When I started in the hobby almost 40 years ago, the big thing was the changeover that had happened from steam to diesel. A lot of people quit taking pictures when steam disappeared, since GP-7’s and RS-3’s and F-7’s and Baldwin switchers “all look alike” and had nothing to offer. With the PC debacle and the loss of other roads to merger, a lot of people felt like railroading wasn’t interesting anymore.
Yet now looking back on it, although it’s too bad I missed steam by a few years, I got to see a lot of things that I’m glad about. It’s kinda fun now as an alumni member of my college’s railroad club to talk to kids born in the late eighties who think it’s neat that I can remember the Rock Island or got to ride on a Great Northern passenger train, and even that I have a lot of pics of what to them is an old-time “fallen flag” - Burlington Northern!!
Anyway, the same is true now. You may have to hunt a little more, but there are still wayfreights trundling along with a few cars (sometimes even with a caboose). Progressive Rail as I noted still operates trains with one diesel and 4-6 cars on single track branch lines serving different businesses. Even big railroads like CP run ‘modelable size’ freights near St.Paul, often using an old Soo caboose as a “shoving platform”.
Besides, after 40 years of small-time branchline trains with 2 covered hoppers and 2 flatcars per train day after day, long stack trains blasting along at 50 MPH seem pretty exciting to me now!!