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.
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."
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
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.
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.
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 !
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!
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
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.
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.