I’m proud to say there’s not a single piece of dirty soot blowing steam anywhere near my railroad![}:)] All diesel all the time.[8D] My era is the late 60’s to the early 80’s, 1st and 2nd generation diesels.
For those modelers who like operation, the all steam and transition era holds alot more opportunity for switching, local frieghts and passanger trains. You can have alot of smaller industries since most buildings had sidings to them, unlike todays times, where everything has gone to truck traffic. I would have to agree with most people thou, steam looks and sounds cool, it’s just not for me. When I think of “trains”, I think of SD40-2’s pulling an endless line of TOFC, since that’s my childhood memories.
-Mike
Robby–
For me, it’s simple. I was born in 1939, two years before WWII, and steam is what I grew up with. I was seventeen when the last steam rolled through my area of California, and by that time I’d developed a real affection for those ‘talking’ ladies. Though I admit I have a couple of 1st-generation diesels on my layout, for me it just isn’t the same. I like watching all those rods moving–there’s a power to steam that’s there to see, not concealed in a carbody like a diesel. For me, steam is ALIVE. And it brings back what was a very happy childhood and pretty neat adolescence. When I started model railroading in HO back in the late 'fifties, the though of having a diesel powered model railroad just never occurred to me.
It hasn’t yet, LOL!
Tom [:D]
To be prototypical, you should have a bunch of dirty, soot-blowing six axle units spouting more black smoke than the Norfolk and Western would ever allow in a company photograph of double-headed Mallets. (They smell a lot worse, too.)
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with steam, diesel-hydraulics and 1500VDC catenary motors)
Actually I do, half of my fleet are ALCos.![:D]
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Mmmmm alco smoke is the best
I was born just as the steam era was ending, but grew up the diesel era, but was chasing off any nearby steam fan run. I have filmed diesel stuff of that era, but steam still beckons harder than diesel.
A steam engine is like a living breathing thing a personaility all its own. A lot of the previous comments are pretty accurate, its just more interesting.
I did not grow up with steam engines, however, I have seen a few and find them so much more intreguing than diesels. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good Diesel train, but to me they resemble rolling motorized box cars. Steam trains you can watch move. I’m a history buff and I like the history of the steam loco as well as finding out information on them (and those that are still running). To me Diesels lack the excitement that Steam locos do when they are running, but I respect all trains.
Because they’re cooler. Way cooler.
It is a matter of one’s attention. Once I bought a black Ford Explorer, it seemed like every third vehicle was the same. It also seemed that everytime I sent APA Pierce to supply ports in northeastern New Guinea, the ship got sunk.
Nevertheless, while I collect “transition era” models, it seems to me that the majority of modelers focus on diesels (generally less expensive and requiring less maintenance).
Mark Pierce
Enough said. [(-D]
When it comes to locomotives, I see more people modeling steam locos or low nose diesels than anything else. End cab yard switchers (e.g. S-2, SW9, VO-1000) and early road switchers (e.g. RS-3, GP7, AS-16) are not nearly as common.
I don’t care much for steam locos because they were before my time and North American steam locos are all the same colour - black.
I don’t care much for low nose diesels because the carbodies are not as stylish as their first generation counterparts. I find an RS-3 more attractive to look at than an SD40 or an AC4400.
I model steam and electric. Steam because well because it’s steam, and electics because they are better looking than diesels, more powerful than diesels and they aren’t diesels. I haven’t seen too many running steam engines, but the few I have seen are pretty much why I don’t model diesels. There is little joy in running them. Electrics are almost as bad, but at least you can watch the pant compress and expand along the overhead line.
I was looking through MR last night, and I was struck by the number of ads and product announcements for Alco RS-2’s and RS-3’s. I’d say that diesel locomotive ads are far more numerous than steam ads. I’m not sure if that reflects sales, or if manufacturers don’t even have to advertise steamers, because people just naturally buy them.
I run steam, diesel and traction, box cars, tankers, hoppers, stock cars and gons. I’ve got passengers and freight, subways and surface lines. The great cultural diversity of the United States has made us what we are, and the same kind of diversity can be enjoyed on a model railroad.
well said 
My own opinion is that more people probably model diesels, afer all, they are easier to get to run smoothly and usually pull more than steam.
However, I think that there’s been a noticable increase in the past ten years or so in people who model the steam to diesel “transition” era. I know, I’m one of them. I feel that is all due to the availablity of good quality, affordable RTR plastic steam, an era that started off with the introduction of the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0. before that, RTR plastic steam was just poor quality and brass, though expensive and well detailed, required lots of work to get it to run decently as it was primarily aimed at collectors and not operators.
In my case, that single Spectrum 2-8-0 locomotive was enough to make me set my own Great Eastern Railway back from 1972 to 1958. I did this based solely on the Spectrum 2-8-0, of which I purchased four, with just a little hope that other quality steam would become available. Turns out I was, thankfully, correct and now I run steam from 0-6-0s to 2-10-2s and the diesels now only power two trains each way, the through freights from Adirondack Yard (Main hidden staging) account the steepness of the grade that was built for 2 x diesels and 16 cars plus van, back when I modelled 1972.
However, one day I keep promising myself that I’ll tear down and completely rebuild with steam operation firmly in mind.
Alot of good comments. I agree, steam is better to look at. It also makes sense on how you can have several boxcars in steam on a curve, compared to my era with 1-2 cars in a curve.
I guess I just enjoy the new era of trains. Like the graffiti, newer looking boxcars, big powerful diesel engines, etc. Who knows what the model train hobby will look like when I am way older in life. I might still do diesel where someone might post a topic like this one: “Why do I see more diesel layouts than floating engines.” [:D]
On the other end of the coin, you have people like me that see the steam locomotive as some Rube Goldberg device with all sorts of parts flying around and hanging out in the open, looking as hopelessly primitive as the Wright Flyer next to a Boeing 767-400ER.
Of course, the SD40-2 was ten when I was born.
Doug; what is that UP painted thing in the first row 2nd from the left? Looks cool![:)]
I model a sort of modern era, 1997, right before the big mega-mergers, and before ditch lights were required![(-D] They look awesome, but my locos don’t have them.
I personally get kind of tired seeing the generic steam locomotive and boxcar red 40-foot cars, no matter how varied the roadname. Both in MR and on this forum there’s a flood of 40-foot boxcars in boxcar red drab, and steam locomotives. Maybe I prefer diesels because I was born in their era, steamers died about 40-odd years before I was born, and I don’t know anything about steamers![swg] In my era I would be too young to remember trains in 1997, as average human memory starts around 6 or 7, but they are modern enough for me, but not too modern to be after the mega-mergers.
I think I decided my era the wrong way, then based my preferances off that era. I would probably still like modern trains though, as they’re the only trains I can remember. When deciding my era a few years back, I picked one of my locos as a starting point, a Bachmann Spectrum C40-8W in Conrail paint. I reasoned that the earliest it would be around would be the late '80s, and the latest would be around 1999 with the CSX/NS split. Then my other locos at that time; a C&O U23B and a UP SDP35 would be second-hand on my railroad.
A few years later, I’m still happily modeling 1997, the Conrail loco is miles away from Conrail, as my first railroad was a railroad basicly following CSX’s old B&A, which I didn’t know exsisted at that time, so the CR unit was a run-through. Then I moved the railroad locale to New Hampshire ater learning of the GRS and CSX routes that paralleled mine over the mountains. The CR unit is now leased or something, I still haven’t decided why it’s way up north.
Hi TrainmanTY,
By First row, I assume that you mean the bottom track. From the left side of the picture is a Wide vision caboose, a wood-sided caboose, An RMT Beep which is a generic Fantasy Diseasle for which there never was a prototype, then there is an EMD GP-9, a GP-9B(Cabless booster, which would be the GP version of an F series B-unit) and finally an ALCO RS-3, but for the Rivet Counters, I wont promise that ALL the features on ALL the equipment are EXACTLY prototypically correct (This IS a 3-rail collection remember [swg])
I can’t imagine that the wood-sided Caboose has you stumped, but if the above discription didn’t answer your question, I will try again.
Gotta go to work, TTYL,
Doug