Planned— 1954
most of my favorite old things were on the rails still, many of the new things were appearing.
Streetcars were still streetcars, and still there.
Reality— at the Hobby Stop in Orem to paraphrase Pickwick “If I’m not near the train I love, I love the train I’m near!”
1875 to 2003
Doug, in Utah.
Without a doubt 1943!!
Anything prior to 1917-1918. Really wanted to make the period even earlier, but did want to include my Thomas Flyer and some freight cars just prior to WWI. Really prefer my steam locos to have diamond or cabbage stacks. Wish your poll had a step ending at 1920. If we were going to get picky, all of your poll steps should have an equal increment.
The 80s L&N, Chessie,SeaboardSystem
I’d say 1970 to today which gives me enough flexibility to run my favourite stock.I love big locos,specially diesel powered.And since my favourite cars are tankers,I’m planning to build a milk plant at one end of my layout,leaving the rest for a town which would host my railway museum,allowing me to display my PA-1 and my 4-8-4 and eventually other special locos.I don’t have room to waste,so I’m giving my layout plan a lot of thoughts to make the best out of it.Not easy…at all.
I try to stay within the confines of 1945 to 1960. Very late steam,early diesels. I probably really care more for the early diesels than anything. Also this era defines the reason and the need for using cabooses(or is itCABEESE?) Walt in Ky. sgtwbg@bellsouth.net
I MODELING THE 60’S THRU THE EARLY 70’S
I used to model the era of my teenage years, early 1980’s, and the area I grew up in, west-central Missouri (Missouri Pacific in the era of its early merger with UP). Then when the BNSF merger came about I loved the new paint schemes/colors. In 2000 I moved to Fort Worth, TX and found an area that simply begged to be modeled (Saginaw, TX on BNSF’s Wichita Falls sub) so I switched from MoPac to BNSF and from early '80’s to 2000.
Ron
1910-1920, the cusp of WWI in a fictional southern California coastal branch line setting. The prototype period was one of rapid technological and regulatory change which interests me greatly. It is entirely consistent to have animal, gasoline, steam and electric motive power on paved and unpaved roads. Steam, gasoline and electric motive power on the rails. Wooden, steel and hybrid rolling stock in the same string. Wood, brick, stucco, concrete; even adobe structures, all jumbled together along the right of way. As I’m mainly a sctatchbuilder or kitbasher my possibilities verge on limitless. Odd as it may seem to those who prefer later periods, there are mountains of prototype information and photographs. The camera was a relatively new device in common use and there was a photographic fad at the time. Many of these photographs are preserved in local and state historical archives as well as more specifically railroad-centric archives to serve as the basis for one-off construction projects.
I voted 1950-1970 but, gee, what a stretch. 1950 prototype railroading was dominated by steam and 1970 was all diesel. Narrowing down a little to 1965-1969 is the timeframe I choose to model. No steam, lots of first generation diesels and second generation U-Boats and SD-45s just starting to show up in big numbers…
[^][:D][|)][|)][|)]approx 10 pm-2 am, two nights per week [:D]
I tend to go modern stuff, but there’s a Doodlebug and 2-8-0 steamer that run around my track too! 
Currently, I run both steam and early diesel (RS3, F3,) - so, I guess I’m in the 1940-1953 era.
I’m thinking about making a concealed staging area to park some more modern diesels and trade back and forth between the late steam-early diesel and the moderns.
More or less the summer of 1957, just before Sputnik. The height of the modern streamlined passenger in terms of equipment, although frequency of passenger service had dropped. All diesel on the trunkline railroad although there may be a steamer holding on on the logging company railroad. Lots of 40 foot freight cars and “loose car railroading”-- customers that get a car or two once a week. I do cheat and run a doodlebug that had been discontinued in the earlier 50s.
I model 1949 or so…
Steam Rulez!!
Later…
My layout is moving backwards in time. Its current form and near future (I got done laying final trackwork on the first section recently–well, yesterday–on the first section of the layout) it will be set in 1953-1966, when diesels ran on the last portions of the Sacramento belt line. Its next iteration will occur once I get up poles and string wire–and build a couple of freight motors–will run from 1946-1953, when the lines I model bought their first diesels, which worked alongside electrics in the area I model. Finally, once the whole layout is up and running, I’ll be able to model 1930’s-1940’s era with passenger interurban trains and trolleys. Even then, by changing rolling stock and a few signs I should be able to switch around between eras with minimal fuss.
Canadian Pacific in Northern Ontario (1975-1985 when I was a kid).
Steam rules! 1930s-1960. I can include all truly spectacular stuff from the time when real trains ran.
Post war to 1957.
anything late 40’s to late 70’s