MILW. Mythical branch line, based upon fact, from their former Coast Division, c.1965-1968/69. PCT never existed; BN never existed; none of the mega-mergers/era ever happened, etc.
Deacon, If I remember correctly, the 2-8-0 was an ex-CN locomotive. I also remember their trailers for tofc service had an emblem that was a triangle with a hog in a engineers cap riding atop a steam locomotive, it was very cool! Every once in a while I make it over to Marion but I don't get to see much train action. They used to also have a SW1 on display on a side track that had parts stripped off of it, I don't know if it was ever used in service. Yeah, you're making a good choice! Ralph
Yeah, I am trying to find out if those piggyback decals will fit my 2-8-0. Disappointed that I did not find out about the steam until a couple of years after it was sidelined. Would have gotten to see it a few times, as we moved down there in May of 86. LAter, we would move to within a half mile of the Crainville line and often saw the switcher out there.
Used to occasionally see a gondola lettered "COER" passing through the High Line in Montana. Seemed to always be empty. Straying a long way from home rails.
They also had a business car. I shot this at Marion on 4/11/1987. I don't know if it was on the roster seven months before. There's the logo on its side that @Martin Station mentioned.
D&RGW, up to 1983. That way, I can have PA-1s in Aspen Leaf leading the California Zephyr, the Ford FAST, boaloads of coal trains, and the Rio Grande Zephyr. I just need some quality F9s... I also avoid later model motive power and rolling stock to save on budget. I model the Colorado Rockies in the middle of the inner sanctum of the D&RGW Moffat Route Tunnel District, so my scenery dwarfs the trains, even in 3x7 feet. The timeframe I selected minimizes the aluminum coal gon influx, and sticks with older steel coal hoppers and high-side gons. I think they're cool, and the early date meant they were reasonably good looking, so I don't have to go nuts on weathering. I can run some BN too, which is my other fav railroad. At the end of the day, it's your railroad, so rule number one always applies. Do what you like, and HAVE FUN, as that's what it's all about.
Era/road-specific or not, this is one of the coolest small layouts I've ever seen; thanks for reminding us! You don't have to decide which season to model, do both! Great inspiration!
I keep things in the early to mid '70s. In my strange World, Amtrak never existed, Penn Central flourished, and CRI&P never turned blue !!! I can run my Bicentennial stuff. I'm "somewhere" in the Midwest. My cities are Capital City (Simpsons) and National City (very hazy trips from Tijuana to Coronado, CA !!!). Towns are Springfield (Simpsons again !!!), Knoxville (Sprint car racing), and another needs a name. My problem is lack of vehicles. Seems that manufacturers don't understand that Grandma' didn't drive a cement mixer or fire truck to get a loaf of bread !!!
I model the SP's Los Angeles division. In and around "Oxnard" -- 1955. Can still run black overnights, Tiger stripe switchers, Black Widow freights, Daylight and two tone gray premiere passenger trains and of course still have plenty of steam locomotives. However, I do have a broad brush stroke for the years I model. Essentially, late 1948 to mid 1958. This is the era when the aforementioned paint schemes and steam still prevailed on the SP. 1958 is when the Bloody Nose paint scheme was introduced. Thanks, -- have fun Wolf
Russ, are the buildings removable? Ntrak modules take a lot of abuse in transport as well as set up and take down activity.
the difficult part with that is that too many large buildings and you'll never see the trains. This is what I am working against with my metro layout, I wanted a ton of skyscrapers and all, I actually feel like my 10-15 story buildings aren't terribly realistic but then all the details and everything else would just get lost imo if I didn't. For N-Trak is great though, as most modules are single-pass and you can just build up "behind". Your Sugar industry looks great, love it!
Thanks. I like to do multiple module sets that are always hooked together so that I can pull the three track standard apart and run the two back tracks farther away from the front leaving a single track out front. But I am still able to hook up with other folks at train shows. The Imperial Sugar set is made up of five four foot modules making a 20 foot scene.
Great point about N-Trak (and T-Trak). Whether I want skyscrapers on my layout or not, I like seeing them on other's layouts. It's like paintings and photography; while I prefer landscapes and rural scenes, I still enjoy urban scenes too (especially rainy ones, just to show Who's still in charge!) In both, I like scenes that tell a story, whether it's the engineering in building the railroad through difficult terrain, or in building an urban empire, or anything else. Unfortunately rainy scenes on model railroad layouts are impractical. But snow/ice, or at least their aftermath, is not! I've never seen it, but I wonder if one could similarly model the aftermath of a rain shower... water in street gutters, glossy appearance of most surfaces, etc. Just semi-random thoughts of a model railroader...
