With the variety and timespan available in this hobby, I would like to hear what you think the most favorite roads to model are and why. And what roads do you personally model? What percetage freelance or protolance.
As far as I know I am the only person modelling the STRATTON & GILLETTE railroad.
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I have cars lettered for almost 100 different free lanced railroads. There is not prototype equipment on my roster.
I would bet that the Santa Fe is the most popular prototype, just because everybody loves warbonnets. No data, just a hunch.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Santa Fe because 1) it is large, 2) in ran in cities and states which are hotbeds of model railroad activity including Illinois, Chicago, Kansas City, and California; and 3) had an active PR machine that was well aware of model trains. The warbonnets don't hurt a bit but I think Santa Fe was popular even in the steam era.
Dave Nelson
I think Union Pacific is another widely modeled road, along with the Pennsylvania.
I personally prefer the Southern Pacific as my favorite prototype.
Now as far as what I model, well... that's a long story... put it this way I model the Northwestern Pacific and Southwestern Pacific Lines, and that's all I'm going to get into on that.
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
I am a Southern Pacific man ... and proud of it.
Their Tiger stripe paint scheme was just pretty to me. And the Black Widow paint that followed was even better ! The "Bloody nose" paint scheme that came along in the early 70's wasn't that "Spectacular" but it was what I saw daily so it still worked for me.
restoratorWhat percetage freelance or protolance.
I also model two Roadname's of my own.
The Wyler's Gulch & Western...
And the Demon's Hollow & Pacific. ( You can clearly see the Southern Pacific Tiger stripe influence on me and my freelance paint scheme's)
Rust...... It's a good thing !
UP is probably No. 1, if only because it still exists. It covers all eras after the Civil War right 'til today, when it's the largest RR in the USA. Just look at all the Big Boys, Challengers, Turbines, and other UP equipment that's been made. Not to mention all the heritage modern diesels that are selling, the 1000 SD70's, and so on.ATSF is in the mix just because of the Warbonnet alone. Add in the steam fleet, the Super Chief, the El Cap, right into the 1990's with "modern" power, and you've got a good selling railroad.
SP is another strong seller. Big steam, colorful paint jobs, unique power, and lasted right up into the late-1990's. This means another large swath of US railroad history can be modeled just with the SP.
PRR is also in the Top 10. The self-proclaimed "Standard Railroad of the World" was the largest at one time. IIRC, 20% of all railcars in the USA were PRR. Steam, diesel, electric, they pretty much had it all. Mountain railroading, prarie flat lands, big cities, rural emptiness, etc. Add in the Broadway Limited, the GG-1, and other iconic equipment, and there's a reason why they keep pumping out PRR models.
D&RGW can be considered if you throw in the Narrow Gauge empire. The standard gauge part is quite interesting already, with big steam, colorful paint schemes on diesels and passenger cars, and dramatic scenery, but the Narrow Gauge is a thing unto itself. Every Narrow Gauge layout has at least one D&RGW car or loco on it, or so it seems.NYC can't be forgotten. The 20th Century Limited and all their Hudsons are still famous today. The paint schemes were more classic than colorful, but the term "lightning stripes" brings to mind only one railroad. It was a big railroad that had an interesting history and can be fun to model.CR has a strong following, now that it is "almost" a fallen flag (might as well be). Absence appears to make the heart grow fonder as I've seen more CR modeling in the past 10 years than I did in the 1990's.BNSF, of course, being the other big Western RR in the modern day.
NS has gained a bunch of fans since the start of their heritage program.
For the 10th pick, I choose the New Haven RR, which is the one I model. The NH is also steam, diesel, and electric. It connected the largest city in the world with three state capitals through some of the most densely populated areas in the US, and was the No. 3 railroad in passengers carried (despite being only 30th in size). It had famous passenger trains like the Merchants Limited, the Yankee Clipper, and The Comet trainset; colorful paint schemes that are still in use today some 50 years after the death of the railroad; unique motive power found no where else (FL9's, for example); and to this day no railroad has ever been able to replace it in southern New England.I do not model any freelance railroads for myself, but my club has our "East Coast Lines" (since 1938) that I've painted things for.
SeeYou190I would bet that the Santa Fe is the most popular prototype, just because everybody loves warbonnets.
Careful about generalizing, Kevin. Yea, the warbonnets are colorful and distinctive. However - like a classic tux - I'm quite partial to the simple but elegant black with white lettering...with a little gray tossed in.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
For big mainline railroads, UP, Santa Fe, and PRR are probably the most popular. These seem to have the greatest number of models. Others like the B&O, NYC, SP have a lesser follwing.
For narrow gauge its the DRGW.
For shortlines, probably the Maryland & Pennsylvania RR is the most followed.
Personally, I like the Maryland & Pennsylvania. It has scheduled passenger trains and freight trains up until 1954. It also has small locomotives and sharp curves - just what works best on model railroads.
Paul
Trans Siberian.
Model Railroading is a much bigger hobby in Eastern Europe and definitely more socially accepted than it is in North America. I have read a few good articles about how modelers enjoyed the hobby before the iron curtain fell and the favourite RR to model was the Trans Siberian.
For me, it is the Canadian Pacific.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
1st one registering with the N&W! The only true "favorite" is the one(s) we model, lol!
Hard to say % real vs. prototype. My layout depicts part of the branch by Radford, VA. There is some liberal depiction of the area, but who really cares.
Just looking at past and present ads, I´d say the most popular roads modeled are the UP, AT&SF, PRR and the SP and N&W!
These roads had so many engines which became signature engines for the model railroading industry - Big Boy, Challenger, War Bonnet Diesels, J´s, K4´s, GS, Cab Forwards - all of them still best seller in the trade.
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
BATMANTrans Siberian.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I grew up on the Oregon coast. I like and model SP, and all it's paint schemes up through "bloody nose" prior to "speed lettering", which I don't dislike, just too modern for my era. I can't stand the "Kodachrome" schemes.
I do like UP's colors, have 2 or 3 diesels in the mix. Dan
Paul3D&RGW can be considered if you throw in the Narrow Gauge empire. The standard gauge part is quite interesting already, with big steam, colorful paint schemes on diesels and passenger cars, and dramatic scenery, but the Narrow Gauge is a thing unto itself. Every Narrow Gauge layout has at least one D&RGW car or loco on it, or so it seems.
Reinforcing Paul's argument, I'll join in pitching the Rio Grande as punching above its weight. For a small rather regional if strategiclaly located line that struggled financially much of its existence and which essentially disapparead into the UP two decades ago., it does OK. Runs of its locos and rolling stock tend to sell out faster, rewarding manufacturers who make that choice enough to keep a steady flow of useful models showing up.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
And now, for the most popular:
(Drum roll please........)
Proto-freelancing!
You get your SF Warbonnett, your UP Armor yellow, your DRG&W Black and orange, your N&W black/blue, your PRR Brunswick green, your NYC lightnings, your SP daylights, your CR blue, your BN green, really, any of them you choose, and you can choose what location, even imaginary, and what era!
Really, don't we all do this? We pick our favorite paint scheme(s) and build a layout to operate them, some more closely adhering to the true prototype than others.
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Paul3D&RGW can be considered if you throw in the Narrow Gauge empire.
Even if you don't throw in the Narrow Gauge, D&RGW seems to be quite popular and the standard gauge lines scenery is very lovely and why I fell in love with it to model. I have never seen the Narrow Gauge Rio Grande in person, but the standard gauge is quite spectacular.
Aside from what I think, I have noticed that it seems to sell very well. It could be possibly in the top ten of standard gauge RRs.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I model Santa Fe, a little bit of Missouri Kansas Texas, a little bit of Amtrak, and I have one Metrolink Train in my HO Scale Collection.
I also have Athearn Genesis SD70M-2 Demos in Blue/Yellow and looking to get maybe two Genesis SD70M's in either the Dark Red Leasing Scheme or the Red/Grey Demo Scheme.
Any of you have Demo Units in your collection or on your layout?
Hello all,
I remember reading that Santa Fe actually paid early model makers to paint their trains in their livery colors of red silver.
That is why Santa Fe was so popular early on.
I have a freelance pike with livery colors of black with safety orange- -similar to the Denver & Rio Grande West.
Because the fictitious location is in the mountains of Colorado; from the 1970's to the 1980's, the D&RGW, Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe (Blue & Yellow scheme) and the occasional Southern Pacific locomotives make appearances.
Currently about 40% is AT&SF, 25% D&RGW, 5% SP and 30% BS&P.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
I model the Milwaukee Road, and have for over 55 years. I don't really follow the prototype, just the paint schemes.
I suspect the presence of Walthers in Milwaukee is the reason that there are so many Milwaukee models to choose from. and
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I model primarily the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, specifically the line through central Wyoming, because I grew up there. I also model the part of the Chicago Northwestern that ran from Casper to Lander, and the Northern Pacific at Laurel, Montana, where the Burlington terminated on the north western end.
I modeled the Great Northern for some years prior.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
OP wants to know the most popular railroads modeled, but also which ones we model, scroll up to the OP and give it a read or two.
Overall, I would say the most "modeled" railroad is Santa Fe because growing up I saw alot of Lionel layouts especially during the holidays. I remember seeing all those SF locos and rolling stock. According to the Lionel video I watched, Santa Fe paid Lionel $1500.00 to use their logo i'm sure that helped sales.
Unless we work at Trainworld or Model Train Stuff, it's just guessing. I would guess Union Pacific because there are a lot of people living in California.
If you are talking about just the old geezer population of modelers, (my guys) I would suspect the fallen flags, line NYC or PRR would be most popular with a predominance of freelancers.
In the old days undecorated models were readily available and they didn't have very many fragile bits, so it was easy to detail and paint your own freelance rail road. Custom decals were cheap. Now you have to deal with windshield wipers, aluminum window trim fans with real blades. Stripping paint without damaging all the extras is hard. There is no way I am steady enough to repaint the window trim.
I suspect freelancing will be much less popular in the future. I've adopted Howard Zane's philosophy, I don't have to have my own fleet of engines, I can lease engines from anyone. No more paint stripping for me.
My layout is the Northern Potomac RR somewhere in Western MD, West VA and PA.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I have always seen the Santa Fe as the most common "toy" train, but I have not run across very many actual layouts based on them, especially oveall to the number of other roads modeled. The BNSF I see more of. However, that may just be because I was not particulalry seeking them out, however I am curious how many people actually do model them vs the amount of Santa Fe locos produced. EDIT: Ok, a google search has turned up a lot more Santa Fe layouts. I am in the northeast, and that is my area of research, so thats probably why I tend to miss a lot of the Santa fe ones.
Some of us model the roads we grew up with or those we became familiar with as we moved. Others model certain roads out of historical affectipn. My guess is that UP and Santa Fe are the most significant because of their integral size covering much of the western and central US. Their trademark logos were/are heavily marketed and have a national presence. Having said that, I default to the old Great Northern out of memories of my youth, but I can honestly say there isn't a single railroad past or present I'm not a fan of in some way.
Cedarwoodron
When I started into model railroading I got a HO LL F7 Amtrak in Phase II. Unfortunately it never coaches or track to run when I bought at a train show. (This was decades ago when the loco ran.) I wanted to model the Cotton Belt in HO with Southern Pacific and New York Central in 1938 but never happened.
In 1998-2000 somewhere I bought a N scale Conrail train set and I got into CR because of the color and the logo. The time span for my layout hasn't changed. I chose the late 1980s into the 1991. Now I do the whole decade of the 90s.
Modern railroad UP, BNSF, AMTK in 1998-2007.
Proto freelancing railroading for me.
Any road within a mega merger or present railroad is popular.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
I think there was a time in the past, maybe in the 60's or 70's, when the first railroad in America, the B&O, was high on the list of roads modeled.
For whatever value it has in this conversation, there have been several B&O layouts featured in MR in recent years.
Of course the B&O in pure form is a transition era modelers road, or earlier, since from 1965 on it was in the gradual transition of the C&O/WM/B&O melting pot.
I model all three of those, along with my protolanced ATLANTIC CENTRAL, set in 1954.
California may have lots of people, and by extension lots of model railroaders. But how many of those people are transplants, who may have ties to other parts of the country that may drive their modeling choices?
I would not be quick to assume that most modelers in California model UP, or SP, or ATSF, any more than I would think everyone here in Baltimore models the B&O.
Sheldon
ATLANTIC CENTRAL California may have lots of people, and by extension lots of model railroaders. But how many of those people are transplants, who may have ties to other parts of the country that may drive their modeling choices? I would not be quick to assume that most modelers in California model UP, or SP, or ATSF, any more than I would think everyone here in Baltimore models the B&O. Sheldon
You’re forgetting the sheer geographical scope of the three railroads mentioned. You certainly don’t have to be a Californian to be interested in the ATSF, which went as far east as Chicago and as far south as Galveston, TX, the SP, which stretched from Portland, OR, to New Orleans, LA (via Texas) or the UP, which had terminals in L.A. and Portland and extended to Omaha.
Besides, you don’t have to live in a place to acquire an interest in an area’s railroads. I have more than a passing interest in (in descending order) the railways of the UK, South Africa, Germany, Australia (mostly New South Wales), New Zealand, and France.
Edit: Of all steam locomotive wheel arrangements, my favorite is the 4-8-2. The B&O T-3 is right up there in my pantheon of pretty Mountains with the South African Railways 19D, the SP MT series (except for the ex-EP&SW MT-2), Missouri Pacific MT-75, and the New Zealand Government Railways Ja (like this one:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajbrv7HzxAQ )
Andre
UP and BNSF, along with their predecessors. Period.
Mike drop
Why do I say so? Because they have the most eye catching schemes of the present, and so did their mergers/ and railroads that bought others to form them. NS, CSX, etc kinda have bland paint jobs... same seems to carry for their predecessors... just my 2 cents. However that is what I mainly see on the rails (but that could be 'cause I dont live where the other roads are prevelant) and on layouts. And I believe it is because of thier paints schemes. And rich history.
I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.
It's just my guess, but I would think where you grew up has the most influence on what you model. In the east, it's probably the PRR, NYC, B&O, and others.
Central US might be the BN, KCS, UP, and others.
West might be SP, NP, UP.
I'm sure there are a lot of other railroads for each area and modelers that have layouts from other regions.