SeeYou190 narig01 I've been trying to go for 1910-1920 era, . 1910 has had an appeal for me also. It is one of those things I have kept in mind if I ever decide to scrap everything and start over again. . Small trains and small equipment and very few automobiles sure has charm. . -Kevin .
narig01 I've been trying to go for 1910-1920 era,
.
1910 has had an appeal for me also. It is one of those things I have kept in mind if I ever decide to scrap everything and start over again.
Small trains and small equipment and very few automobiles sure has charm.
-Kevin
There is no question for me as well, the only alternate era would be the early 20th century, 1905-1910.
Sheldon
Summer of 1956 is as specific as I get for my protolanced layout. I cheat a little and have a few autos and rolling stock that are a few years beyond that date but for the most part, I try not to put anything on the layout beyond that date.
The 1950s allows me to run both steam and diesel and also plenty of passenger trains. Not sure when airlines overtook railroads for intercity travel, but I don't think it was before 1956. I sprinkle a few I Like Ike posters throughout the layout which helps to set the date.
PS. The summer of 1956 was also my last summer before I started school, so it was the last time I enjoyed complete freedom until the day I retired. Maybe that was a subliminal reason for choosing that date.
narig01I've been trying to go for 1910-1920 era,
Living the dream.
Choose the better:
I had friends (now dead and gone) who despised Penn Central.
It has taken me a lifetime to be able to have Penn Central equipment on the layout, but I better understand the time, and that the PC equipment severely outnumbered other equipment on Conrail (140,000 freight cars to like 20,000 for the next closest road, EL)...so now I have some and no longer hate on the PC green.
John
I have more of a collection then a railroad at this point. I had to start from scratch about 4 years ago after what I had was stolen.
Initially I started getting what quality I could afford on eBay. The start was a Mehano/IHC 2-6-0 and some Roundhouse short passenger cars. I then found a gorgeous model of a water tower. Now the collection is kind of all over the place. Bachmann K-4, Kato F-3, U-28B, 2 Bachmann Doodlebugs.
I've been trying to go for 1910-1920 era, as the equipment is smaller. But as I'm still planning a layout it's been bounce back and forward. I'm not going to go anywhere near contemporary as I don't think I'll have the space and want something I can run.
SeeYou190 dknelson I model my personal recollections of the Chicago & North Western "old" main line through South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Nothing newer than 1970 because that is when I left for college. I am somewhat flexible as to an earlier cut off date, but usually put it at 1966 or '67. . That sounds like an excellent approach to me. Recreating a memory instead of an actual place and time. . It sure sounds like a great way to enjoy a layout. . Eilif Reflecting some some idealistic, whitewashed view that neglects the reality of the past . Absolutely! I am trying to model a point in time, but not accurately. I have done a lot of reasearch into 1954, and it was an ugly time. Of course, I do not remember it. My father was only 13 in 1954. . None of this strife will be on my layout. It will look like a fantasy. . Motley This new layout I will swap out my equipment from time to time. So I will have duel era for this layout. . I also intend to swap out props and be able to make photographs that look like they are from a different era. . Not necessarily operation... but we will see how that goes. . -Kevin .
dknelson I model my personal recollections of the Chicago & North Western "old" main line through South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Nothing newer than 1970 because that is when I left for college. I am somewhat flexible as to an earlier cut off date, but usually put it at 1966 or '67.
That sounds like an excellent approach to me. Recreating a memory instead of an actual place and time.
It sure sounds like a great way to enjoy a layout.
Eilif Reflecting some some idealistic, whitewashed view that neglects the reality of the past
Absolutely! I am trying to model a point in time, but not accurately. I have done a lot of reasearch into 1954, and it was an ugly time. Of course, I do not remember it. My father was only 13 in 1954.
None of this strife will be on my layout. It will look like a fantasy.
Motley This new layout I will swap out my equipment from time to time. So I will have duel era for this layout.
I also intend to swap out props and be able to make photographs that look like they are from a different era.
Not necessarily operation... but we will see how that goes.
If you look in the right places, every time in history is both ugly and beautiful.....
You can choose to see the good, or choose to see the bad, and allow your life to be driven accordingly.
dknelsonI model my personal recollections of the Chicago & North Western "old" main line through South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Nothing newer than 1970 because that is when I left for college. I am somewhat flexible as to an earlier cut off date, but usually put it at 1966 or '67.
EilifReflecting some some idealistic, whitewashed view that neglects the reality of the past
MotleyThis new layout I will swap out my equipment from time to time. So I will have duel era for this layout.
I like everything. I model modern era Colorado D&RGW, UP, BNSF 1990s to current. I really like ES44s and SD70Aces.
But... I also like 1950s steam locomotives, and passenger trains. Steam excursions. This new layout I will swap out my equipment from time to time. So I will have duel era for this layout.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
First, I do not weather rolling stock or locomotives. I have in the past, and it generally ruins them, certainly ruins the value, unless it is professionally done by someone who is very good at it. I have one Overland brass M-636 that the pro painter just very minimally weathered. He insists on minimally weathering everything, and is so subtle with it that I'm totally fine with that. (He's about to do another engine for me).
That means that all my engines and rolling stock tend to look pretty "new".
I was never able to stick to just one narrow time period or "era". In most cases, for most railroads I've been interested in, it is far too difficult to assemble a representative rolling stock roster from a particular year, let alone decade--and then they should be appropriately weathered to account for which cars were new and which were not. Even for the big railroads that have relatively speaking, a lot of models available, imo there still are not enough for me to focus on one year or era. For instance, Santa Fe homebuilt most of their boxcars and reefers, perhaps starting witth builders' kits in many cases, but modifying them to suit their own purposes. That means that actually very few of the available HO models at all are "correct" or "accurate" for Santa Fe during the diesel era.
Roads like Nickel Plate, or Canadian roads, get much more difficult. Mexican freight cars are almost the holy grail...
Recently Tangent, Exactrail, Moloco and others have filled some of the gaps, but there are still huge gaps in rolling stock for several roads. Need a green and yellow reading freight car? There have been only a few good ones correctly painted and available rtr.
So it's my railroad, and I run what I want that generally fits the era of the big Alco Centuries. So if the item of rolling stock was built 1966 to say 1982, that is about good enough for me, and that is mostly what is visible on my layout. At the end of the day, I violate those years if I feel like it.
If I were modeling the "end" of steam, or the transition era, when 40' cars were still commonplace, it would be much "easier" but I'm well into the "modern" era. Picking a month or year is virtually impossible.
80's and 90's. Occasionally I'm sure I'll run something significantly older or newer, but 80's and 90's is the goal.
I'm building this for my son and I to enjoy and I've got exactly zero interest in convincing anyone else.
By way of context, even the grimeyest, most prototypical, operable, and realistic layouts I've seen rarely capture things as-they-were. Layouts are personal creations -usually of one individual- and are generally so...
-Clouded by nostalgia and personal experience
and/or
-Reflective of an idealistic, whitewashed view that neglects the reality of the past
- a highly selective/limited slice of history
...that they're really fantasy anyway. Note that I don't degrade others' layouts for this. I love seeing other model railroaders' craftsmanship, artistry, interest in accurate railroad equipment, and the fruits of their imagination.
I just acknowledge up front, the fantasy and mythology that is at play and don't get too fussed about whether -or accept the notion that- they are usually living up to some truely accurate precision of era/location/history etc.
Visit the Chicago Valley Railroad for Chicago Trainspotting and Budget Model Railroading.
Both my SCR and SSRy is set in 94/95.. I chose this time frame since I have several CR,CSX and NS engines that fits 94/95 time frame.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I model July-September, 1930-1945, with a few anacronistic elements thrown in, like the mobile home my mother lived in after retirement until she died.
Why such a broad timeline? Because I'm trying to capture a certain flavor, not hard specifics that almost no one will recognize anyway. It's good enough for me.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
I model years from the (I can say this at the end of the month) last decade- 2011-2019, since 2011 is the year I first became aware of the Wheeling and Lake Erie existence, and seeing one of their trains for the first time crossing a local bridge (I saw the same locomotive, about 6 years later, it was a nice moment-finally photographing the first unit of theirs I saw).
(My Model Railroad, My Rules)
These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway. As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).
I model my personal recollections of the Chicago & North Western "old" main line through South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Nothing newer than 1970 because that is when I left for college. I am somewhat flexible as to an earlier cut off date, but usually put it at 1966 or '67. The motive power stayed pretty much the same; ditto the rolling stock although wood ice bunker reefers became rare. The CNW was changing its passenger schedule quite a bit during that time period however. All cabooses were red - the yellow cabooses came after 1970. Plenty of freight cars still had running boards on the roof and full height ladders, and ACI labels were not yet on every car.
A friend of mine and I took some photos in 1968 that I am using quite a bit in my modeling. If forced to go Kevin's strict route I'd say summer 1968 but that would mean not using some nice 1969-70 vehicles I have.
The key phrase in my initial sentence is "I model my personal recollections." If I remember seeing RPOs come through town, but an authoritative source tells me they were gone before 1966-67, well, then I will run RPOs. If I remember the old barn-like structure near the depot that made wooden broom handles and other wood turnings or items being there in the late 1960s (I know it was there earlier), then I will try to have that building. If I recollect tank cars at the Standard Oil facility, I will model the tanks cars even if I learn it was all trucks by 1966-67.
Memory in other words will always trump the facts.
Unfortunately even my flexible time frame means no E6 diesels even though I have an early childhood recollection of them. It also means the Twin Cities 400 was no more. And while I have early memories of an active operator at the depot who hooped up orders and used train-order semaphore signals I know for sure that was gone before 1966 so that won't be done.
Dave Nelson
I like steam, I also like diesels, so the 1950's is the only era where both ran side by side. On the B&M they bragged about being all dieselized by 1957. So make that the early 1950's for me. I like to have my RR look realistic but I don't get too rigid about it. For instance I run steamers that the B&M never owned in real life, like Mikados. On the real life B&M they went from Consolidations (2-8-0) to Berkshires (2-8-4) 'cause they needed more power than a Mikado had to make it thru the Berkshire mountains.
In actual fact, you can do well with just a cutoff date. Most rail equipment is financed and built for a 40 year service life. Even motor vehicles can last for 10 or more years, and structures can last 100 years, or forever if they are lucky and get to be "historic". So if I pick 1957 as my cutoff date I can plausibly run older rolling stock going back as far as 1917. And motor vehicles going back to 1947.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
Oh yeah, that's the other reason for my 1956 cutoff - I can still run my steam locos. They were already retired, but a power shortage forced them out of storage for service as helpers. Proportionally sizing things, 2 steam locos and the rest all first generation diesels is a good balance. And there was one other steam loco in operation, up until 1963, as a switcher in the shops. I have that one too, but it needs some detailing to make it closer to the prototype.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
IRONROOSTERFor a freelance you can include anything that was in existance on that date. So for a date in 1954, there are steam locomotives from a 4-4-0 on up plus a large number of early diesels.
I could, but I choose not to. I do not want anything that looks unusual even if it could be defended.
I have spent a lot of time making sure my ratio of all-steel cars, outside braced, and double sheathed cars are acceptable. I only have one 36 foot car in a fleet of 150 freight cars.
I took liberties in two areas: I have way too many PS-1 boxcars because of Kadee's wonderful model, and I have too many TOFC cars just because I like them.
mbinsewiThe only problem with that Kevin, is that nothing should move, once it becomes 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Oh, do I know that. This is internal turmoil for me in the tenth degree. You see, nothing else on the layout moves. The train leaves Centerville for the local run at 2:00. It returns at 2:00 as well. I know that because Mrs. Smith is still walking out of the same grocery store with her purchases.
The layout is a diorama, and only the trains move, If I think about it too much my head starts to hurt.
doctorwayneSince I'm freelancing, I do play a little loose with a few things
I play loose with a lot of things, especially where the layout is. I don't specify a locale, region, or even what country it is in. I use Canadian Railroad Crossing signs and USA Stop Signs. That does not bother me at all. I can have farms in front of a desert background, no problem.
I can even add sci-fi details to buildings or monsters in the woods.
HarrisonI claim I'm modeling the late 70's and early 80's, but it's really more like late 60's to early 90's. I can't be bothered getting all era-specific stuff (not to mention costing more.).
When I was in High School I modeled everything. My Bachmann 4-8-4 could run along side any diesel. I did not care. Back then in N scale you bought whatever would run reliably. One of the best locmotives on the market was the DL-109, and you saw them in EVERY prototype paint scheme.
Narrowing these things down mnight come later... for now just enjoy!
DoughlessBuildings and scenery don't change much over time, so that gives good bones for swapping out players like locomotives and rolling stock.
I keep a fair amount of "out of period" equipment and props on hand so I can take pictures from different eras. This actually adds another layer of hobby enjoyment for me.
I claim I'm modeling the late 70's and early 80's, but it's really more like late 60's to early 90's. I can't be bothered getting all era-specific stuff (not to mention costing more.).
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
doctorwayne Esthetics can be as important as realism on a model railroad, I think. Wayne
Esthetics can be as important as realism on a model railroad, I think.
Wayne
Completely agreed, overall appearance and effect means more than every automobile or box car being perfect to the prototype and the era.
I'm modelling the late '30s, a time when railroads were recovering from the Depression, as was industry. Labour was still fairly cheap, so not everything was in a run-down state, and new locomotives and rolling stock was being built, too, running next to the older stuff.Since I'm freelancing, I do play a little loose with a few things: I have quite a few covered hoppers on my layout, a car type which I especially like, but one that wasn't all that common in the '30s. Mine are mostly like those which appeared in the late '40s or early '50s, and I'm not at all concerned by the discrepancy. I do try to be fairly accurate with most of my rolling stock, though, especially concerning BLT. and re-weigh dates, and if I'm modelling a particular prototype, prefer to work from photos of them.I also have a few vehicles, mostly the trucks from Mini Metals, which represent the GM trucks produced in 1941-'46, but I'm not overly bothered by them, either, as there were somewhat similar-looking vehicles built in the late '30s...to me they're simply part of the background scenery.Most of my locomotives are steam, with the homeroads represented by plausible free-lanced designs, while those representing real railroads are modified and detailed to match those in photos of their particular prototype, usually, but not always, as they would have looked in my chosen era.
I like modern steam, so on my layout that means from the time the K4s' were introduced on the Pennsy until the last fires were dropped...1960. I have several roads worth of equipment to use that way, and my terrain is all fantasyland stuff. It's all a hodgepodge, and I don't care...I enjoy it. I even run a couple of SD-75 in warbonnet livery when the mood strikes.
Well, I still don't want to eat anything that leaves a taste in my mouth for more than a few minutes after I am done eating it...........
Or that provides any unpleasant sensations while eating it........or to my stomach after eating it...........
As far as ulcers: that's right: h. pylori bacteria are the cause. But I have no doubt certain foods can irritate them.
On to the topic at hand: I model Milwaukee in the 1950s and I cheat. That is, the Milwaukee Road transitioned completely to diesel in 1955 I believe, but I will have diesel and steam. I had originally thought I would model 1955 but the more I've researched I don't see any need to lock it down to a specific year. I'm leaning towards the first half of the 50s because the huge clock tower on the Everett Street Depot wasn't removed yet and I plan to get that Walthers model when it is back in stock in early 2020. I also like the earlier colors of the MR passenger fleet (orange and darker gray) more than the UP yellow and gray that came in from about 55-58. But if I want to include any Flexi-van trailer service I can't model earlier than 1959... so I'm just keeping it to the 1950s to include what I want without respect to time.
Andy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Milwaukee native modeling the Milwaukee Road in 1950's Milwaukee.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/196857529@N03/
I model up to 1947 on my standard gauge Rio Grande, that allows for Denver and Salt Lake power. I do have a couple of F7's though. I keep all the vehicles before that time period. This does create a little bit of a time warp for my Colorado and Southern Narrow gauge as the last part on the Clear Creek line ran to Idaho Springs only as late as 1941. I keep it earlier that that on the vehicles. I am considering adding a blue British police call box to explain the difference........
Spicy food doesn;t cause ulcers, it's bacterial in origin. Thanks to an Aussie doctor who in typical Aussie fashion just 'went for it' and infected himself to prove it. Guy won a Nobel Prize for it, so maybe it was worth it.
https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/the-doctor-who-drank-infectious-broth-gave-himself-an-ulcer-and-solved-a-medical-mystery
I'm virtually everywhere when it comes to era. I can't settle on one or two single time periods. Why? Because I like the variety of equipment out there. Going through the different eras, from an 1830s locomotive like the John Bull, to a 2010s locomotive like a GEVO is very enjoyable to me. I've always found restricting myself to one thing or another to be irksome. Hope you feel better today Kevin.
Ok, a few thoughts.
For one thing, I think one can do a good job modeling a real prototype without getting so OCD that you only run trains that ran on that "day" and "place", even if you have selected a narrow time frame like Kevin has, or an absolute cutoff date.
My modeling is a freelanced road but with interchanges and trackage rights with three prototype roads, the B&O, C&O and WESTERN MARYLAND.
I do not try to model actual places, just capture the flavor of the Piedmont of the Mid Atlantic in 1954.
On my layout it is September 1954.
As previously explained in Kevin's other thread, 1954 still had some steam on the prototypes lines in question, the ACR can still have as much steam as it wants given plausablity by the N&W in this region who ran lots of steam until the early 60's. First generation diesels, and first generation PiggyBack were pretty much at their high water mark. Lastly, railroads were still trying to make a go at the passenger business.
Why September? - It covers some specific introductions and advancements in PiggyBack, it allows 1955 model autos, I like the early fall scenery here in the Mid Atlantic (green and lush mixed with the early fall change colors).
For me, 30 days is a reasonable "range" of events for the "in motion" aspect of the layout. And having an absolute cutoff is necessary in my mind. So if it did not exist on September 30th, 1954 you will not likely see it. (Except, there are few exceptions that I challenge viewers to find, or know their facts well enough to call me on them. None of which are glaring or obvious)
The newest locos on the ATLANTIC CENTRAL are EMD SD9's. SD9 production began in January 1954, September is a plausable time to see them in regular service.
PS - don't like spicy food, can't eat spicy food, stomach ulcer was the cause of my father's passing at only 60 years old, and he did not eat spicy food. I eat to live, I don't live to eat........
Don't ever get heart burn or indigestion........
I had originally planned to be pretty specific to one year, because of where I was going to model and the fact that a new track arrangement went into operation in late 1956, changing the whole alignment of things. And At that time I didn;t have room to include both alignments. I did come up with a plan that had both, allowing be to go a little more past, as both alignments were used for a period.
Now that I'm not replicating that exact area any more, I've opened it out to about 1955-1957. So anything in there fits. In the areas I am modeling, there wouldn;t be too many new cars - so what I need are more late 40's/early 50's vehicles, and some late 30's ones thrown in as well. Rare would be a '56 or '57 anything.
I am not to the point of making sure I have very up to date reweigh stencils on all my rolling stock. Maybe after things are 'finished' and I need something to do, I might start down that kind of road, but for now that's just a detail I am ignoring.
I'm just glad that I am still not adversely affected by spicy foods. Blad food would be the death of me. I am particularly fond of Indian and Thai. I can eat the healthy stuff at home (like plain old skinless chicken breast) because I have a collection of about 40 hot sauces for taste variety. I replenish every year at one of the two hot pepper festivals they hold here locally.
Buildings and scenery don't change much over time, so that gives good bones for swapping out players like locomotives and rolling stock.
I could focus on early 90's or late 10's and not have to change much as far as equipment.
I could also model 1962 and not have to change much other than the trains, especially since rural Georgia along the railroad ROWs hasn't changed much either. Maybe swap out a concrete grain elevator for an old wooden structure.
- Douglas
I planned to model the early 1940's, but given a limited budget, some almost appropriate equipment on hand, and a "good enough" approach to my hobby, that has crept a bit. It still makes me happy. That's all that really matters.
Mike