Pretty much anyone not modeling ATSF, UP, PRR and a few others (SP, DRGW, NYC, et al) would have the same complaint.
Iâd have to agree with this sentiment.
As for Andreâs post lawl.
Maybe Hill line modelers have slightly better taste going off the beaten to death Pennsy/UP/ATSF/etc. trail.
I still have yet to regret my decision.
I think it is a number of factors. Even if there is a fair amount of NP models out there, they donât âget the pressâ that the others do. Perhaps because most manufacturers/importers and advertising firms are in NYC, LA, and Chicago? (Iâm just guessing here).
It was pointed out that the Seattle and Twin Cities metro areas have a large population. But they DIDNâT when the NP was around! Remember, much of the reason a person models a particular road is childhood memories. The corollary to this is that there is much more BN representation.
And, as someone else pointed out, even when railroads ruled this country, the NP didnât get that much press.
Andre is a really nice guy, perhaps you should take a time out before responding, or learn to Google definitions.
Tongue-in-cheek is a figure of speech used to imply that a statement or other production is humorously or otherwise not seriously intended, and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort.
I would consider the Northern half of the Pacific Coast to be the U.Sâs North Coast.
Nope. Northern part of the West Coast. Just like coastal Maine is the northern part of the East Coast. Admittedly, the US has a South Coast, but there is no North Coast (just like Canada has no South Coast). Under your logic, Maine would have just as much right to be called the âNorth Coastâ and the âNorth Coast Limitedâ could have been a joint B&M/MEC train.
I guess Andre wouldnât be happy with the âMainstreeterâ, either.
What part of âtongue-in-cheekâ gives you difficulty? Does the definition of âfacetiousâ elude you? Does the phrase âpulling your legâ have no meaning? In any case, what âMainstreeterâ brings to mind is Upton Sinclairâs novel âMain Streetâ which tells the tale of a young woman who marries a physician in a small Midwestern town and is stifled by the narrow mindedness and dullness of the townâs denizens. At least the GN had the good sense to call its secondary transcontinental train âThe Western Starâ.
Oh what was I thinking picking the N.P., which I believe has the best looking steam engines in the world?
I donât know. Are you unfamiliar with the esthetics of a South African Railways 19D class 4-8-2? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou5WrVTDNjE
How about a Stanier Pacific, namely ex LMS 6201 âPrincess Elizabethâ, here ascending Ais Gill on the Settle-Carlisle line? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd-jG7-xH08
Hereâs one of my favorites, an NZGR Ja class 4-8-2 being paced near Kataki on New Zealandâs South Island: https://www.youtube.co
The NP existed in an era when there were dozens of Class ! railroads. Therefore, modelers have many choices for prototypes if modeling in the 1960âs or earlier. Similar questions can be asked about other class 1 railroads of that era, too.
There is no lack of interest in the Northern Pacific on my layout. Both NP and GN have running rights on my CB&Q themed layout. My NP diesels include 12 F-units (both freight and passenger), a GP9, and 2 RS3âs. My NP steam include 0-8-0, 2-8-0, and 4-8-4. Not all locomotives have been converted to DCC so far, and the non-DCC engines are currently stored. My layout was converted to DCC 3 or 4 years ago.
While obviously you went with âWhen deciding a road name you tend to go with what is avalible.â I doubt many of us used that criteria to make a decision on what RR to model! I should think it would be more what you where/are close to, your home road, so to speak. It certainly was this way for me. I grew up watching long Northern Pacific Freight trains and an occasional passenger train between the Twin Cities and Motley Minnesota on my hundreds of trips up north, as a kid.
This will be a point many of you might feel the need to pick apart. In actuality some of my intertest in the Northern Pacific stems from the fact that it isnât as well modeled as other RRs. Yes, I made my own bed; however, the fact that I CHOSE a less modeled railroad to model, shouldnât mean that I canât ask the questions I have asked. The questions I asked werenât a challange to others to get busy and model the N.P. Only a wondering of why the N.P. is less modeled. Some of your answers seem plausable and well thought out. Some seem to show a sort of vindictiveness towards anyone who would model something they feel is less worthy of modeling than your own much more worthy choice. A pretty immature stance on a pretty meanless subject.
I donât know if there is a satisfactory answer regarding the northern Pacific popularity. Itâs been gone now for nearly 45 years so those who were alive to and remember it well are dwindling, and yes, it was in a less populated part of the country - the Pacific northwest. Itâs probably a combination of those two factors. Iâm 55 and I donât ever recall seeing any diesels in NP paint.
Iâd definitely include standard gauge D&RGW in the 2nd tier too - narrow gauge may have a major following but based on sales, Iâd say standard gauge D&RGW does too. The D&RGW tunnel motors and SD50âs always sell out. Most of the stuff I see on fleabay not sold out are bogus or fantasy models painted for D&RGW, although some SD45âs have shown up at decent prices lately.
Maybe it all boils down to mathematics. Nowadays there are about a half dozen to a dozen big railroads in North America, so modern modelers have the choice of going freelance, following one of these big roads, or modeling a shortline. Naturally this limits the choices and means that there will be proportionally more modelers following a more limited numbers of roads.
But if you drop your time period back to the 1960âs or earlier, the number of major railroads increases significantly. Back in the 1940âs and 1950âs, there were probably well over 100 Class 1 railroads, and each of those has its fans. In that milieu, N.P. is just one of many, many very appealing railroads.
As far as popularity goes, I think N.P. has a lot going for it, although I have a friend who used to work for the G.N., and he still wallows in the old rivalry. I model northern Ohio in 1952, but I havenât told my G.N. buddy that I own a PFM Northern Pacific 4-6-0 just because I LIKE the dang thing. [:D]
Tom
The Great Lakes.
Oceans have coasts, lakes have shores - Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic; Chicago, South Shore & South BendâŚ
Shortly before the North Coast Limited was introduced by NP, the NP bought the St.Paul & Duluth RR, whoâs top passenger train was the Lake Superior Limited. Iâve wondered if that name inspired someone at NP to come up with North Coast Limited.
Plus, it could be c.1900 people did refer to todayâs âPacific Northwestâ as the North Coast. The view people had of the country was different then, here in Minnesota we were often still referred to as being part of the ânorthwestâ rather than the midwest, even though Minnesota hadnât been the farthest northwest state for many decades. (Hamms beer in St.Paul MN called itself âthe brew that grew with the great northwestâ into the 1960âsâŚbut then, bears arenât great at geography.) 100 years ago, what became todayâs Big 10 college athletic conference was called the Western conference, even though the farthest west members were Minnesota and Iowa.
[:D]I can apologize to Andre, as I failed to see his statement at the bottom of his post, was it there when I responded? I also didnât believe what I said in response, should be taken without a sense of humor.
Probably should call NOAA and tell them this, because theyâre over there operating the Great Lakes Coastal Forecasting System.
OK since you went through the trouble starting the thread, Iâll fall out of the woodwork. I donât model the NP specifically, Iâm modeling the Lake Superior Terminal & Transfer. It was a short line in Superior WI, owned by NP, GN, each 1/3, and the Omaha(CNW), and DSSA(SOO), each 1/6. Primary focus is NP though. I also grew up on the NP mainline (Jamestown). Hard part is I am a rivet counter, good part is I enjoy scratch building/ kit bashing. Tim PS Iâve spent a fair amount of time traveling around the upper plains, and the old timers always called the Canada border âthe north coastâ.
To back up NPâs statement, If I modeled what was available Iâd be just like every other modeler. Thanks but no thanks, I donât want to model Pennsylvania or California.
NP car getting some love from the railfan community - and still earning its keep in 2014:
I havenât seen any lately; however, within the last 10 years or so, I did see two N.P. cars togther in a work train at Staples, MN. I also have three fish belly cars that were probably old flat cars or outside braced N.P. box car frames along highway 200/71 here in the Park Rapids, MN area that are being used as bridges on a snow mobile trail! I know they are N.P. as I got up close and could see N.P. under the paint.
When I entered the hobby in early 2004, I quickly bought 127 freight cars without regard to road name or build date.
Interestingly, none of them are NP.
Not much of a scientific survey, but it does support the OPâs assertion that NP is not a popular road name among manufacturers.
Rich
Perhpas, you will be interested in these detailed RS3âs on my layout.
I model the NP, GN, SP&S, with UP having limited trackage rights. I enjoy the fact that everything the prototypes had, rolling stock, locomotives, equipment, is available either in a kit or brass.