i’ve seen plenty of posts asking what railroad you model but never any asking why. did you choose it because you grew up near it? because of its geographical location or rolling stock? it would be interesting to hear some reasons
i’m 20 and am just getting back to model railroading. i’ve always loved trains and started buying model railroader when i was 5. when i was 4 my grandfather won a tyco train set in a raffle and that was all i played with whenever i was out at the farm. my first HO loco was a baldwin sharknose painted in the rock island’s red and yellow speed lettering. and he was forever listening to johnny cash records and one of the first songs i remember liking was “rock island line”. i live in canada and when i started back to serious model railroading i bought transitition era CN equipment. ithen decided that i’d be different and model the rock island in the late 70’s. people kept asking me why don’t you model a canadian railroad or one of the better known US lines. because a lot of people do already and i would forever be comparing my layout to the ones on the pages of modelrailroader. plus i wanted to be different and at club meetings stand out. i soon discovered that it was slightly easier to find 1950’s equipment and i had always loved steamers and early diesels more then modern stuff, but when i was younger the majority of my rolling stock and other stuff i recieved as a gift and good steamers where to expensive. thats changed now because there are high quality plastic models and i have disposable income. the majority of my steam will be the athearn genesis locos and i’ll try my hand at building and detailing a boswer kit this summer.
I’m modeling a short line that existed in the same rural farming valley that I grew up in. The line was long gone before I was born, before my dad was born for that matter, but the area has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world if you ask me, and the valley has some large industries that could easily be served by train. The Norfolk Southern main line passes within about 10 miles, so it would be an easy connection. And of course, you’re always nostalgic for a little piece of “home”. That’s why I decided to model present day in the valley, as if the line has survived through the years and prospered. I’ve got the whole story on my website if anyone wants to read it.
I model the Southern Pacific in Texas because i grew up with it…not only did an SP local freight run right by my house everyday, but my grandfather, two great uncles, two uncles and a distant cousin all worked for SP…My train family used to take me to the East Yard in San Antonio and take me aboard a locomotive consist pulling long freight trains before they went out on their run while it sat at on the siding, changed crews, and waited for a "highball "green light… I always wanted to work for the railroad but never got hired after numerous attempts with putting in job applications (something about affirmative action in the late 70’s) …so modeling is the next best thing…especially the SP…Chuck
Being freelanced and based on several small indy and mining lines gives me the freedom to do what I feel like and not be a slave to any specific locatio, just a slave to my own warped imagination!
There’s a couple reasons why I model what I do. The biggest is it’s what my dad handed down to me. It’s also the only class one to go through my Area and finally I like csx because it leases a lot of engines so i can have multiple different locos and still be prototypical.
Andy
My first layout (still in existane) was a freelanced town on MoPac’s Sedalia sub in west-central Missouri in 1983 (UP merger era) I modeled this location/era because it was the time and location of my childhood (I was a freshman in high school then) and because I love MoPac. My new layout (now unders construction) is BNSF’s Wichita Falls sub in north Texas in 2000. I began modeling this location because I lived near Saginaw, Texas at that time and the area begged to be modeled with a nice sized flat switched yard, a large number of industries packed tightly together right along the right of way, and interchanges with 3 other railroads (UP and 2 shortlines). It was perfect for a layout and I am loving building it.
Ron
I model the Nickel Plate Road because it’s part of my family history (my mom grew up across the street from their Chicago yard), and because some of the first railfanning trips I can remember are of my dad and I chasing NKP 765 in 1979-1980. I’m a big steam fan because of those trips, and wanted to capture the history of those behemoths on my layout.
WHERE I model is another topic. I grew up in central Illinois, so I knew the flatlands would be my location of choice (although I’ve lived in PA for many years and once modeled a freelance WV coal line, it never got into my blood). The NKP had three distinct lines in Illinois: the mainline to Chicago, the ex-LE&W to Peoria, and the ex-Clover Leaf to St Louis. Chicago’s too big to model, and it seems everyone models the NKP to StL these days, courtesy of Tony Koester. I wanted a layout that wasn’t a rehash of something someone else was doing, so I chose Peoria. Peoria ended up being a good choice, since it’s close to home and is small enough to be modelable. There’s also a larger diversity of railroads around Peoria to model. Finally, I’m a trained historian, so I really enjoy the research work! (basically nothing’s been published on the NKP to Peoria or Peoria railroading in general)
i model a fictional csx branch line in Pennsylvania. A CSX main line runs near my house and I figure a Pennsylvania RR could provide a small coal railroad with some mixed frieght in it too.
I model Chessie becuase I grew up right behind the mainline. I used to watch the trains so much when I was a kid that I got to know some of the engineer’s and they even let me ride in the Chessie engine while they were switching cars. I’m now modeling the Lockland yard of Chessie’s which sadly was just dismantled this month! I drove by there 3 months ago to take pictures so I could model it perfectly and just the other day went by there again and all the switches and track was gone. The only thing that remains now is the yard office(Not much longer I presume…)
PRR because of the Belpair firebox and GG1’s, Ma&Pa because I read Hilton’s book on it and liked it, the Maine two footers because of Hayden and Frary’s articles on HOn2 1/2.
Enjoy
Paul
I grew up in the UK and had a small 4x8 Hornby layout. I quit playing with it when I was 11 and sent away to boarding school. 25 years later, married, with kids, living in Illinois, close to St. Louis, my parents visit from the UK. My dad hands me a suit case full of any of my junk found in their house. (They were moving and cleaning out!). In the case, amongst many childhood treasures were most of my Hornby trains. No track just trains. Two weeks before my folks came to visit I had reached 15 years of service with my then employer. A gift check was mailed to me (Not even presented!) for the motivating sum of $10 per year of service. I decided that while it would be very easy to just spend this on groceries that I should spend it on something frivolous. When my Hornby stuff showed up I knew that I wanted to get a trainset. So off to the LHS for the very first time. Ken, the owner convinced me to get a better quiality set. This narrowed it down to an Atlas set, He had 2 in stock. A Santa Fe S2 and a Burlington Route S2. I got the Burlington, because I thought the color scheme (Blackbird) was cool and I liked the idea of modelling the North East. (Vermont mountains etc). I think I had the set for about a month before I realized that the Q had nothing to do with Vermont [:I] Lots of reading, web searches later and I joined the BRHS (http://www.burlingtonroute.com/) and I am now well and truly set in the Midwest. Funny how this stuff happens!
I’m modeling a fictional shortline set in the 1920’s that is located in Western Maryland that serves the B&O. I chose this because I want nothing but steam on my layout. I also want to show the transition from true horse power to machines. It also gives me a chance to learn more about how things where done back then.
I model the Western pacific in the desert and in a coastal fictitious city with a cannery row and a wharf. ( i do love John Steinbeck’s novels!!) i do not want to call my city Monterey because i know the WP never had a branch there…Am I right…
The reason i model this line is simply because it is so far away from here in Quebec and the color scheme (orange and silver) is just too much…My railroad is set somewere
in the late 50s, so i can run some steam with F3sand F7s.
The main reason for modeling that railroad is because it’s the railroad I railfanned while growing up & still do.
Second reason, I hate CN. [:)]
Third reason, the CPR is the reason why Canada exists as it does today.
I model the trains that ran in the city where I live (Sacramento, CA)–but since I am primarily a short-line buff, rather than focus on the larger lines that ran through here (SP and WP, now both UP) I model Sacramento Northern, an electric interurban that became a freight-based diesel short line. I suppose that I did see these engines growing up (they ran until the late 1980’s) but either never noticed them or simply preferred SP (I was an SP buff as a kid.) But since the bulk of the SN’s traffic was based on interchange, I can feature SP and WP traffic at will–as well as modeling some of Sacramento’s older buildings. I am as much into structures as the trains themselves, so modeling buildings I love with trains next to 'em is a bonus kick.
I’m planning to model portions of the orig. route (the Hook & Eye Line)of the L&N from Knoxville TN to the Atlanta, GA area (actually Marietta, GA) , as well as the branch from Blue Ridge GA to Murphy, NC where it interchanged w/ the Southern’s Murphy Branch to Asheville, NC. I may expand my trackplan to include some of the Southern near Murphy. My layout will be set in the late '40s/early '50s and I am rewriting history a bit by depicting this route as a jointly owned (L&N and Southern) bridge route operated as an independent shortline that was ‘created’ during WW II to better serve both railroads and the locale, by unburdening both the L&N’s other Atlanta Division as well as the Southern not having to rely on the longer route thru Saluda from Asheville to Atlanta. It would have provided better sevice to on-line industries, and more efficient running of passenger trains, esp during wartime. This kind of operation will permit me to model both L&N and Southern equipment, as well as a free-lanced subsidiary with its unique motive power (got to be able to justify Baldwin Sharks and Heislers), cabooses, paint schemes and logos.
That’s my rationale - now why -because this route begs to be modeled because of the diversity of industry such as a huge marble quarry operation, former copper smelting & its biproducts, agricultural, coal traffic, etc. that provides interesting structures and operation potential. Passenger trains were short-often two or three cars, and consisted of older hand-me-down equipment. Only light 2-8-0s and light 4-6-2s were able to run the entire length of this route, w/ light 2-8-2s resticted to certain sections only, due to curves, bridge loadings, and the light rail used. Doubleheading was not uncommon.
It also traverses some very beautiful scenery including the Blue Ridge Mtns, rickety bridges over numerous streams and rivers, short tunnels (on the Southern), thru downtown sections of picturesque villages and towns, and there’s hardly a stretch of