any thing from real to prototypical
Robert
CSX River Line. Runs right through Bound Brook, and Manville. Go there every Friday to watch Trains. Usually see a lot too.
The Rock Island along the Mississippi (as if the ROCK never fully folded, but became a combo of today’s Iowa Interstate and I&M Rail Link !!!
Now … what about dressing a C44-9W in “Rocket” or even the old Red and Black color scheme ???
THAT would be something !!!
- George
You have to ask that question ??!! Why the CENTRAL, of course ! NYCS !
Can you just Imagine an Acela in Lightning Stripes ! Now that would be a beauty .
ERIE, the transition period. Something about the Black & Gold, Ball in Diamond and the Wings that make me think this is how a hard-working railroad should look.
Modern era would be Susquehanna. I now live close to some Susquehann mainline and of course they’re also black and gold.
The Missouri Pacific! Imagine that back in 1980, the MOPAC became the dominate partner in the merger with the UP, and it was the UP that faded away. I just got two new Kato SD90MAC’s that will soon be decked out in the MOPAC “Screaming Eagle” scheme.
The HoreShoe Curve, Just a imagine a 2-10-4,
4-4-6-4, 4-4-4-4. I can almost feel the ground
shake under my feet right now. Think about all
that power, going around the curve.
Canadian Pacific and Canadian National through the rockies and the fraser canyon. The sencic possibilities and the massive landmarks (Stoney Creek Bridge, Spiral Tunnels) would make for an exciting layout. The 50’s would be the era of choice, lots of big steam (4-8-4’s on the CN side, and 2-10-4’s, and 2-10-0’s on the CP side, along with a bunch of 4-6-4’s, 4-6-2’s and, 2-8-2’s.)
The merger that was discussed and never happened: Frisco and GM&O. Assume the Frisco was the dominant carrier and the bright red and white GM&O scheme was kept on SD60’s, 70’s or even GP 60’s. Ahhhhh.
The Vermont Railway. You can model their entire fleet of locomotives. New England Scenery in the fall.
The Erie Main line through Orange County, NY. Early Conrail Era.
Good choice!!! I grew up in Jersy City about 4 blocks from the ERIE terminal(and coincidentally about another 4 blocks from James J Ferris High School)now live in NW Jersy just over the NY border from Orange County(Warwick NY)and work in Suffern where the ERIE main also ran.
I grew up in Chester, right next to the Erie Depot. Originally I was born in Suffern, and moved to Chester when I was four. I left the area about a year after the Main Line got tore up. The Chester area is my main focus. Especially the Greycourt Yard, which was just a short walk from my house.
That is the problem living in Arizona now. I don’t have easy access to the area. I scour the Internet on a regular basis for pics and have been using the USGS Topographical Maps of the area. The great thing about those maps, though, is that they are from 1983 - right around the time that I am modeling!
Southern Pacific all the way!!! Watching the SP on Joe Fugate’s Siskiyou line is amazing…
Keep in mind my love of trains isn’t with the big ones. My first love was the Chicago’s Musseum and SF. Thanks Midnight Railroader for all of your work on keeping the C&SF alive (I was probably the kid on the otherside of the layout watching the trains too).
http://www.midnightrailroader.com/museum1.htm
And then I saw the January 1997 cover of Joe’s Siskiyou Line and there was no turning back!!
An updated photo of the cover shot
Next will hopefully the next will be my own SP’s proto-freelanced Klamath River branch but I’m just finishing up the benchwork now
ratled
Boston and Maine. Winter in the north county to the reds, yellows, oranges, in the south.
Present day CP or CN in British Columbia or Western Ontario. Lots of BIG power and great scenary…and stack trains.
New York Central during the transition era…gotta model the Twentieth Century Limitied…nothing says power like a hudson roaring along the water level route!!..
With the acknowledgement that this thread died a slow death 7 years ago, CP Rail/CSX!!!
Boy, this thread sure took on a new life - all the way from 24 August 2001 to today, 23 January 2008 - that’s six years and five months.
I model a freelance road crossing the Appalachians between tidewater Virginia and the Midwest. As such I model elements of B&0, WM, C&O, VGN, and N&W while not modeling any in particular.
If I had my druthers, however - druthers translating to: unlimited space accompanied by unlimited financial resources - I would probably model CMStP&P; my modern Milwaukee Road would still run all the way to the shores of Puget Sound; it would still be electrified with a whole new stable of electric locomotives in addition to modern high horsepower diesels; the gap between Avery, Ida and Othello, Wash was electrified in the 1980s and today it moves volumes of stacks at high speed.
A second preference would be C&NW on the racetrack across Illinois and Iowa. I might even create a Chicago, Milwaukee, and North Western.
Ah, dreams!!!
The New Haven Railroad in the transition era. Having lived along the line from Rye, NY to New London, CT and having been a passenger on it hundreds of times over 30 years. It had a 4 track electrified main line from NYC to New Haven, and engine changes from electric to steam or diesel to Springfield and/or Boston at New Haven Union Station, and great passenger trains. Add to that 100 car freight drags from and to Maybrook, NY and the car floats on the Hudson. Numerous branch lines, in essence, something for everyone.