How exactly does one come up with a name for their layout? Like the Q, J and P or whatever, what is the story behind your layout name. I just refer to mine as "the hulk" for now.
For many years my layout never had a name, I then was given a UP operating manual and found "The Cheyenne Divison" suited what I was modelling. I also named yards and siding from the same manual.
Ha, I can relate. Mine is very loosely based on a stretch of SP main line, and it really strays from the prototype, so I didn't name it after the pass I'm trying to model. "The Hulk" has a nice ring to it though.
Took me weeks to come up with the "Gryphin and Grandure" . Grandure was an accidental misspelling but decided to keep it. Gryphin was changed to Grey due to a life changing event.
Most railroads are named for a town or state of origin along with a secondary destination or something somewhat grandios. Atchison,topeka, santa fe. those places are really far apart. Union Pacific. Big name for a big railroad. blankety blank and western. If you name towns on your railroad you can use a town name along with western or southern or northern. I have had some town names for my layout that I just recycle everytime I make a new layout. Glimmering- up and coming industrial center. Sender- small town. Suspicious River- visible staging yard erea. The Glimmering and Suspicious river. It's handy because I can name industries after these things too: Suspicious meats Glimmering metals Sender oil company Gryphin and Grandure has that same feel to it. these aren't just words they are places on the layout. Arizona Central says alot about that line. It's going to be a desert line, possibly a branch or shortline. Cheyenne Division implies something bigger than just the railroad you see. I imagine this is a big time class one mover. Cheyenne tells me it's probably UP. On railroads everything has a name. Cayote could be a small ghost town for example. or Eagle pass can just be a stretch oif track through a high point on the layout. Just play with words as names and you should be able to come up with something kind of cool.
I don't have a layout as such. However I do have quite a few NTRAK modules based on the same prototype theme. They have been called many things by many different folks. The one I seem to like the most was coined by a magazine editor. "Sugar Land Route" is simple enough, unique and describes the prototype scene that I modeled.
Mine is named after my prototype. The Ashley Drew & Northern was a 41 mile shortline in southeastern Arkansas. It originated in Crossett, Arkansas and ran north to Monticello, Arkansas. Crossett is in Ashley County. Monticello is in Drew County. Their were originally plans to extend the line north when it was built in 1912. That never happened. When I was young and lived in Fountain Hill, Arkansas by the AD&N mainline, the local used to come by about 6:00 PM headed north. It would come back through headed south about 3:00 AM. That why people in the area nicknamed the AD&N the "All Day & Night".
My daugter coined the San Antonio & Pacific when she was small. What could I do? FWIW, John Allen said that the Gorre & Daphaetid was a silly name, but once it was done and published, it was not so easy to change. "Since it is known that way, I am stuck with it," he said.
I named my railroad much like Geeky describes. Rush Island is a prototype railroad "station" (Its called Rush Tower in the BNSF timetable), but it is also the name of the power plant I am modeling. I chose Western due to the second level of my layout being based in part on the Powder River Basin, from which the coal for the power plant comes from. I have even decided on a reporting mark for my railroad, RAEG. This is based on following my company's nomenclature for an actual railroad they own, the Coffeen & Western (CAEG). (Coffeen is the name of another power plant in the system). The AEG part stands for Ameren Energy Generating, thus I modeled my layout based on the same patterns. While you will see coal hoppers with the CAEG reporting mark roaming the rails, you won't see RAEG, the hoppers that come to Rush Island (and the rest of the Union Electric power plants) are all of the reporting mark UCEX.
I built a temporary EZ-track layout and left it up for a few weeks a couple years ago. My daughter was 6 at the time, and upon looking over the offset oval trackwork, she declared it "The Potato Grande"
I am temporarily (and may keep it) naming mine the N&N Railroad for "No Name". I was also thinking of the H&C Line for the Hollow Core door it sits on Don't some people name theirs after a town on their layout, whether it is real or not?
I just haphazardly starting collecting beer cars. the next thing you know I've got 10 or 15 of them. I like beer, Budweiser, Junior, and I live in California where everything has a spanish name. So I settled on "Borracho Canyon", borracho translates to 'drunk' which I think is funny. I always seem to have a beer in my hand when they run, the trains don't stick much to a scheduel, so it makes sense.
The JJJ&E is named after my four grand daughters; Julie, Jenna, Jillian & Emily. Stay cool and run steam....
I spent months attempting to come up with a name for my N scale Midwest shortline layout. The first choice was an Indian tribe name, Nishnabotna but decided it had too many letters to contend with. A member of this list suggested using a Midwest state's name and I finally settled, just a couple weeks ago, on Iowa Midland. Then it was time to come up with a logo. I've settled the O in Iowa to be italics with a green stalk of corn and yellow ears of corn running through it. My computer lacks a drawing program so I'm looking for a logo designer and decal maker. I'm also looking for a painter to decorate a couple undec diesels and a motor car and to strip paint and repaint a few other diesels. Any suggestions on whom might be able to handle all or part of this will be appreciated. As always, thanks for your help. This list keeps on giving and eventually this sort of newbie hopes to give as well as receive.
My HO basement layout was modelled after the Ann Arbor Railroad, but in order to add some locomotives and industries not found on the real AA RR I named my railroad the Saline, Ann Arbor, & Yuma Railroad (SAY-RR) three towns located and modeled on the real AA RR. My outdoor garden railroad is a totaly fictious railroad named the Montgomery & Cripple Creek Railroad - "Montgomery" in honor of my in-laws and Cripple Creek because that was the name of one of the stations by Pola that we bought & liked the name.
Thanks! I have wondered for a long time on that one. I figured I'd find out sooner or later /one more mystery of life solved.
BTW, I didn't mention that I have another PRN, the "Pacific Steer Railroad." The rr was for a cattle feeder transport from central Texas. I created this before I knew about getting decals made. The term "Pacific Steer" can be made from "Western Pacific" decals.
