Base a Layout around a Favorite Model(s) You Have?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I model modern era. Always liked it and will continue to do so. But I’ve come across a particular model that doesn’t fit my era, and I’m planning to adjust my currently under construction layout to accomodate its era. Primarily making the layout dual era by not getting too specific about the structure details and other doo dad scenicy pieces.

This model:HO RTR 40 Wood Chip Hopper w/Load, CIRR #5210 (ATH76486): Athearn Trains

(Not necessarily the road name, although I like it) I love the tall stumpy look, and the efficient repurposing of an otherwise outdated coal hopper. And I’ve always been drawn to the SE USA wood products industry. Frankly, I like a lot of the cars used in that industry, so this hopper had an advantage into my heart.

That got me thinking.

Were you drawn to an era and place you liked, then accumulated equipment based upon that layout idea?

Or did/do you have favorite models that you built your layout around, for the purposes of seeing those models in action?

Open discussion is welcomed.

2

Hello All,

I completely sympathize with the dilemma you pose.

Here are several previous threads…

Why we pick the era we model.

Layout Theme.

Hope this helps.

3

When I started four years ago, I wanted completely modern day equipment and buildings. About two years ago, I saw the Kato 1950’s “City of Los Angeles” and immediately bought it. It became my favorite train.

I don’t have any issues running modern equipment through a modern day layout, but with a 1950s passenger train running at the same time. I like it.

4

To me, a dilemma has to be pretty solidly thorny, and inscrutable, to be labeled that way. Almost all situations where one or more options are open, all are legal/permissible, and it’s hard to tell which is the best option, are cracked by a methodical approach to discerning the key factors, the most salient anyway, and then assigning them a ‘virtue’ score, or a weight. From there, a matrix tells you which of the best two options stand out.

When I entered the hobby, the LHS guy plunked a spankin’ new BLI Hudson on the counter, laid out some tracks, and showed me how it ran and made sounds, even with DC power. I was bitten so hard they laughed me all the way out of the store. With the Hudson, of course.

From there, I began to learn about the road, the era, and kept compiling a list of intriquing history and hardware that I eventually acquired. It seemed a natural fit to build a transition era layout, and that is my entire history to date. It helps that an SD-75 looks great running along the same rails and through the same scenery.

5

When I started seriously getting into modeling back in '04, I picked up a Rivarossi NYC 0-8-0 switcher as a Christmas present to myself. I was smitten with the ruggedness of the model but the locomotive broke down within two days. I returned it to the LHS and picked up one of the Athearn NYC 2-8-2 Mikes. Even on DC it ran very well and I was happy with the purchase.

Wanting a switcher to accompany my freight locomotive, it wasn’t too long after that I picked up a Proto 2000 NYC S1 on eBay for <$30. It also ran very smoothly and I began purchasing & assembling kits to add rolling stock to my “fleet” of NYC locomotives. I also began reading up on and learning about the NYC. I had NO idea that one of the major NYC yards - Collinwood - was just down the hill from my house. [:O] I can actually hear sometimes at night.

I thought I would probably only purchase a few NYC locomotives since my layout was going to be the proverbial 4 x 8 shape. Boy! - Was I wrong! I discovered the beautiful NYC Hudson. BLI released their NYC 4-8-2 Brass-hybrid Mowawk so I had to pick that up. That was followed by the iconic Dreyfuss Hudson from BLI. Rounding that out was a BLI Niagara.

I have always liked steam but I found myself being drawn to the look of the early diesels - particularly the switchers. I also learned that most of the above ran during the 40s up to the mid-50s. The 40s had a special place in my heart because that’s when my parents were married and I grew up listening to big band music. My tastes are pretty simple so I prefer more of a rural setting for modeling rather than an urban one.

I guess I

6

Sorta. I’d never really given Amtrak much consideration until I moved to DC and started using the Capital Limited from time to time to visit home.

So my western Pennsylvania layout goals shifted to accommodate the Capital Limited.

7

My main base layout is set late 1980s into the 1990s. I have locomotives for Amtrak, Conrail. Also started with BNSF, Southern Pacific, Santa Fe, Burlington Northern and Union Pacific.

Secondary main layout is the New York Central between 1950-1953 and 1957-1967.

Fun Layout 1: A final layout “in which I’m building” 1946 post war steam only. Three locomotives 2-8-0, 2-8-2, and 4-6-2. Having fun with a small over 2x4 foot theme.

The fun railroad 2 I like is the Chessie System. I adore the colors and logo, problem is I have no place or plans. Unless it’s a diamond crossing or interchange or something.

8

My case is more about a particular building over locomotives and rolling stock. I had been dreaming and acquiring materials for months, or years, to build up a PRR Middle Division in the mid 1950s setup. However, after going through some older issues of Model Railroader and looking at New England based layouts I wanted to try my hand at that. Well, next I got the Wrisley Papers kit by South River Model Works. I felt many trepidations about beginning about 3-months ago but I’d complete a step and just kept at it. The instructions show a diorama design the company did and how to build that, and it’s beautiful, but I wanted it to be part of the shelf layout I want for my basement room. So, I designed the benchwork around the building and the area it occupies as it’s over 1.5" below track level. The freight cars needed to serve it would be boxcars plus a hopper as seen by coal having been dumped on the ground from the trestle. The setting shown in the kit’s pictures is the early or late '30s based on looking at the autos and railroad equipment. I’ve always been drawn to the transition era so that’s what I’ll set my shelf layout. Plus, I already have loads of '40s and '50s cars and trucks.

Alvie

9

Not a “favorite model”, but more along the lines of “what was available” drove me to model 1968 when I started SGRR layout #2.

This was the very early 1990s, I was modeling N scale, and Kato had released the SD9, GP30, GP35, GP40, and SD40 (no dash-2s) in undecorated N scale. These were mass-produced, and easy to obtain in the quantities I needed for big-time double tracked class A mainline.

Micro-Trains had all the N scale undecorated freight cars I would ever need readily available.

With easy-to-obtain, good quality equipment on hand, the era was set at Tuesday, August 6th, 1968.

Truth be told, I always wanted to model steam, but good running North American prototype steam in N scale was not a practical option.

When I switched to HO scale a few years later, I originally set the year in 1968 as well, but I always knew this would not last. Then when Bachmann released the Spectrum 2-8-0 in undecorated it was over. I bought one of these, and a Tenshodo USRA 0-8-0.

I backdated the SGRR to Tuesday, August 3rd, 1954, and I have been happy ever since.

So I guess the answer is “yes”, twice. Two times the availability of certain pieces of equipment has cemented the era of the SGRR. However, the transition era is where I really always wanted to be.

-Kevin

10

Why does it not fit your era? Isn’t that an 11-80 rebuild date on the left end of the car?

11

You could have labeled this Filosophy Phriday…[:)]

I thought I was gonna have a widely floating timeline era layout, pre transition to post, and in between. But now a large imposing industry narrows it considerably to post… Or just ignore that chip pile sometimes! Dan

12

Not so much favorite models, but my layout is based around 1970. Then the grandchildren became involved. They joined in the fun from the age of three. To make things easy for them I bought three 0.4.0 steam engines cheap plus a few trucks.

Now they are older they want to run my diesel locomotives etc. the steam locomotives were forgotten.

It was then when I got the idea to run the steam engines myself, setting the timeframe in 1914/19. Just like ‘Topsy’ the idea has grown into a layout in its own right.

Now I run diesels one running session, steam another on the same layout.

The grandchildren run the diesel trains!

David

13

I model a somewhat set era. So I have made two mini layouts for a certain engine. I made a small Industrial layout (ho scale) for a walthers ML-8 and I’ve also made a small (36in diameter) layout (Ho scale) to run an 1880’s passenger train. I think it is great fun to to this. I’ll soon make another micro-layout in N scale for a friend who is starting in the hobby, but can’t build a large layout. It will be a different locale and era then my larger layouts.

14

I think that’s where I’m headed. My wife and I expect to move out of this house in a few years. At this point, my plan is to then have two layouts, sort of double decked one on top of the other to accomodate both eras. I’ll have to study this idea more to see if that’s really doable.

It might be cool to model the exact same location, one layout set in 1970, the other layout 2010. Study all of the changes that could have taken place in 40 years; with some free-lancers license where needed. Then again, it might not be worth the effort.

15

My modern era is post 2000. By that time the big 61 footers and the 7,000 cf Greenville hoppers displaced those stubby guys.

They were more common in the 60s and 70s, but obviously must have lingered a bit longer on the Chattahoochee Industrial RR

16

I also decided to make the same city that resembles differently between eras. Instead of different cities and names I chose to leave as one.

The decision was New York Central in New York and then transition into Conrail maybe a little PC. Since I wanted NYC and CR on the same layout. I can change a few things here and there.

17

When designing my current layout, nearly 15 years ago, I made provisions for the largest equipment possible because I wanted to be able to accommodate virtually anything. My curves are Kato HO 26.375" radius, minimum, and several are 31" plus radius. The tunnels which are located on curves were custom made (pieces of insulation foam sheet with lightweight plaster over them) to be taller both so that I could reach inside to get anything derailed, but also so that double stack trains could operate easily. The tunnel portals have been wide enough for any steam articulated including big boys and yellowstones.

I have had many railroad interests from late steam era motive power through mainly 1970’s and later diesels. The railroad era I remember most would be late 1980’s and early 1990’s. That was when I completed the balance of my railfanning and took a few photographs.

I had said that I’d never do the “modern era” for various reasons, but “never” turned into being a long time–far too long since the ATSF/BNSF merger and UP’s acquisition of DRGW/SP/etc such that eventually I had to just give up and cave in.

Of course, this discussion is why folks like Tony Koester had chosen at one point in their life to have two completely separate eras on the same layout. In his case, the one was Nickel Plate Road steam to diesel transition, and the other one he used Alco Centuries and similar motive power.

In my own personal case, as much as I can love and be totally fascinated by steam power, it always requires more special care and feeding, and I also eventually came to realize that it was so far before my time, also with rolling stock type and paint scheme limitations, such that I should just leave it to the history books. It just became very easy for me to do that.

Now that I’ve made the switch to “modern era” I’m trying to restrict myself to rolling stock that survived in pret

18

In so many places around the world, the structures that lined the tracks are still there a hundred years on. It does not look too out of place to run a modern train through an area with old(er) buildings.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone has their layout set on a firm date, say Sept 11, 1921, and the buildings for the time do not look newly constructed and freshly painted. They are presented as they would look today a hundred years later in various states of decay, sometimes to the point of falling down and abandon. Yes, there are hundred-year-old buildings that look as good as the day they were built, but how often do we see 1920s buildings on 1920s layout looking a hundred years old when they should appear much newer.

Modern RR trackside infrastructure can often be set up to be easily removable if you wish to quickly change the era. Having buildings that look right in the age department can be a little tougher to accomplish but we do our best.

Hollywood ignores this same issue most of the time and no one seems to ever notice, but I do, but then my job for 36 years was making sure every detail and contingency was looked after. Maybe I am in the wrong hobby.[(-D]

19

I model 1939 aprox but I have stuff that could have been built. The S4 is much later than my time period but most changes were to internals and minor outside changes. Even the trucks are wrong but were avaliable in my time period.

20

my layout is a 20th century theme it has a mix of steam and diesel so i would say it is from around the era of the late 1950s. my favorite locomotive that I own is either the polar express or AWVR 777 from unstoppable. my other layout is of the stanton curve from the movie unstoppable.