So the what do you model poll got me thinking.... Why did you choose to model what you chose? Is it because you consider the time you chose to be the golden age? (bear in mind golden age means different things to different people - that is a whole other poll!) Or maybe you chose a time and a place from your childhood? Perhaps it's because it's what you see out your back door, or on your way to work? Was it inspired by a vacation somewhere? Or some other reason all together?
For me, it started with an early affinity for the Chicago & North Western, which ran about a block from my childhood home in the '60s and '70s in south central Minnesota. But there was never a lot of railroad drama in south central Minnesota. Researching C&NW history led me to western Iowa, where I developed a (somewhat) plausible story for a fictional line that survived as a bridge route between the UP and C&NW. That not only allows for high density in traffic, but high profile passenger trains like the "City" streamliners and even C&NW's "400" fleet. 1954 could be considered the Golden Age for that region, because the following year C&NW ended its parternship with the UP on the streamliners. So I guess I'm a "golden ager," even though my prototype of choice is the line I saw operating as a kid (after the Golden Age has passed). Jim
I was looking for something different to model this time around. I've done SP, WP, BN in the past and so does everyone else at my club so I started looking to the east coast for ideas. So I picked Guilford for the beautiful country in Maine.
I grew up in a family with many relatives who were in railroading. AT&SF, C&O, MILW, IC/ICG, etc, etc, etc. Even several who had worked for Pacific NW loggers such as Polson Brothers, Schafer Brothers, and... The closest active family in RRing were with the MILW. Many of my chums in school, etc, were with RR families, especially MILW and NP. Somehow it just worked out that way. A lot of those I knew were agents, operators, dispatchers and some of those my age went into those same trades. Hence what is on my web site as a favorite for railroadiana. We lived near by to an NP branch that was still operating steam, but seemed to see MILW electrics a lot. It stuck. Here I am today.
Mine is mostly based on what I rail fanned early on, and in my hometown area. I was insanely interested in the BN, which ran within 100 yards of my grandparents' and within 4 blocks of my house. Also very interested in the MKT, and the Santa Fe. When BNSF came along it was a perfect union for me. I have chosen that same BN line with the added benefit of more ATSF presence.
When retired and finally finished with overseas living, I noted train traffic at our towns commuter station. Daily traffic included Empire Builders, Sounder commuters, daily Cascades, and another Amtrak run. Of course, there are BNSF unit trains and a few smaller freight cuts being moved around. Well, thought MRR'ng would be neat to do. Consequently, doing these passenger trains is the main thing. Don't do switching and classification chores. When space can be had I'd like to try modelling a larger city's (Seattle, Everett, Mukilteo) yards and service stations.
Why model a state with some of the least amount of trackage? In an era of bankruptcy, little to no maintenance, abandoned branch lines and worn out faded Geeps? Easy answer, it's what I remember. Sure the B&M was a rag tag railroad in the 1970's, and the old timers lament the fall of maroon and gold locomotives, but they are quick to forget that the B&M was a railroad that was coming back. Allan Dustin took the railroad and carefully spent money where it was needed and slowly though out the 1970's brought the railroad back. By 1978, new GP40-2 locomotives were on the system, by 1980 a GP7,9 and 18 rebuild was started along with a new paint scheme. It was an exciting time for me, standing track side in Concord, watching big blue locomotives. Unfortunately Guilford came along in 1983, so I model the line that was near my house when blue Geeps still went through.
I also love modeling the CB&Q. That Chinese red scheme is beautiful on any Geep or SD. Maybe because the Q ran in my adopted home state of IL, maybe because the line had so many little branches and maybe because I can still fan it to a point. Railfaning the C&I in northern IL, one can see so many BNSF trains, running by so many ghosts of the "Q".
I'm currently in the collecting locomotives stage of a '68-'71 B&M layout. For me, old dilapidated buildings are the most interesting models so a dilapidated railroad should be even better. I've done some mid '50s B&M before so I still have some maroon & gold that will make an appearance.
I model what I grew up with and saw everyday, working steam, 40 foot and 50 foot cars, and first generation diesel. Made a decision to model SP&S which is about 500 miles west of where I grew up because of the lack of available GN steam types. So the SP&S lets me combine both roads power, GN and NP into one road, and both passenger trains into one. And I like Alcos, and SP&S was early Alco heaven.
There was a time when railroads were vital to the commerce and transportation needs of America. While I grew up watching late steam and early diesel and riding late low-floor Jones and new PCC trolleys, my fantasy interest was that era when trains were the highlight of the day in small towns and the lifeblood of cities. Strangely, I have chosen to model what I remember, not what I dreamed of. In the early 50s-60s, railroads were still trying to be integral and fighting a losing battle. It took me years to recognize the ugly beauty of diesels shoving out beloved steam. In my world, models represent memories, snapshots of that environment. Whether those are realistic, only someone who lived or worked should know. My world is my world, but it should be evocative of what you remember. I count no rivets but I do look at Built Years on rolling stock. My streets are paved with Ligonier block and strung with overhead wire. My commuters have, but don't rely on autos. There's still a passenger train periodically.
I Started out modeling several of the larger more popular roads, BN, UP & GN but none really struck a cord until I remembered The Rock Island. The thing that caught my attention was what Jim Wiggens said about the B&M ".........little to no maintenance, abandoned branch lines and worn out faded Geeps...." Of course, in Rock Islands case it was most ALL of their locomotives. In my eyes I seen an "Underdog" that was full of color & character that would be fun to model and a challenge as well. The one thing that I always heard about the Rock was how bad their trackage was. So hence when I started laying the track, I didn't use a straight edge so as to wind up with track that's as straight as an arrow and perfectly flat and level. I remember watching the trains as they rolled through town and in Fairbury, NE and thinking they were like Weebles as they wobbled and bobbled at a snails pace. So now, my models will wobble and bobble just like the prototypes did, well maybe not as bad. The consists were like a rainbow: Bright blues mixed with Red and Yellow units with a strong mixture with any of the numerous variations from the Maroon era. New GP38-2's running with F units! I decided to model Rock Islands southern division after reading the May 1982 issue of Railfan & Railroad.
I started out generally modeling anything Santa Fe. Then some friends and I started an NTRAK club. We wanted to model a specific time and place as opposed to what most other clubs were modeling. We settled on modeling the local sugar refinery sometime around the steam to diesel transition. After researching for a while we came up with a few photos from 1948-51 that showed that the MoPac was still running steam on their branch line to the plant. Photos from 1953 showed the water towers for the steam locomotives gone and Alco S2s switching the plant. After talking to some old hoggers who had worked on the line for the MoPac, we found out they were running Ten Wheelers into the plant yet until 1952. So we picked 1951. At that time the SP and ATSF (via track rights on the SP) still ran some steam on the Sunset Route through town. We later expanded to include more of the railroad in the local county but still based in 1951.
I wish that I could vote for 2 things, since I am modeling the SP in the 80's, but in my current home town that I moved to in 2008....
The Rio Grande ran near my house. I loved to watch the trains go by. I also like railroad history. Most notably the DSP&P. My model railroad is freelanced but is based on the above mentioned railroads. I do not model them directly because I did not want to be tied to "the DRGW didn't DO that" or " DSP&P didn't OWN that" mentality. In my modeling, I am trying to have a modern railroad (1970's -1990's) that has the "feel" of the narrow gauge roads.
Funny you mention the underdog. My hometown was interesting to me railroad-wise in the late-70's and 80's...not because of some major yards or industry--there were virtually none of either--but because of the great contrast between the two railroads that came through. The Fort Worth & Denver (which officially became BN in 1983 even though it WAS BN for all practical purposes since the merger in '70) was "growing up" with the arrival of the all-mighty coal train. In contrast, struggling Rock Island withered and died, only to be replaced by struggling MKT (OKKT) scrapping it out until UP finally took the reigns in 1988. Talk about contrasting color! The OKKT utilized a dog's breakfast of power and is they were making lemonade everyday. Ex-Conrail, ex-PC, ex-ICG, ex-Kennecot, et al was just such a contrast to the clean, modern power that led BN trains. And seeing a leased Rio Grande tunnel motor in rural Texas on an OKKT local switching a grain spur on rickety track was flat out comical to me. I also got to see what might have been the little bit of prosperity that the Katy was enjoying during that time, with the Fayette Power coal trains running on the BN and the rock trains out of Chico, TX albeit for only a short time before the Texas oil bust killed money/construction in the early/mid-80's. So the OKKT/MKT was my "underdog" and is still one of my favorites. And yes....track. Wow, Rock Island was not even border-line negligent with how they (failed to) maintained their track. The OKKT seemed to make some effort to at least keep trains upright but still...scary stuff. Funny, in the late 70's BOTH railroads experienced a high volume of derailments in the area....Rock Island because of the aforementioned lack of care and FW&D/BN because they were pushing the limits of their infrastructure with the heavy coal trains pounding away. The welded rail was coming, but not fast enough.
I chose "Conrail" (immediate post merger) for two or three reasons...... 1) got tired of trying to find CB&Q stuff, and it got boring. 2) a friend talked me into it..........I decided to "go outside the box". 3) there is an immense amount of variety in the Conrail stuff, it doesn't all look alike.
Lived on the NP / BN / BNSF mainline in Frazee MN for 35 years until I moved to Canada. Also lived at Braham MN on the GN line to Duluth. I started off modeling BN in the late 70's to early 80's but decided I liked modern railroading better.
I wanted to model 1975 or so, using N scale SD40-2s (my favorite loco). Unfortunately, it seems no one wants to produce them any more. So I'm going to model the next best thing... 1971... since almost all of my rolling stock is dated before then. I'm also going to model my home town - New Orleans - once I sell the four books I've written about a wonderful genetic mutation. New Orleans from 1971 has the big port, many, many railroads serving it, and I grew up around railroads down there. It didn't hurt that I got into model railroading when I was four years old and that I had two uncles working for the L&N RR, or that I lived two blocks from the Southern Railway yard in N.O. Hmm... I grew up in the San Francisco Zoo, until Kiz took me home...
