Do You Model the Railroads You "Grew Up With"?

[MidlandPacific]

Nope - but I grew up in the 1970s, an era that I never wish to see again, the happy memories I have of family and friends aside.  Everything - literally, almost everything - improved in the 1980s: trains, cars, airplanes, cooking, clothes, music, personal habits, computers - you name it.  It all got better.

[loathar]

Nope. I'm too young for the few steam locos I have and the F units I remember growing up where black and white.(boring paint schemes) Don't recall what the road name was. Cleveland Oh area in the late 60's to the 70's.(Norfolk? Penn Central?) I didn't pay much attention to road names back then. I like more modern diesels and the CP Rail, CSX and UP paint schemes.

[RedGrey62]

Short answer is no.  I grew up first along the Penn Central and then the Chessie in my teenage years.  I did initially model the PC but after I got stationed in Nebraska, I switched to the CB&Q even though they had longer since merged into BN.  A beautiful front cover of an RMC from the 70's of a Burlinton E unit was my inspiration for the change.

Rick

[tstage]

Yes and no.  I grew up with my older cousin's hand-me-down American Flyer steamers and diesels, but I wasn't born during that era.

Tom 

[SpaceMouse]

I do, but 70 years before I was born.

[tangerine-jack]

In 30 years today will be the "golden era" to somebody.  I live the myth that the world was perfect when I was a kid, before I was a kid, and now that my kids are kids, I guess the world is perfect now.

It would have been cool to see the NW J series in their prime, but we can do the next best and model it.

[potlatcher]

On another topic, someone mentioned a hobby myth that modelers typically build models of the railroads they were most exposed to when they were a youth, or at least when they first became interested in railroads.  I'm sure there are numerous examples of this, and it would seem to make sense:  for many railfans/model railroaders, railroads probably seemed more exciting when they were still new to them, so modeling that time and place gives them a chance to relive those "glory days".

For me, it's a little bit different.  Having "grown up" with Burlington Northern circa 1982-85, all I experienced was a steady stream of look-alike SD-40-2's.  Looking through magazines, I quickly realized that I had missed a lot of variety on the railroads by just a few years.  Plus, after more research, I found that if I had "grown up" during the steam-diesel transition period I could have witnessed even more variety and excitement.

As an adult, I know that "the grass is always greener" and nothing was ever as exciting as it seems when viewed through the lens of history.  However, that knowledge doesn't do much to  quench my emotions when they tell me that I missed all the really cool stuff, and that if I want to experience it, I'll have to do it in HO scale.

So, my question is which myth do you buy into - "The world was perfect when I was a kid" or "I missed all the cool stuff"?  Or does a different myth fuel your modeling urges?

Tom