Why do you model what you model?

[WCfan]

I was wondering why you model what you model? Was it the railroad you where most exposed to. Or is it the scenery. How about a type of locomotive. Or do you model just because you like it? I model WC because I lived around it, I also model Soo because...whell I don't know why. So why do you model what you model?

[SpaceMouse]

It's what's in my head.

[Anonymous]

It's what I can understand.

Otherwise it is a exercise in futility.

I dont have any particular railroad but am heavy into the B&O, PRR and WM.

[loathar]

CP Rail/ CSX. I like the paint schemes. Loco's are easy to find. It's prototypical to see other borrowed and acquired power with these names.(SOO,UP,NS) You see these companies hauling about anything that rolls on rails. I like modeling the area where you see them mostly run. (Northern U.S./ Southern Canada)

[GN-Rick]

It just boils down to: I model what I model because I like it.

[boxcar_jim]

I model 1950s MEC/B&M (and a few 1970s MEC units creep in from time to time) because:

• American railroading is (very) different to what I grew up with, 
• Researching something different is fun
• I wanted to recreate in miniture a time and place which can't exist again, but looks fantastic in old movies and photos
• New England mountain scenery is fantastic (especially in fall)
• I love the locos and paint schemes (Pine green with gold stripes on that F3 anybody - or if you prefer it more modern, how about a Harvest gold on that U18B?)

 

 

[selector]

I'm too lazy to build any real fidelity into a prototypical model, so I freelance.  The nice boys at BLI, Lionel, Life Like, and Trix did a good job of building convincing models for the non-discerning guys like me.   I have an fictitious layout with locomotives from four different railroads that are passably realistic, and I am happy with that.

Besides, the Ferro Carril Central del Peru didn't have Niagaras, Hudsons, PRR J1's and K4's, and a Challenger.   They did have at least two Garrats, but they weren't terribly attractive...impressive, but not very likeable.

[Texas Zepher]

I was wondering why you model what you model? Was it the railroad you where most exposed to. Or is it the scenery. How about a type of locomotive. Or do you model just because you like it? I model WC because I lived around it, I also model Soo because...whell I don't know why. So why do you model what you model?

Well, as soon as I figure out what I really want to model, I'll let you know   Actually a very interesting question.   As a child I was exposed to CF&I, Santa Fe, Rio Grande, Missouri Pacific, C&S, and to a lesser extent Rock Island, and CB&Q.  My grandparents and uncle's farm were on the main line of the Santa Fe.  Working in the fields I remeber watching the parade of passenger trains passing by.   My first model was an HO Rock Island F3 so of course I modeled the Rock Island.  That lasted from pre-school until about 4th grade when I got a new locomotive.  It was a 4-4-0 painted for Virginia & Truckee, so I started modeling the coal fields of Virginia!  It was 1969 when I switched to N-scale.  Because I had been wanting to model passenger trains, Santa left me a set with an E8 war bonnet and 3 full sized passenger cars.  My fleet immediately took on a Santa Fe flavor.   This lasted through school and as my research skills started developing I decided to do a freelance connector between the Santa Fe, C&S, and Rio Grande in Southern Colorado.  But then on a chance visit to a hobby store I saw a Great Northern Big Sky Blue passenger car.   I rapidly discovered that passenger trains didn't have to be boring silver color.   A seed was planted, but it wasn't until 1980 when I decided I wanted to do some really detailed models.  That is when I found out a 3/4" hand rail in N-scale was impossible.  So I switched to modeling the GN in HO scale (actually I tried to model both until 1984).   I soon found out that the Big Sky Blue was more of an annomaly on the GN than the rule, that almost all of their steam locomotives were strange (Belpair fireboxes) so there was no hope of developing a steam fleet unless I spent the bucks for brass, and they never owned any PA units!   So I switched to modeling the NP (yeah I know still no PAs).  I officially modeled the NP for a decade or so.  Unfortunately I didn't lock myself down to it tight enough and before too long I notice I has more AT&SF locomotives than I did NP.   Hmmm how did that happen?    So I model passenger trains because I pine for the romance of the classic rail era.  Some day I will have my own private varnish.  I model the AT&SF because I grew up with them in my back yard.  I model the NP because it was a deflection of the GN.   I model the MP because I lived in St. Louis and walked by their headquarters to work every day for four years, and often strolled through their locomotive grave yard next to the Mississippi river.   I model the Rio Grande & C&S because it would be sacrilege to live in Colorado and not give them their due....   I collect reefer cars, cabooses, and Alco PA units.   And I have three Freelance railroads - a class one, a regional, and a short line, each has its own history.

[simon1966]

My utter lack of US RR knowledge led me to model the mid-west.  I wanted to get a train-set.  I wanted to build a layout based on rolling hills and mountains.  I found a Burlington Route based set and thought "Vermont, Burlington VT, perfect!"  I owned it about a month before I realized my error.  Now I am happily modelling specific places in Illinois based on the CB&Q, Wabash and CNW.

[Zandoz]

I started out in HO collecting and intending to build Wabash line because that's what a grew up a couple hundred feet from.   When I switched to N I went with Santa Fe because of a travel log film strip I saw sometime around 1st or 2nd grade...in part it featured a family railfanning a passing Santa Fe Passenger train.  I was hooked on the War Bonnets, the dome car and the rounded end observation car.  When I saw the Kato Super Chiefs, as a relative said upon meating my wife at our wedding,...."I didn't stand a chance" (of resisting).

[tstage]

I'm being haunted by two three vans while I sleep: Vanderbilt and the Van Swerigan brothers...

Tom

[selector]

...anybody quite taken with Van Horne?  There must be a Canuck out there somewhere...?

[RedGrey62]

I model 1950s MEC/B&M (and a few 1970s MEC units creep in from time to time) because:

• American railroading is (very) different to what I grew up with, 
• Researching something different is fun
• I wanted to recreate in miniture a time and place which can't exist again, but looks fantastic in old movies and photos
• New England mountain scenery is fantastic (especially in fall)
• I love the locos and paint schemes (Pine green with gold stripes on that F3 anybody - or if you prefer it more modern, how about a Harvest gold on that U18B?)

Except replace MEC/B&M with CB&Q

Replace New England with midwest grainger scenery (especially around some of the rivers)

and of course the colors would be Black & Grey, Chinese Red & Grey and of course Stainless Steel.

Rick

 

[CP5415]

It just boils down to: I model what I model because I like it.

 Can't say it any better than that!!!!

The only constant on my track is the Canadian Pacific Railway, which includes the D&H, SOO & MILW.

I grew up watching the CPR, my Dad would take me railfanning when he had time.

So now I model the CPR but include locomotives from various RR's & eras, mostly modern though.

In keeping with CPR practice, I have a bunch of SD40-2's in various CPR liveries but have taking a liking to AC4400's as well. Can never have too much 6 axle power!!

Gordon

[mondotrains]

Hi Folks,

I model the New Haven railroad primarily because I'm from Connecticut, where the New Haven ran, and I really like the varied paint schemes that the New Haven had.  The era I've chosen to model is 1959....probably because I can remember that year ending on New Year's Eve; the clock clicked past midnight and we celebrated the beginning of the year 1960.  I know it sounds corny, but that New Year's Eve with my aunt, grandparents and cousins was special, hence my modeling era.  I was 11 years old in 1959, and that was a special time.

 

Mondo

 

 

 

[mtrails]

Haven't modeled it yet...

 BUT, when I do, it will be because I grew up around it, and love the scenery, PLUS modeling it alone will be challenging and fun.

 -Southern Pacific over Donner-

 

Jeremy

[tomikawaTT]

September 1964 was a very happy time in my life, and the specific location I (more or less) model is scenically beautiful and the site of some fascinating railroad action - which I got to appreciate first hand.  The presence of coal-burning steam more than four years after N&W had dropped its last fire had some influence on my choice.  So did trains that I could see out of the front of (DMU with wide front windows.)  The final prototype plus was model railroad-like traffic density - there was always something moving on those rails.

Then, the kits and RTR cars I needed to assemble an appropriate HOj roster were readily available and quite economically priced.  (The same is NOT true today!)

All things considered, the choice was a no-brainer.

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

[JawBoneRail]

The Milwaukee Road because of the fond childhood memories of visiting Grand Ma. Her house was about 300' from the mainline in Martinsdale, Montana. I still remember watching the "Joes" pulling the long freights past her front yard. The occasional trips to Harlo to visit an uncle who worked for the Milwaukee at the depot. Walking across the pedestrian bridge and watching the "Harlo switcher" make and break trains. It all comes down to reliving memories of a railroad and people long gone.

[schom]

I model 1940's NYC, there is something about a streamlined Hudson that gets me going.  Plus I grew up in Santa Fe country so the NYC is about as far away as I could get!

[aloco]

I model CN and CP circa 1974.  That was the year I had my first taste of railfanning and the year I got my first train set.

[Tracklayer]

I personally model the south western United States because it's always appealed to me, and because it's always been the main area of the roads I model - like the Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, Santa Fe, Rio Grande and Western Pacific.

Tracklayer

[jasperofzeal]

Like Tracklayer up there, I also have models of SP, UP, SF equipment, but unlike Tracklayer, I also have some BN and SSW stuff.  I'm originally from San Antonio, TX, and I used to live very close to some UP tracks and later by some SP tracks when I moved.  Eventually when I build a layout, I'll probably try to mimic some of the sights from home and maybe just keep it SP and UP.

[wctransfer]

I model the WC and SOO (with some CNW thrown in) because all of those are gone now. And I grew up around SD45s, and until Late January of this year, WC SD45s were still on home rails. I model the 1990s (starts anywhere from 94, till 99) because so much of the power back then was much different than today. Plus, I love the WC and SOO, so its only obvious.

Alec

[MisterBeasley]

I grew up on Long Island, New York, and would occasionally visit the city.  The highlight was always a ride on the subway, which then cost 15 cents and you could ride all day, as long as you didn't leave the system.  Freight trains hardly existed, except in pictures or on TV.

My first HO train was a Milwaukee GP9, Athearn Hi-F rubber band drive.  In my teenage years, I ended up with two GP9's, two F7's and two cabeese in Milwaukee.  One of those engines survived 40 years in boxes well enough to get a decoder, and two are now dummies.  I picked up a couple more geeps and an Alco in Milwaukee.  I think I just like the colors.

And under that layout runs a subway system.  I've got a set of Life-Like R17 Redbirds, and a PCC car.  I went to school in Cambridge, MA, and now live in the Boston Burbs, so I've been drawn to freelancing my subway with elements of both New York and Boston.

I run coal, too.  I just like coal.  I think my next project will be to get the old coal loading chutes working again.  I've still got my Mantua clamshell-door operating hoppers.

[Cederstrand]

AT&SF, Santa Fe: Grew us seeing Santa Fe colors both prototype & my oldest brother had SF HO models. Always liked the colors.

UP: Parents gave me my first N diesel as a boy, a UP Atlas E8. I have collected UP ever since.

Southern, SP: When I moved to the Deep South ten years ago, used the move to justify adding another road name (buy more stuff).

When I finally build a layout, it will be entirely ficticious with several non-existent industries, along with some mining operations (working open pit plus old abandoned mining structures). Will need to create at least one new paint scheme for 2-3 locos & rolling stock for the major industry (Soylent Green anyone?). ;^) -Rob 

[BRAKIE]

I like modeling freelance short lines because of the disciplines needed to model a believable freelance railroad..I also model the C&O and the C&O under the Chessie System.I also have a small collection of short line locos and some NS units.

However my main love is short line railroads..After all they are a down home thing.

[Hawks05]

As of now it's mostly just track that is just laying one some wood for my layout. I plan to paint and make it a "wintery" looking layout as I haven't really seen many that look like that. I really like the look of BNSF, UP, and NS so I have locos from those 3 roads mostly. I plan on repainting a few locos this summer into a freelanced railroad based around the city I go to school in. I have a couple grain facilities that will be on the layout as well as a depot that the trains go past in town here. A new idea that I have is adding some school buildings as the tracks are a block from campus and many students cross the tracks going to class daily. Basically I'd be modeling my college town, minus the railroads that serve the town. We'll see how it goes though.

[trainfan1221]

Simple..I model what I do because I like modern railroading but want to get away with now aging and disappearing locos such as As SD40-2 types and so on.  So I model a modern regional line which doesn't have to be inundated with all modern power, though I have that too.  Plus I can run any type of train and don't have to act like I am trying to run a major system but can do a lot more than with a short line.

[IRONROOSTER]

I read and loved George Hilton's book "The Ma & PA: a History of the Mayrland and Pennsylvania Railroad".  

Enjoy

Paul 

[wm3798]

I model the Western Maryland in the late 60's-early 70's.  The paint schemes were cool, the operations varied, and the geography compact enough to get your head around.  Also, being a native of the Free State, it's fun to see the name of my homeland printed on my trains!

The more I study the WM, the more I like the way the company was run.  It's fun to build a model railroad of a company that was a "Model" railroad!

Lee