Which is your favorite era. Steam era or Diesel era. Play around with it. [:D][:D][:D]
September 1964. At the prototype location I model that means steam (wouldn’t disappear for another ten years,) diesel-hydraulic (transition power) and catenary motors (the eventual winner.) Also DMU (that don’t resemble RDC’s) and EMU.
Can’t beat that combination, which is why I model it!
Chuck
My favorite era? 1926-1950, the height of superpower steam.
How about BOTH? That’s why I model the transition era, steam and diesel working side by side.
Had I more mechanical skill to build locos from scratch, I would consider an 1870’s-era steam operation. Still Reading - would need everything from the newest Wooten engines to some leftover pre-Civil War locos. Reading in the Gowen years. Or maybe mid 1890’s, when the Reading briefly controlled darn near everything in the northeast that wasn’t PRR or NYC or New Haven. ie, Lehigh Valley, LNE, DL&W, CNJ, B&M, and various other lines connecting NY to the B&M. Largest corporation in the world at that time.
But for now I’ll stick to my late steam and first generation diesels. Those I can buy RTR or as kits that I am quite capable of building.
–Randy
I have my "druthers’ and that is the steam era but I must clarify that I only own two steam engines. I have shyed away from the purchase of N-Scale steamers because, over the years, most of them have been such p-poor pullers. All but a few N-Scale diesels will, in a three unit lash-up, pull close to 100 cars on straight and level track - it is a rare three unit lash-up which will not handle at least 75 cars.
The selection of N-Scale steamers has been pretty poor over the course of the years; this is, thankfully, showing signs of change, and it appears to be reaching the point where one can begin to imagine a decent stable of N-Scale steam locomotives. I have even of late been evaluating the steam locomotives and first generation diesels with consideration to modeling the “transition” era which, I must admit, has always appealed to me. Right now most of my fleet is second generation diesels with over half of my fleet being SD35/SD40/SD40-2 locomotives. I have a few SD60/C40-8 locomotives which puts me at an optimum time frame of the mid-80s.
See my sig [;)]
I do both, 1885 and 2006–just not on the same layout.
I see that the vote is currently 50/50. I enjoy the visual effect of an articulated steam locomotive running down the track. I model the transition era, with occasional runs into the intermodal. With the poor pulling ability of some N Scale steam. I can see where most would be discouraged to the point of wanting to dun diseasels all of the time.
Primarily diesel, but plenty of steam for branchline and excursion service[:D]
I voted steam. I model the 40’s-50’s era. However, I’m not above running a diesel now and then. My new N scale layout will have primarily steam. Now, if anyone should comment about a modern day train with diesels at the head end and- AAAGGGHHH- no caboose at the tail running through town with nothing but 50’s and older cars and trucks, I can tell them MGM is shooting a movie. Ken
I do both and not on any particular era [:I]
honetsly, i dont care, the way I figure it, its my model, you dont like it, tough toe nails!
the other day I double headed my AC4400CW with a 4-6-0.
Same here.
Victor
Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]
President and CEO,
Midwestern Railroads.
Steam steam steam steam steam!!!
1st generation diesel, please! I run E-7’s, FT’s, and NW2’s Modelling GN in the Cascades circa '47-'50. I might fit in a steamer or two if the S2’s were affordable.
The SLO&W is stuck in August of 1925. Weren’t no diseasals back then…[}:)][:D]
I voted steam, but actually model transition era, sort of a loose 1945-1960 time frame, so I have a few “diseasels” on the layout too.
Regards
Ed
My layout is going to be set sometime between the conrail spilt and current day(changing at random times) But since I moved to N scale I’m going to try to do atleast 1 of every signature train each RR had. such as the N&W Powhatan Arrow, that was pulled by a J for awhile. I’ll also do an SP train pulled by a GS4 in Daylight. If I like its going to be done!
I have previously posted to this topic but I just finished reading - and responding to - a new topic concerning Athearn’s announcement at the National Train Show of production in both HO and N of both F45 and FP45 cowl units produced from the mid- to late-60s. Just about the time that someone announces what appears to be a quality (steam) offering in N-Scale driving me into the arms of the late steam/transition era of railroading, someone else (i.e. Athearn) gets my mouth watering over a second generation unit.
My “druthers” in this matter would be an SDP of some sort; I have fantasized that the Ohio, (East) Tennessee, and (South) Atlantic or Seaboard and Western Virginia - can’t make up my feeble flippin’ mind just which one I want it to be - purchased SDP35s in the mid-60s as replacements for the E-7s purchased immediately following big-brawl number 2. If I had an SDP, even though not an SDP35, I could extract the boiler section and splice it onto one of my Atlas SD35s.
I don’t really need the extra one thousand horses - I need five thousand to lug my twice-a-week in both directions last surviving passenger train through the mountains - that works out to two SDP35s; one FP45 woudn’t have enough muscle to do the job and two would be like shooting rats with a .45; but if FP45s are all I could get I could live with them.
Diesel all the way.