As for us, we Freelance with a Prototypical slant. There’s degree of this for sure but our Locos all match the time frame and the staging yards represent real distant cities. We don’t go so far as to boot a car off the roster if it’s a little out of line but don’t run heralds that postdate our chosen time frame. This doctrine gives the ability to have fun and still be somewhat “real”.
I know some folks keep it strictly prototypical these days. Some go totally freelance. There’s no right or wrong here. How about you? What type modeling are you into?
While I have locomotives from 22 different railroad companies on my roster (prototypical) I choose to model my layout how I see fit. (freelance).
I have absolutely no problem running my D&H RS11 with my CPR AC4400’s on the same track at the same time. Same with any steam locomotive I have.
Passenger & freight trains hold the same level of importance here.
From my CPR & D&H passenger trains to my VIA & Amtrak trains.
The Hogwarts Freight and Ferry is very strict in following the schedules, protocols, road rules and euipment right down to the rivits modeling exactly what it was like when Hogwarts ran in the Old West.
Added: Even Lil Guy below, follows true to the Hogwarts prototype.
I vote freelance for the simple reason i want to put on it what i want not is what good for a certain time frame. For example its hard for a steamer of the early 1900 to be pulling a set of piggy back cars. It don t look good for the time frame but the are two things I like.
And the only person i have to make happy is me.
While the Seneca Lake, Ontario, & Western, is a freelance railroad, it is prototypical as to the time period (USRA) and the types of industries and scenery found in the Fingerlakes region of NYS. On the otherhand some of the order of the towns will be wrong and most of the industries are (will) not the real names of the industries that were here in the 1920’s. Hey, its about having fun… Remember! It’s your railroad, do whatever you want! [:D]
Freelance with a prototypical slant. My only prototype is Cincinnati in the 40’s 50’s and 60’s. My layout is sectional, in each section I try to represent someting about the city or the area. Local industries, local institutuions, local oddities like 5 way chili and “Newport nightcoats”. For railroads, L&N, C&O, B&O and Pennsylvania with a few Southern RR cars visiting. Of course the construction is still in the early days and things can change.
N Scale, Post modern (2030+), Post Apocolyptic (Chemical) slant to the local rail lines here in N. Illinois, (CP / C,M&St.P / Amtrak / Metra / E,J& E / W&S along with CN / IC / WC / SOO )
I voted strictly freelance, but mine is going to be prototypical with a bit of a fantasy slant.
E.g., I’m modeling the Chgo North Shore & Milwaukee (North Shore Line) from Kenosha, WI to Chicago. Obviously it’ll have to be compressed a bunch. There are some buildings in a few towns I want to model that weren’t right along the line, but they will be on mine. I also wanted to model the Highwood, IL shops, but that was south of the cutoff to the Skokie Valley Route, so I’ll have to move Highwood a few miles north or the cutoff a few miles south, depending on how you look at it. Rolling stock, as far as interurbans, will be strictly prototype. C&NW equipment will also be stuff that ran on the line, but not necessarily in the Chicago area.
So perhaps we need a fourth choice: Prototypical with a slight fantasy twist.
Once I build a layout, anything and everything will be possible. I’ll be mixing locomotives from the US, Japan, Europe, and hopefully Australia, as well as from different time periods. I hope to have prototypical, or at least sensible running characteristics. Whatever I enjoy seeing, is what will run. As of now, I run unprototypical trains, such as a CSX Veranda turbine, with 3 60’ streamliners, 2 heavyweights, and 3 full length vista domes, which creates one awesome looking passenger train.
I am going for prototypical of the PRR in a 1956-1957 era. I am using first generation diesels and steam. I am trying to keep everything true to the era.
The Bunter Ridge is freelance with a prototypical slant. The locomotive roster conforms to a fictional company philosphy, the freight rolling stock mostly has a purpose to serve industries along the layout. It is set in fall of 1958 with a couple of cars that, if you could read the date on them would be in the future! Even so, nothing is off by more than a couple of years.
What no “somewhat prototypical”? My lumber and electric branches did exist, just not in the same period and of the two the electric branch is fully prototypical, the lumber branch is a me thing relocated about 30 miles southwest from the actual location. All towns do have a protoype and will be so modeled as will rolling stock and motive power and operations to reflect SP branch operations of the mid 1920s.
To me, there’s nothing like a solid lash-up of Green Machines, or Conrail units
roaring through Montana towards Puget Sound with export coal in tow.
Or mix 'n match locos. Looks great either way ! Just enjoy your time. [:)]
As it stands now, better than 75% of us are taking a few liberties in the name of fun and imagination. Some (freelancers) more than others (prototypical freelancers).
Prototype freelance. I’m like you, Grande Man, I’ve got a fictional Sub of the D&RGW (I’d bet that railroad has more ‘model’ subs than most roads have actual trackage–did you know that there used to be a Rio Grande Sub in Hartford, Conn.?). Big D&RGW steam, with SP trackage rights and some ‘borrowed’ power from other railroads to help with the WWII traffic volume. I like it, it means you can run almost anything you want within reason–like you, I keep my rolling stock pretty much confined to the era–and still feel like you’re operating something that actually happened.
Tom [:P]
I’ll be modeling an east coast, mid sized town in the 60s. Though rather uncommon back then, I’ll be running “pool power” from several railroads. While SCL will be my primary road, Southern, New Haven, New York Central, Rock Island and even Santa Fe locomotives will be making their appearances from time to time.
My layout represents the CB&Q Wind River Canyon line in Wyoming, with the Cody branch and the C&NW line from Shobon to Lander. As much as possible it will be true to prototype, but I’m not fanatical about it (not that much time!). Hopefully some scenes will be recognizable to visitors who have seen the area modeled, but I’m not making too much effort to model the actual density of trains over the lines in the 1930s & 40s (the era being modeled). I also don’t count rivets, or model a specific day, hour, minute or what-have-you.
I checked “Strictly Prototypical,” but I’m more of a “Mostly Prototypical where fesable” kind of person.
