best" I doubt I could have answered.  There is the best management, the best route, the best trackage, the best equipment, the best locomotives, the best inovation, the best marketing, the best bridges, etc. etc.  I'm guessing the real answer to each of those "bests" would be a different railroad.